Princetown railway station

Princetown
General information
Location	Princetown, West Devon England
Coordinates	50°32′37″N3°59′45″W / 50.5435°N 3.9959°W / 50.5435; -3.9959
Grid reference	SX5867273436
Platforms	1
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Princetown Railway
Pre-grouping	Princetown Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Key dates
11 August 1883 [1]	Station opened
3 March 1956 [2]	Station closed

v t e Princetown Railway
Overview Locale West Devon Dates of operation 1883–1956 Successor Great Western Railway Technical Track gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Length 10+1⁄2 miles (16.9 km)
Legend
Princetown Foggintor siding King Tor Halt Swell Tor siding Ingra Tor Halt Lowry Road Crossing Burrator & Sheepstor Halt Prowse's Crossing Dousland Yelverton South Devon and Tavistock Railway

Princetown railway station, opened in 1883 was the terminus of the 10.5 mile long single track branch line in Devon, England, running from Yelverton with eventually four intermediate stops, three being halts and one at Dousland as a fully fledged station. ^[3]

History

The branch line was authorised in 1878 and opened on 11 August 1883. The station had a single platform, a passing loop, goods yard, signal box, goods shed, an engine shed for two locomotives, a 180 foot long carriage shed and a turntable. ^[4]

Yelverton was the junction for the line when the station opened, three other stations were later added to the line : Burrator and Sheepstor Halt in 1924, King Tor Halt in 1928, and Ingra Tor Halt in 1936. ^[5] Much of the route followed the course of the old Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway. ^[2] The freight traffic on the branch line included granite from the rail served quarries ^[2] of Swelltor and Foggintor which were closed in 1906.

The line was owned by the Princetown Railway until 1 January 1922, the company then merged with the Great Western Railway (GWR). ^[6]

The station was host to a GWR camp coach in 1934 and 1938. ^[7]

The line passed to British Railways (Western Region) in 1948 and closed on 3 March 1956. ^[2] The station buildings were all demolished soon after closure.

Much of the old track formation now forms the route of the Dousland to Princetown Railway Track. ^{[8] [2]}

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
King Tor Halt Line and station closed		Great Western Railway Princetown Railway		Terminus

References

Notes

1. Butt (1995), Page 191
2. Mitchell (1994), Page 114
3. "The Princetown Railway Company – 1883–1921". The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
4. "Princetown station on OS 25 inch map Devon CVI.12 (Lydford; Walkhampton)". National Library of Scotland. 1905. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
5. Atterbury (2006), Page 34
6. Grant (2017), Page 462
7. McRae (1997), Page 31
8. Railway Path Retrieved : 2012-10-29

Sources

• Atterbury, Paul (2006). Branch Line Britain: A Nostalgic Journey Celebrating a Golden Age. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN   978-0715324165. OCLC   70230042.
• Butt, R. V. J. (October 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   978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC   60251199. OL   11956311M.
• Grant, Donald J. (2017). Directory of the Railway Companies of Great Britain (1st ed.). Kibworth Beauchamp, Leicestershire: Troubador Publishing Ltd. ISBN   978-1-78803-768-6.
• McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. ISBN   1-870119-48-7.
• Mitchell, David (1994). British Railways Past and Present - Devon. Wadenhoe: Past and Present. ISBN   1-8526-0508-1.

External links

• The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History – GWR Branch 1922–47
• The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History – The Route in 1947
• The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History – BR Branch 1948–56
• Photographs of the line at the present day at