North Tawton railway station

North Tawton
North Tawton station in 1969
General information
Location	North Tawton, West Devon England
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Devon and Cornwall Railway
Pre-grouping	London & South Western Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Key dates
1865	Opened
5 June 1972	Closed to passengers
Location

v t e Dartmoor Railway
Legend
miles Tarka Line to Exeter St Davids 0¾ Crediton Salmon Pool level crossing 3¾ Yeoford Coleford Junction Tarka Line to Barnstaple 8½ Bow 11¾ North Tawton 14½ Sampford Courtenay Okehampton Interchange (planned) 18¼ Okehampton 20¼ Meldon Viaduct Meldon Viaduct London & South Western Rly and Exeter–Plymouth line to Padstow and Bude to Plymouth via Bere Alston

North Tawton railway station was a railway station serving the town of North Tawton in Devon, England. North Tawton lies on the River Taw.

History

North Tawton station in 1970.

The station was originally opened by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1865. ^[1] Services on the line were extended further west to Okehampton Road by 1867 and then on to Lydford railway station with the inauguration of Meldon Viaduct in 1874. Constructed to rival the South Devon Railway route to Plymouth, the completion of the LSWR's own route to Plymouth saw this line become an important route with lines to Padstow and Bude as well as Plymouth.^{[ citation needed ]} Boat trains carrying passengers from ocean liners calling at Stonehouse Pool, Plymouth and prestige services such as the Atlantic Coast Express and Devon Belle all used the route.^{[ citation needed ]}

Following the publication of the Beeching Report in 1963, the Exeter to Plymouth Line was cut back to Okehampton in 1968.

North Tawton, Bow, Sampford Courtenay and Okehampton lost their regular passenger services from 1972. The line survived, however, for the purposes of freight thanks to the activities of the British Rail ballast quarry at Meldon, three miles from Okehampton, which had an output of 300,000 tons per year. The quarry survived until the 2000s, operated by Aggregate Industries.

Since closure the station building has been converted to a private residence.

Preceding station				Following station
Sampford Courtenay		British Rail Western Region Exeter to Plymouth Line		Bow

Recent developments

The Dartmoor Railway proposed to restore the interchange at Yeoford, running passenger trains past North Tawton, where its line met First Great Western's Tarka Line ^{[ citation needed ]}. British American Railway Services, a new company created by Iowa Pacific Holdings of Chicago, became the new owner of the Dartmoor line on 4 September 2008 with the intention of developing freight, passenger and tourist services on the railway. ^[2]

Subsequently infrastructure ownership transferred to Network Rail and on 20 November 2021 regular passenger services between Exeter and Okehampton resumed, operated by Great Western Railway. ^[3] Crediton is the only intermediate stop on that service.

The original platforms at North Tawton station are several feet below track level, as the line through the former station site was raised some years ago, to increase the height of the adjacent road bridge when the road was upgraded.

References

1. Nock, O. S. (1965). The London & South Western Railway. London: Ian Allan Publishing. p. 48. ISBN   978-0711002678.
2. Heritage Railway issue 116 2 October 2008 page 18
3. "Trains restart on Dartmoor rail line after 49 years". BBC News . 20 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.

External links

• Dartmoor Railway Supporters' Association website
• North Tawton Community Website

50°47′04″N3°53′38″W / 50.7844°N 3.8939°W / 50.7844; -3.8939