Christow railway station

Christow Station
Christow Station
	Christow station in 1904
General information
Location	Christow, Teignbridge ; England
Coordinates	50°40′01″N3°38′34″W / 50.6669°N 3.6429°W
Grid reference	SX8398686542
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Great Western Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Key dates
1 July 1903	Opened
9 June 1958	Closed to passengers
1 May 1961	Closed to goods traffic
1963	Track lifted

Last updated July 31, 2024

Teign Valley Line

Legend

					GWML to London
					Exeter St Thomas
					GWML to Penzance
					Alphington Halt
					Ide Halt
					Perridge tunnel
					Longdown
					Culver tunnel
					Dunsford Halt
					Christow
					Ashton
					Trusham
					Chudleigh Flood Platform
					Chudleigh
					Chudleigh Knighton Halt
					to Moretonhampstead
					Heathfield (Devon)
					to Newton Abbot

Christow railway station, previously known as Teign House,^[2] served the villages of Christow, Bridford and Doddiscombsleigh in Devon, England. It was a stop on the Teign Valley line between Newton Abbot and Exeter St Thomas. The station was located in the parish of Doddiscombsleigh, as the parish boundary is the River Teign.

History

Until 1943, Christow was the only passing place on the Teign Valley Line. The red brick station building was on the up platform. The down platform had a waiting shelter and a raised timber built signal box at the far end of the platform. Originally, Christow was the terminus of the line from Heathfield and was called Teign House at that time. An extension, known as Teign House Siding' , existed for loading stone.^[2]

The down loop was extended northwards by 370 yards in 1943, as part of the upgrading of the route for trains diverted from the South Devon Main Line.

Passenger numbers reached their peak in the 1930s, with seven daily services provided each way between Exeter and Heathfield. During World War 2, this was reduced to four trains in each direction, with no trains on a Sunday. This was increased to five daily trains after the war. The line was sometimes used as a diversionary route if the South Devon main line was unavailable.^[3]

Two sidings were added behind the down platform in 1914, for Scatter Rock Quarry traffic, and a 3/4 mile siding curved sharply away to the Bridford Quarry of the Devon Basalt and Granite Company; this was in use between 1910 and 1931. The Bridford Barytes Mine also used the railway at Christow, for conveying barium sulphate to Exeter for milling; this traffic ceased in July 1958.^[2]

In the winter of 1960 and March 1961, severe flooding of the river Teign washed away the track bed just beyond Trusham and this was never reinstated, thereby isolating Ashton and Christow stations completely. These stations were officially closed as of 1 May 1961 and the tracks lifted in the summer of 1963.

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Ashton (Devon)		Heathfield to Exeter St Davids Great Western Railway		Dunsford Halt

The site today

The station building is now a private house and the trackbed has been infilled to platform height.

The sidings are now home to the Exeter and Teign Valley Railway. They have a Toad brake van that has been converted into sleeping accommodation.^[2]

The Teign Valley line may have a role to play in the future, as an alternative to the Devon's main line route along the Dawlish and Teignmouth coastline which is vulnerable to stormy seas. The Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) put together a feasibility study. Some of the old infrastructure is still in place; six of the 21 miles of track remained in 2009.^[4]

Related Research Articles

Bridford is a village and civil parish in south west England, located in the Teign Valley, Devon on the edge of Dartmoor. The parish is surrounded by the parishes of Dunsford, Doddiscombsleigh, Christow, and Moretonhampstead. At the 2011 census the population of the parish was 503, compared with 404 in 1901.

The Riviera Line is the railway between the city of Exeter, towns Dawlish and Teignmouth, and the English Riviera resorts of Torbay in Devon, England. Its tracks are shared with the Exeter to Plymouth Line along the South Devon sea wall. It is part of the Network Rail Route 12.

Christow is a village and civil parish in the Teignbridge district of Devon, England. It is located 12 miles (19 km) south-west of Exeter, in the Teign Valley, just off the B3193 road that links Chudleigh and Dunsford. Christow is on the eastern edge of Dartmoor National Park.

Yeoford railway station is a rural station serving the village of Yeoford in Devon, England. It is on the Tarka Line to Barnstaple, 11 miles 42 chains (18.5 km) from Exeter Central at milepost 183 from London Waterloo.

The Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway was a 7 ft 1⁄4 in broad gauge railway which linked the South Devon Railway at Newton Abbot railway station with Bovey, Lustleigh and Moretonhampstead, Devon, England.

Heathfield railway station, originally Chudleigh Road railway station before the Teign Valley Line opened, was on the Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway at Heathfield, nearly 4 miles from Newton Abbot, Devon, England.

Chudleigh railway station was a railway station in Chudleigh, a small town in Devon, England located between the towns of Newton Abbot and Exeter.

The Teign Valley line was a single-tracked railway line that ran from Heathfield to Exeter, via the Teign Valley, in Devon, England. It joined the South Devon main line at Exeter City Basin Junction. The line was open to passenger services between 1882 and 1958.

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Alphington Halt railway station was a small station serving the village of Alphington located on the Teign Valley Line, which opened in 1882 and closed in 1961. This diverged from the South Devon Main Line at Exeter and joined the Netwon Abbot to Moretonhampstead line at Heathfield.

Ashton railway station was a railway station serving the village of Ashton in Devon, England. It was located on the Teign Valley line.

Chudleigh Knighton Halt was on the Teign Valley Line serving the small village of Chudleigh Knighton, Devon, England. The halt, built by the Great Western Railway at a later date than most of the other stations on the line, was located on the west side of Pipehouse Lane off the B3344, to the south of the village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teigngrace Halt railway station</span> Disused railway station in Devon, England

Teigngrace Halt was a railway station opened as Teigngrace in 1867 by the Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway.

Trusham Railway Station was a railway station in the parish of Chudleigh, serving the villages of Trusham and Hennock in Devon, England, on the Teign Valley line between Newton Abbot and Exeter.

Dunsford Halt was a railway station serving Dunsford, a small village in Devon, England, on the Teign Valley Line between the towns of Newton Abbot and Exeter.

Longdown was a railway station serving Longdown, a small village in Devon, England located on the Teign Valley Line between the towns of Newton Abbot and Exeter. Longdown is in the parish of Holcombe Burnell, south of the A30 road, about four miles west of Exeter.

Ide Halt was a railway station serving Ide, a small village in Devon, England located on the Teign Valley Line between Newton Abbot and Exeter.

The Tarka Valley Railway in Devon, England, is a heritage railway that plans to rebuild the Torrington to Bideford section of the Barnstaple to Halwill Junction railway line. So far a short demonstration line of 300 yd of track in the direction of Bideford plus a siding alongside the old coal dock have been re-laid. The railway has been fenced off from the Tarka Trail ensuring the safety of all involved. Restoration of various items of rolling stock is currently under way.

Chudleigh Flood Platform railway station was a railway station near Chudleigh, a small town in South Devon, England located between Newton Abbot and Exeter. Opened in 1920, it saw only occasional use each year as it was constructed as an alternative station for use when Chudleigh was flooded by the River Teign, this being a recurring seasonal problem.

References

Citations

1 2 Butt 1995, p. 61
1 2 3 4 Holman, Dave (17 May 2017). "Station name: Chudleigh". Disused-stations.org. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
↑ Holman, Dave (17 May 2017). "Station name: Chudleigh Knighton Halt". Disused-stations.org. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
↑ "Film of the Teign Valley Railway Line". BBC News. 20 November 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2012.

Sources

Beck, Keith; Copsey, John (1990). The Great Western in South Devon. Didcot: Wild Swan Publications. ISBN 0-906867-90-8.
Butt, R (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1.

External links

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[b-1] 1 2 Butt 1995, p. 61

[ch-2] 1 2 3 4 Holman, Dave (17 May 2017). "Station name: Chudleigh". Disused-stations.org. Retrieved 8 October 2012.

[3] Holman, Dave (17 May 2017). "Station name: Chudleigh Knighton Halt". Disused-stations.org. Retrieved 8 October 2012.

[4] "Film of the Teign Valley Railway Line". BBC News. 20 November 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2012.

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