Sampford Courtenay railway station
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| Sampford Courtenay | |||
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| The station in October 1969 | |||
| Location | |||
| Place | Sampford Courtenay | ||
| Local authority | West Devon, Devon | ||
| Operations | |||
| Managed by | Dartmoor Railway | ||
| Platforms in use | 1 | ||
| 5 June 1972 | Closed to passengers | ||
| 1997 | Re-opened by the Dartmoor Railway | ||
| 2008 | Closed and put up for sale | ||
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |||
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Sampford Courtenay railway station was a railway station at Belstone Corner serving the nearby village of Sampford Courtenay in Devon.
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[edit] History
The station was originally opened by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) as Okehampton Road when it formed the terminus and it was renamed as Belstone Corner when the line was extended to Okehampton in 1867, and later renamed again as Sampford Courtnay.[1] Services on the line were extended further west 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.
With the publication of the Beeching Report in 1963, the Exeter to Plymouth Line was cut back to Okehampton.
Bow, North Tawton, Sampford Courtenay and Okehampton lost their 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 survives to this day, although it is now operated by Aggregate Industries.
The station name is sometimes given as Sampford Courtney, but it is unclear as to whether it was ever officially spelt this way.
[edit] Reopening
The Dartmoor Railway operated tourist passenger services from the station until April 2008, running to Okehampton and Meldon Quarry. A Summer Sundays-only Dartmoor Rover service is worked from Exeter by First Great Western and is timetabled to link in with special bus services at Okehampton.[2]
[edit] Future options
The Dartmoor Railway was proposing to restore the interchange at Yeoford Junction where its line meets First Great Western's Tarka Line. The company was also looking to create a railhead at Okehampton which would serve the timber industry and thereby save 50,000 lorry journeys per year.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Nock, O. S. (1965) The London & South Western Railway. Pub. Ian Allan. London. P. 48.
- ^ Dartmoor Railway, News & Events
- ^ Western Morning News, "£1.5m plan to expand moor railway", 8 June 2007, p. 34.
[edit] External links
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