Barnstaple Town railway station

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Barnstaple Town
Barnstaple Town railway station1972077 23032779(flopped).jpg
The station in April 1964
General information
Location Barnstaple, North Devon
England
Grid reference SS555332
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original company London and South Western Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and South Western Railway
Post-grouping Southern Railway
Key dates
16 May 1898 (1898-05-16)Station opened
5 October 1970 (1970-10-05)Station closed

Barnstaple Town railway station was an intermediate station on the L&SWR line to Ilfracombe, England.

Contents

History

The first station named Barnstaple Town was originally opened as Barnstaple Quay in 1874 and became Barnstaple Town in 1886. It was located in Commercial Road and later formed part of the bus station. [1] The total cost of rebuilding the station in its later location was about £6,000 (equivalent to £844,200in 2023), [2] of which £2,000 was contributed by the L&B.

Opened on 16 May 1898 to serve as the connection to the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (L&B), a narrow gauge line that ran through Exmoor from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth in North Devon, a distance by rail of almost 20 miles. Both lines were controlled by separate signal boxes.

Both lines came under Southern Railway ownership in 1923. [3] [ page needed ] The L&B signal box was downgraded to a ground-frame and the LSWR signal box took over control of the narrow-gauge line.

The L&B closed in 1935. The main line closed, along with the station, in October 1970.

During the 1980s and early 1990s the old LSWR signal box was operated as a small museum for the L&B and the station building was in use as a restaurant. The signal box is now (2007) empty, but the station building is now used as a school.

Combe Rail

In late 2015 a charity named Combe Rail was formed with the intention of establishing a heritage railway on the trackbed of the Ilfracombe-Barnstaple line as well as lobbying for a full reopening in the future. [4]

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The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (L&B) opened as an independent railway in May 1898. It was a single track, 1 ft 11+12 in narrow gauge railway and was slightly over 19 miles (31 km) long running through the rugged and picturesque area bordering Exmoor in North Devon, England. Although opened after the Light Railways Act 1896 came into force, it was authorised and constructed prior to that act. Therefore, as with all other railways, it was authorised under its own Act of Parliament and built to higher standards than similar railways of the time. In the United Kingdom it was notable as being the only narrow gauge line required to use main-line standard signalling. For a short period the line earned a modest return for shareholders, but for most of its life the L&B made a loss. In 1923, the L&B was taken over by the Southern Railway, and eventually closed in September 1935.

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Parracombe railway station was a halt on the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway, a narrow gauge line that ran through Exmoor from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth in North Devon, England. The Halt which served the village of Parracombe comprised a simple wooden shelter and was not opened until 1 May 1899 — almost a year after the line was opened on 16 May 1898 — and closed along with the rest of the railway on 29 September 1935. It is planned this station will be reopened next by the Lynton & Barnstaple Trust. It will replace the station at Killington Lane a bit further to the north that was opened in 2006.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barnstaple Quay railway station</span> Former railway station in Devon, England

Barnstaple Quay was an intermediate station on the L&SWR line to Ilfracombe in Devon, England. The station opened in 1874, and located on the north bank of the River Taw close to the centre of Barnstaple, was renamed Barnstaple Town in 1886. With the opening of the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway in 1898, the station was relocated to its present site, to accommodate passenger exchange to the narrow gauge line. The station became the town's bus station, but this closed in 1999 and the building then became a café when a new and larger bus station was opened closer to the town centre.

The North Devon Railway connected Barnstaple to the growing railway network in 1854 and as Ilfracombe developed as a watering place, it was obvious a railway connection to the town was needed. The hilly terrain was very difficult, but an Ilfracombe Railway was authorised in 1864 but failed when a major shareholder was unable to respond to a subscription call. After several false starts the Barnstaple and Ilfracombe Railway, soon taken over by the London and South Western Railway, opened in 1870.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Devon Railway</span> Former English railway company

The North Devon Railway was a railway company which operated a line from Cowley Bridge Junction, near Exeter, to Bideford in Devon, England, later becoming part of the London and South Western Railway's system. Originally planned as a broad gauge feeder to the Bristol & Exeter Railway, it became part of a battle between the broad gauge group and the standard gauge railway interests. In this context, standard gauge lines were often described as narrow gauge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exeter to Plymouth railway of the LSWR</span>

The Exeter to Plymouth railway of the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) was the westernmost part of a route competing with that of the Great Western Railway (GWR) and its 'associated companies' from London and Exeter to Plymouth in Devon, England. Whereas the GWR route from Exeter followed the coast to Newton Abbot and then went around the southern edge of Dartmoor, the LSWR route followed the northern and western margins of Dartmoor, passing through the towns of Crediton, Okehampton, and Tavistock.

This article describes the history and operation of the railway routes west of Salisbury built by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) and allied companies, which ultimately became part of the Southern Railway in the United Kingdom. Salisbury forms a natural boundary between the Southern Railway core routes in the counties surrounding London, and the long route connecting with the Devon and Cornwall lines.

Roger Wakeley Kidner (1914–2007) was a railway enthusiast and noted publisher whose imprint, The Oakwood Press, published many of the earliest books on British narrow-gauge railways.

References

  1. Clark, R.H. (1964). A Southern Region Chronology and Record 1803-1965. Oakwood Press.
  2. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth . Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  3. Catchpole, L.T. (2005). The Lynton & Barnstaple Railway 18951935 (Eighth ed.). The Oakwood Press. ISBN   0-85361-637-X.
  4. "Homepage". Combe Rail. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
Preceding station Disused railways Following station
Barnstaple Junction   L&SWR Ilfracombe Branch
(1874-1970)
  Wrafton
Terminus  Lynton and Barnstaple Railway
(1898-1935)
  Pilton
(Goods Only)

51°04′48″N4°03′50″W / 51.07997°N 4.06383°W / 51.07997; -4.06383