The Salisbury & Dorset Junction Railway was built to consolidate the L&SWR's domination of Hampshire and south Dorset, in an effort to keep the GWR away from Bournemouth. It also gave Salisbury businessmen a more direct route to Poole and Weymouth. Almost half of the 18½ mile route was in Dorset, with less than five miles apiece in Wiltshire and Hampshire. Passing through three counties, it traversed contrasting landscapes and served a wide if thinly populated agricultural area.The water meadows between Downton and Fordingbridge produced cattle, milk and watercress. South-west of Fordingbridge, the clay soil had given rise to brick and tile manufacture centuries before the coming of the railway, enabling these industries to expand and distribute their wares over a much wider area.Year-round passenger traffic on the line was at best erratic, but the line provided a useful diversionary and holiday route. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that the line sadly became a victim of the Beeching axe in 1964. Since then, however, the populations of the towns it once served have grown considerably, and had it remained open it would have proved very useful, particularly for travel to Salisbury and the Bournemouth-Poole conurbation.This brilliant new book provides a complete history of this important line and the area surrounding it. With a vast amount of detailed information illustrated by a carefully selected collection of vivid images, this book is certain to be essential reading for railway enthusiasts nationwide.