The initial train service was four passenger trains each way daily except Sunday, and ran through to and from Weymouth. The service timetable for 1889 shows that the goods train is running as a mixed (passenger and goods) train, and there is a new entry: at 4.30 a.m. a "Contl. Fish" (Continental fish) train ran if required to Weymouth, returning empty. If the train was to run, special arrangements had to be made the afternoon before to ensure that the junction signal box was open and ready.