Incorporated on 29th July 1856
A line running 10¼ miles from Wimborne to Dorset and connecting with a branch of the London and South Western Railway. An extension was authorised the following year taking the line to 19 miles in total, which opened in 1863. The line joined with the Somerset Central Railway in 1862 to form the Somerset and Dorset Railway (later changing to the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway), leased by the Midland and the London and South Western Railways.
Capital £100,000 in shares of £20 each, loans of £33,000. Extension capital of £300,000 and £100,000 respectively.