Place North Tawton Post-grouping Southern Railway 5 June 1972 Closed to passengers | Area West Devon 1865 Opened Platforms in use 2 | |
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Pre-grouping London and South Western Railway Original company Exeter to Plymouth railway of the LSWR Similar Bow (Devon) railway st, Lydford railway station, Sampford Courtenay railway st, Meldon Quarry railway st, Dartmoor Railway | ||
North Tawton railway station was a railway station serving the town of North Tawton in Devon, England. North Tawton lies on the River Taw.
Contents
History
The station was originally opened by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1865. 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 survives to this day, although it is now operated by Aggregate Industries.
Future options
The Dartmoor Railway is proposing to restore the interchange at Yeoford, running passenger trains past North Tawton, where its line meets 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. The company will develop freight, passenger and tourist services on the railway.