Tamar Valley Line

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Tamar Valley Line
Calstock Viaduct.jpg
Calstock viaduct
Overview
Owner Network Rail
Locale Cornwall and Devon
Termini
Service
Type Community railway
Operator(s) Great Western Railway
Technical
Line length14 miles (23 km)
Number of tracks Single track throughout
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Operating speed55 mph (89 km/h)
Route map
Tamar Valley Line.png
(Click to expand)

The Tamar Valley Line is a railway line from Plymouth, Devon, to Gunnislake, Cornwall, in England, also known as the Gunnislake branch line. The line follows the River Tamar for much of its route. Like all railway lines in Devon and Cornwall, it is unelectrified and all trains are diesel powered. The entire line is single track past St. Budeaux Junction.

Contents

History

The line from St Budeaux to Bere Alston was opened for passenger traffic on 2 June 1890 by the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway (PDSWJ) as part of their line from Lydford to Devonport, which in effect was an extension of the London and South Western Railway's main line from London Waterloo station to Lydford, enabling the LSWR to reach Plymouth independently of the Great Western Railway. [1] [ page needed ]

The branch to Gunnislake was opened by the PDSWJ on 2 March 1908. [2] [ page needed ]

The line was listed for closure in the Reshaping of British Railways Report but was kept open because the roads in the areas served were poor. [3]

Motive power

The line used former LSWR O2 Class tank engines as the main form of motive power for many years but in the 1950s newer LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T engines took over. By 1964 steam had been ousted from the line and DMUs had taken over, working as two-car sets.

Today services are operated by Great Western Railway using Class 150 diesel multiple units.

Route

Passing under the Royal Albert and Tamar bridges at St Budeaux Royal Albert Bridge 153382.jpg
Passing under the Royal Albert and Tamar bridges at St Budeaux

Communities served: Plymouth (including the suburbs of Devonport and St Budeaux) – Bere Ferrers – Bere Alston – Calstock – Gunnislake

The entire route is supervised from the signalling centre at Plymouth. Trains heading towards Gunnislake must collect the branch train staff from a secure cabinet on the platform at St Budeaux Victoria Road before proceeding as the line is operated on the one train working system with only a single unit allowed on the branch at a time. Conversely the staff has to be returned to the cabinet by the driver on the return journey before the unit can leave the branch and return to Plymouth. [4] This operation was shown in an episode of the Channel 5 documentary series "The Railway - First Great Western" in October 2013.

There is a small railway museum adjacent to Bere Ferrers railway station which includes a number of converted rail coaches available for holiday let. The station sign on the signal box uses the older spelling of 'Beer Ferrers'.

The section between Bere Ferrers and Calstock Viaduct is on the Bere peninsula, between river Tavy (crossed by the Tavy Bridge) and the river Tamar. The driver changes ends of the train at the old junction station of Bere Alston.

The most southerly road bridge across the Tamar in the Gunnislake area is the A390 road which makes the railway is the quickest way of getting into the city of Plymouth. The next crossing down river is the Tamar Bridge at Saltash.

Passenger volume

The overall number of passengers travelling on the Tamar Valley line has grown by over 50% since 2001. Gunnislake is the busiest station on the line. [5]

Station usage
Station name2002–032004–052005–062006–072007–082008–092009–102010–112011–122012–132013–142014–152015–162016–172017–182018–192019–202020–212021–222022–23
Devonport 18,79516,20218,57319,65517,45021,65221,67427,00627,75629,87831,86633,36839,74241,40445,49239,46443,04616,15030,86634,970
Dockyard 4,0705,0884,8955,3354,9245,2805,5245,4067,7167,4006,9706,3004,1604,7274,4324,40610,3684,0507,1548,960
Keyham 8,9576,3747,5947,9765,0505,6485,0166,3307,7086,5407,1006,9367,3389,1227,1887,5167,8083,3748,78613,530
St Budeaux Victoria Road 5,4515,8186,1465,2645,1935,6787,0266,9427,7807,9188,60610,33210,3768,0347,9689,3768,9283,4766,5168,098
Bere Ferrers 17,80812,86211,45910,82410,82411,58012,60614,37415,02015,72417,47216,85816,98216,00015,70416,10815,0264,41010,78611,258
Bere Alston 37,94429,55227,26326,86628,93632,45436,27241,66644,79242,12838,76237,08239,57040,97839,71040,25039,46212,05227,58831,090
Calstock 25,73924,02421,12323,47626,82531,16833,36833,19832,45630,34635,19033,70433,79435,34637,42637,83434,75810,53427,56631,616
Gunnislake 39,00937,19043,88543,67648,74749,07051,42450,21852,11652,10854,86454,35653,72854,51056,11860,39661,79021,41852,34050,572
Total 157,743137,110140,938143,072147,949162,530172,910185,140195,344192,042195,430198,936205,690210,121214,038215,350221,186
The annual passenger usage is based on sales of tickets in stated financial years from Office of Rail and Road estimates of station usage. The statistics are for passengers arriving and departing from each station and cover twelve-month periods that start in April. Methodology may vary year on year. Usage from the periods 2019-20 and especially 2020-21 onwards have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic

Community rail

The Tamar Valley Line is one of the railway lines supported by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, an organisation formed in 1991 to promote railway services in the area. The line is promoted by many means such as regular timetable and scenic line guides, as well as leaflets highlighting leisure opportunities such as walking or visiting country pubs.

The Tamar Valley rail ale trail was launched in 2004 to encourage rail travellers to visit pubs near the line. Seven are in Plymouth city centre and one in the suburb of Devonport. There are single pubs to visit at Bere Ferrers, Bere Alston and Calstock and four in Gunnislake. 10 stamps collected entitle the participant to claim special Tamar Valley Line Rail Trail souvenir merchandise. [6]

Wessex Trains covered Class 150 2-car DMU number 150240 in coloured pictures promoting the line and named The Tamar Kingfisher. It later saw service with Arriva Trains Wales.

The line was designated as a community rail line in September 2005, being one of seven pilots for the Department for Transport's Community Rail Development Strategy. This aims to establish the true costs and revenues for the line with an aim of improving them. It is also looking at simplifying the reversal of trains, considering the costs and benefits should the line be "microfranchised" separately from the Great Western Franchise, and the potential for extending the line from Bere Alston to Tavistock. [7]

On 18 March 2008, Devon County Council backed a proposal by developers Kilbride Community Rail to construct 750 houses in Tavistock that includes reopening the 5.5-mile (9 km) line from Bere Alston to a new Tavistock railway station, at a cost of £18.5million. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Tamar</span> River in southwest England

The Tamar is a river in south west England that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall. A part of the Tamar Valley is a World Heritage Site due to its historic mining activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bere Alston</span> Village in Devon, England

Bere Alston is a village in West Devon in the county of Devon in England. It forms part of the civil parish of Bere Ferrers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway</span> Former English railway company

The Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway (PD&SWJR) was an English railway company. It constructed a main line railway between Lydford and Devonport, in Devon, England, enabling the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) to reach Plymouth more conveniently than before.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Budeaux Victoria Road railway station</span> Railway station in Devon, England

St Budeaux Victoria Road railway station is a suburban station in St Budeaux, Plymouth, Devon, England. The station is managed and served by Great Western Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bere Ferrers railway station</span> Railway station in Devon, England

Bere Ferrers station on the Tamar Valley Line is situated near the village of Bere Ferrers in Devon, England. The station is on the former Southern main line between Exeter and Plymouth via Okehampton. It is currently operated by Great Western Railway (GWR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bere Alston railway station</span> Railway station in Devon, England

Bere Alston railway station serves the village of Bere Alston in Devon, England, 10+1⁄4 miles (16.5 km) north of Plymouth on the Tamar Valley Line to Gunnislake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calstock railway station</span> Railway station in Cornwall, England

Calstock railway station is an unstaffed railway station on the Tamar Valley Line serving the village of Calstock in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated at the north end of Calstock Viaduct which carries the railway at high level over the River Tamar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gunnislake railway station</span> Railway station in Cornwall, England

Gunnislake railway station serves the village of Gunnislake in Cornwall, England. There are also connecting buses from here to the town of Tavistock. However the station is located in or nearer to the villages of Drakewalls and Albaston. It is the northern terminus of the Tamar Valley Line from Plymouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gunnislake</span> Human settlement in England

Gunnislake is a large village in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the Tamar Valley approximately ten miles (16 km) north of Plymouth The first woman cabinet minister in the British Empire, Mary Ellen Smith, was born here in 1863.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Devon and Tavistock Railway</span> Railway line in England

The South Devon and Tavistock Railway linked Plymouth with Tavistock in Devon; it opened in 1859. It was extended by the Launceston and South Devon Railway to Launceston, in Cornwall in 1865. It was a broad gauge line but from 1876 also carried the standard gauge trains of the London and South Western Railway between Lydford and Plymouth: a third rail was provided, making a mixed gauge. In 1892 the whole line was converted to standard gauge only.

The East Cornwall Mineral Railway was a 1,067 mm gauge railway line, opened in 1872 to connect mines and quarries in the Callington and Gunnislake areas in east Cornwall, England, with shipping at Calstock on the River Tamar. The line included a rope-worked incline to descend to the quay at Calstock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornish Main Line</span> Railway line in Cornwall, England

The Cornish Main Line is a railway line in Cornwall and Devon in the United Kingdom. It runs from Penzance to Plymouth, crossing from Cornwall into Devon over the famous Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash.

<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.

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

Lydford railway station was a junction at Lydford between the Great Western Railway (GWR) and London and South Western Railway (LSWR) situated in a remote part of north-west Dartmoor in Devon, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railways in Plymouth</span> Overview of railways in Plymouth, Devon, England

The network of railways in Plymouth, Devon, England, was developed by companies affiliated to two competing railways, the Great Western Railway and the London and South Western Railway. At their height two main lines and three branch lines served 28 stations in the Plymouth area, but today just six stations remain in use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devonport Kings Road railway station</span> Disused railway station in Devon, England

Devonport Kings Road railway station was the London and South Western Railway station in Devonport, Devon, England. It opened in 1876 and closed in 1964. For the first 14 years it was a terminal station with trains to London departing eastwards, but from 1890 it became a through station with trains to London departing westwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Callington railway station</span> Disused railway station in Cornwall, England

Callington railway station was a railway station in the village of Kelly Bray, one mile (1.6 km) north of the centre of the small town of Callington, Cornwall. It was the terminus of a branch line from Bere Alston, built by the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway, but operated by the London and South Western Railway. The station closed in 1966. The Tamar Valley Line still operates services from Bere Alston, with services terminating at Gunnislake railway station, 5 miles (8 km) to the east of Callington.

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

Tavistock North was a railway station serving the town of Tavistock, operated by the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway, but forming part of the Exeter to Plymouth section of the London and South Western Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tavy Bridge</span> Bridge in Bere Ferrers

Tavy Bridge is a railway bridge across the mouth of the River Tavy just east of its confluence with the River Tamar. It was built by the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway, and the Tavy Bridge was constructed to carry the track over the Tavy Estuary and the adjoining mudflats. The bridge is a Grade II listed building, with both ends being listed separately.

Tavistock railway station is a proposed new station to serve Tavistock in Devon, England, in order to reinstate a rail connection between the town and Plymouth, about 13 miles (21 km) to the south.

References

  1. ↑ Cheesman, AJ (1967). The Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway. Blandford Forum: Oakwood Press.
  2. ↑ Crombleholme, Roger; Gibson, Bryan; Stickey, Douglas; Whetmath, CFD (1967). Callington Railways. Bracknell: Forge Books.
  3. ↑ Cook, Andrew (2013). 1963: That Was the Year That Was. The History Press. p. 35. ISBN   978-0-752-49231-5.
  4. ↑ Fenton, Mike (5 May 2017). "Branch line Focus: Rails to Gunnislake". The Railway Magazine. Mortons Media Group Ltd. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  5. ↑ "Station Usage". Rail Statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
  6. ↑ Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership (2006). Tamar Valley Line Rail Ale Trail.
  7. ↑ Department for Transport Rail Group (2005). Route prospectus for the … Looe Valley Line and … Tamar Valley Line.
  8. ↑ Harris, Nigel (2008). "Taking trains back to Tavistock". Rail. Bauer (590): 40–45.

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