Causeway | |
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General information | |
Location | Bideford, Torridge England |
Coordinates | 51°01′37″N4°12′45″W / 51.027015°N 4.212526°W |
Grid reference | SS449273 |
Platforms | 1 |
Other information | |
Status | Disused |
History | |
Original company | Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway |
Pre-grouping | British Electric Traction |
Key dates | |
20 May 1901 [1] [2] | Opened |
28 March 1917 | Closed [3] |
Causeway railway station was a minor railway station or halt/request stop in north Devon, close to Bideford, on the Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway, serving the outskirts of the town. [4] It lay 0 mile and 66 chains from Bideford Quay. [5] Passengers waiting to board had to give a hand signal for the train to stop. [5]
The Causeway Crossing was the most important halt on the railway being close to a number of residential developments. [6] Mr. Fursey was the gatekeeper who lived in the crossing keeper's cottage and was locally known as "the station master". [6]
The halt had no freight facilities. A platform 20 ft x 30 ft long was present on the down side, 6 inches high and fenced at the back with no shelter. A small crossing keeper's cottage was present with a window that may have been used for selling tickets. [6]
A two and a half storey signal cabin was built on the down side of the line to control the busy road crossing, with sufficient height to see along the road and railway. It was the largest signal box on the line and was entered by a staircase situated at the rear. It was not a block post, but it had an internal wheel to operate the gates. It was probably connected by phone to the signal boxes at Bideford Yard and Abbotsham Road. The substantial crossing gates opened inwards to close off the line and pedestrian gates were also present. Oil lamps with a red light were present on the gates. [6]
The level crossing was protected by up and down stop semaphore signals. [6] The up home signal at the Causeway Crossing Halt carried a fish-tailed distant signal that worked in conjunction with Chanters Lane's (The Lane) crossing home signal. [7]
In January 1901, the first train, with one carriage, ran from Bideford to Northam carrying a few friends of the Directors. [8]
The crossing keeper's house in 1999 still existed as an enlarged private dwelling. [9]
On closure, the Causeway Crossing box was purchased by a local farmer, Mr. Atkins. He tried to convert it into an extension to his house but failed and sold the box to a person in Westward Ho! who used it as a summer house. It still existed in 1968. [10]
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
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Kenwith Castle Halt Line and station closed | Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway | The Lane Halt Line and station closed |
Bideford is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district.
Westward Ho! is a seaside village near Bideford in Devon, England. The A39 road provides access from the towns of Barnstaple, Bideford, and Bude. It lies at the south end of Northam Burrows and faces westward into Bideford Bay, opposite Saunton Sands and Braunton Burrows. There is an electoral ward with the same name. The population at the 2011 census was 2,112.
Northam is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in Devon, England, lying north of Bideford. The civil parish also includes the villages of Westward Ho!, Appledore, West Appledore, Diddywell, Buckleigh and Silford, and the residential areas of Orchard Hill and Raleigh Estate.
Appledore is a village at the mouth of the River Torridge, about 6 miles (10 km) west of Barnstaple and about 3 miles (5 km) north of Bideford in the county of Devon, England. It is the home of Appledore Shipbuilders, a lifeboat slipway and Hocking's Ice Cream, a brand of ice cream only sold in North Devon. There are numerous shops, cafes and galleries. The local football club is Appledore F.C. The ward population at the 2011 census increased to 2,814.
Instow is a village in north Devon, England. It is on the estuary where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet, between the villages of Westleigh and Yelland and on the opposite bank to Appledore. There is an electoral ward with the same name. The ward's total population at the 2011 census was 1,501.
Abbotsham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Devon. In 2001 its population was 434 increasing at the 2011 census to 489.
The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway was a railway running in northwest Devon, England. It is unusual in that although it was built as a standard gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in line, it was not joined to the rest of the British railway network, despite the London and South Western Railway having a station at Bideford East-the-Water, just on the other side of the river Torridge from the main town. The line was wholly situated on the peninsula made up of Westward Ho!, Northam and Appledore with extensive sand dunes by the Torridge and Taw estuary. The line opened in stages between 1901 and 1908, but closed in 1917, having been requisitioned by the War Office. Re-opening the line after World War I was considered, but dismissed as a viable option. The B.WH!&A.R. was the only railway company in the British Isles to have an exclamation mark in its company title.
Abbotsham Road railway station was a small railway station on the independent Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway in the English county of Devon. It lay 2 miles and 50 chains from Bideford Quay.
Westward Ho! railway station was a railway station in north Devon, north-west of Bideford, serving the village of Westward Ho!; a tourist community within the parish of Bideford.
Northam railway station was a railway station on the Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway in north Devon, close to Appledore. The station served the village of Northam, Parish of Northam, a community within the Appledore peninsula. It was 5 miles 45 chains from Bideford.
Appledore railway station was a railway station in north Devon, situated close to the village of Appledore, a community lying on the peninsula formed by the sea, the River Torridge, and the River Taw.
Lovers' Lane Halt railway station was a minor railway station or halt in north Devon close to the town of Appledore, a community lying on the peninsula formed by the sea, the River Torridge, and the River Taw.
Richmond Road Halt was a minor railway station or halt in north Devon, situated fairly close to the town of Appledore, a community lying on the peninsula formed by the sea, the River Torridge, and the River Taw.
Beach Road railway station was a minor railway station or halt/request stop in north Devon, close to Westward Ho!, serving the residents of Eastboune Terrace and the outlying areas of Westward Ho!.
Kenwith Castle Halt was a minor railway station or halt/request stop in north Devon, close to Bideford, serving the nearby castle of that name. It lay 1 mile and 75 chains from Bideford Quay.
Cornborough railway station was a minor railway station or halt/request stop in north Devon, close to Westward Ho!, serving holiday makers visiting the cliff walks and nearby beach. It lay 3 miles and 30 chains from Bideford Quay.
The Lane Halt or Chanters Lane was a minor railway station or halt/request stop in north Devon, close to Bideford, on the Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway, serving the outskirts of the town. It lay 0 mile and 55 chains from Bideford Quay.
Strand Road Halt was a minor railway station or halt/request stop in north Devon, England, close to Bideford, on the Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway, serving the outskirts of the town. It lay 0 mile and 32 chains from Bideford Quay.
Bideford Quay Station was a railway station in Bideford, north Devon; the southern terminus on the Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway, serving the town and passengers from Bideford railway station on the London and South Western Railway. It lay on Bideford Quay where the company offices were situated.
Dousland railway station, originally opened at Dousland Barn in 1883 was located on the 10.5 mile long single track branch railway line in Devon, England, running from Yelverton to Princetown with eventually four intermediate stops, three being halts and one at Dousland as a fully fledged station.
Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway |
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