North Tawton
North Tawton station in 1969
General information
LocationNorth Tawton, West Devon
England
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyDevon and Cornwall Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and South Western Railway
Post-groupingSouthern Railway
Key dates
1865Opened
5 June 1972Closed to passengers
Dartmoor Railway
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
18¼
 Okehampton Parkway
(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. 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.

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.

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. 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. p. 48. ISBN 978-0711002678.
  2. ↑ Heritage Railway magazine. Issue 116, 2–29 October 2008, p. 18.
  3. ↑ "Trains restart on Dartmoor rail line after 49 years". BBC News. 20 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.

50°47′04″N 3°53′38″W / 50.7844°N 3.8939°W / 50.7844; -3.8939

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