An old railway carriage now occupies the station and is open as a visitors centre and cafe. The first bideford railway station was opened on 2 november 1855 as the terminus of. History of bideford town it was in the 16th century that a genuine attempt to establish the crossing as a monument of permanence was made. A hundred years ago today, the last trains ran on the bideford, westward ho.
List of british heritage and private railways simple. The bideford bridge trust held office until the west arch of the bridge collapsed 1968. This was taken over by the london and south western railway about ten years later. Bideford railway heritage centre manages the bideford station site and instow signal box, both of which are on the former railway line from barnstaple to bideford in north devon. It was rebuilt in stone and widened, thus taking on the shape which is now familiar today. The history of bideford, devon information britain. Bideford station tea on the train bideford railway. Walk back along the eastern bank of the river torridge, following the tarka trail cycleway along the old railway line. Barclays bank, 84 high street, bideford by barclays.
A local enthusiast built a narrow gauge line close to bideford starting near the new torridge bridge, that carries the a39 over the river torridge, and finishing near ashridge farm. The term north devon railway is often extended to include a number of other railways connected with that company, including the exeter and crediton railway which it leased, the bideford extension railway which it operated, and the london and south western railways later extension to torrington. The first railway was actually built to standard gauge the semarang solo yogyakarta corridor, but later lines were built to cape gauge size owing to economic feasibility. The first bideford railway station was opened on 2 november 1855 as the terminus of the bideford extension railway from barnstaple. These cash machines are near to bideford railway heritage centre attraction. Japanese railway history cape gauge roger farnworth. Eden valley railway heritage railway epping ongar railway. The derbyshire dales narrow gauge railway ddngr was a short, 2 ft 610 mm narrowgauge railway located at rowsley south at peak rail. The museum tells the story of rail transport in britain and its impact on society.
East kent railway heritage ecclesbourne valley railway. At the rear of the workhouse, on a portion of the garden the guardians have erected at a cost of 3,248 l. The ddngr was established by henry and mary framptonjones at rowsley south during the 1990s. Several sections of disused railway line have been utilised to create the trail. There is also a museum here and the bideford and instow railway run rides in a break van over the 350 yards of track which has been restored. The civil parish also includes the villages of westward ho. Admiral sir richard grenville, who fell in action with the spaniards in 1591, was a native. Route sections are marked out giving distance and gradient information. Massachusetts has paid tribute to its key position. Find the perfect places to go with your kids and get out on. Ashford steam centre was established by esmond lewisevans. Representing users of the barnstaple to exeter rail line. The plans for the oakamoor to alton towers track were put on hold, the old siding and goods yard at cheddleton were purchased, and workshops were created with the first locomotives. At portmore roundabout barnstaple, turn left, signposted for bideford and bude.
Bideford railway station bideford, devon train station. The train service on sundays will be discontinued after october 10th 1915 and resumed. Birmingham, north warwickshire and stratford on avon railway 28. Alternatively, why not explore some other sightseeing days out nearby, including museums and art galleries. It operated exindustrial diesel locomotives and carriages. Our historic railway parcels van at bideford contains a fabulous interpretation display, with beautiful information panels, a model railway and a hightech touchscreen interactive. It occupied the former engine shed that was located east of ashford railway station. Derwent valley light railway wikipedia republished wiki 2. Follow the a361 in a westerly direction for 36 miles about 40 minutes. This short section of the north devon coast exhibits the key characteristics of the seaside. Although it was constructed primarily as a freight line, passenger trains were introduced from 19, and during the first world war it was used as a diversionary route by the north eastern railway between york and selby.
You can also find food, drink, accommodation and activities along the way. Powers were obtained on 4 august 1853 and the line opened with matching broad gauge on 2 november 1855, worked from the outset by the. Bideford is situated on the a39, approximately 10 miles west of barnstaple. Use the search function to search by keyword, browse routes from the list below or filter by category and tags. A threetonne weight restriction was put in place in 2002 and devon county councils inspection of july 2007 revealed more problems with. A section of the trail is part of national cycle network route number 27 and forms part of the devon coast to coast cycle route, a 102mile route from ilfracombe, in the north, to plymouth, in the south, largely using former railway lines. Nov 17, 2019 large parts of devon and thousands of homes could be underwater by 2050, according to a new report. New maps show huge areas of devon underwater by 2050.
From bideford catch the bus to instow, a victorian seaside resort and one of the south wests most important training areas for the dday landings. Whilst the line to bideford was being completed the railway ran a coach service from barnstaple to instow and bideford. The railway was extended from fremington through instow to the original station at cross parks at east the water in bideford. Welcome to bideford railway heritage centre line history. Some of philips photos are on display in the old bideford railway carriage which is open for refreshments in the holiday season. Family history library catalog the following text is based on an article in wikipedia. This interactive map can be used to plan your visit. The lynton platform closed with the branch on 30th september 1935. History of the railway line from barnstaple to bideford. The south end of the railway, from wheldrake to cliffe common, was opened on 29 october 1912, with the remainder of the line opening on 19 july 19. The company is also responsible for instow signal box which opens on occasional sundays and bank holidays from easter to october.
After this event the department of transport took charge and modified parts of the bridge in the 1970s. But this north devon port by the river torridge has a rich and much older maritime heritage. The lswr became a constituent of the new southern railway when the big four were formed at the 1923 grouping of the countrys railways. Bideford extension railway when the north devon railway was opened to barnstaple the extension to bideford was already under construction and completed the next year. Thank you for your continued support in these difficult times. Current tarka line timetable from 15 december 2019 to 16 may 2020.
Media in category disused railway stations in devon the following 40 files are in this category, out of 40 total. This route was eventually extended to loop back to okehampton via torrington and halwill junction. It used to control the signals at instow station and also the operation of the level crossing. A railway for goods traffic was operated from fremington quay, opening in august 1848.
Interestingly bideford has two other time capsules. The workhouse in bideford, devon the history of the. The first effects in north devon were the increasing of capacity at barnstaple junction station, coupled with through trains from exeter being routed to ilfracombe rather than. Bideford is a historic port town on the estuary of the river torridge in the northwestern part of devon in southwest england.
Since our office and factory are in a rural area, our staff travel to work individually by car and we have enough space to maintain social distancing, so in consultation with our staff, we have decided to remain open for business unless government policy changes. This short line was the only standard gauge railway in britain not to be connected to the rest of the system and was the only railway company with an exclamation mark in its title. There are 14 bideford railway and transport attractions to pick from. The locomotives were fitted with skirts to protect pedestrians, as at one point the line ran along the quay. Oakwood press page 74 history six mile line opened bideford. The bideford railway heritage centre no 3832 youtube. You can see the wheel that operated the gates, pull the signal levers, one of which still operates a signal, and generally learn how the box worked. The north devon railway allowed the powers for its bideford extension to lapse seeing that this put their town at a disadvantage commercial interests in the town formed the bideford extension railway themselves. Philip has taken pictures of bideford railway station in 1976, 1993 and 2008. Blackburn, burnley, accrington and colne extension railway 31. Hi all, this is a route ive been making on rail simulator for a line that used to go past my house from 1901 to 1917. Here are a selection of local, historical, guide books in pdf format download size in brackets. The station buildings are privately owned and are currently empty awaiting a new use.
The line was constructed between 1911 and 1917 to serve the kent coalfields. The old bideford railway line now forms part of the 180 mile tarka trail. Instow has a famous railway signal box, which is over years old and was the uks first grade ii listed signal box. It was a single track narrow gauge railway just over 19 miles 30 km long, running through rugged rural countryside in exmoor national park.
A dynamic coastline explore the spectacular north devon coast around westward ho. The line, along with all the gwrs broad gauge lines, was converted to george stephensons narrow or standard gauge 4. But we need more hands and brains to help in this job, so if you have a few hours you. Bideford railway heritage centre bideford museum opening. The railway line is now part of the popular tarka trail and so the two sites provide points of interest to cyclists and walkers alike, as well as to the more general visitor. Trading town discover bidefords seafaring heritage the small but attractive town of bideford in north devon became famous in the victorian era as the little white town of charles kingsleys novel, westward ho.
Natwest bank, 86 high street, bideford by national westminsternatwest. It is unusual in that although it was built as a standard gauge 4 ft 8 1. It is managed by great western railway, which also operates the train service. This was taken over by the london and south western railway about ten years later this station was resited in 1872 when the line was extended to torrington. The national railway museum is a museum in york forming part of the science museum group. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant railway vehicles such as mallard, stirling single, duchess of hamilton and a japanese bullet train. Certainly, i know that the process to allow the spa valley railway to run alongside nrs track for a few hundred yards into a currently disused platform at eridge station, in kent, has been fairly convoluted and expensive.
Ashwater former station geograph3240610bybenbrooksbank. Recently, the station was included on the atoc connecting communities report in 2009, that recommends closed lines and stations that should have a railway station. Bideford railway heritage centre manages the bideford station site and instow signal box, which are both on the old railway line from barnstaple to bideford in north devon. Afaik the barnstaplebideford line was mentioned last year in atocs report on reopening parts of the network. On braunton sands is a lighthouse, with 2 fixed lights bideford seen at 11 and 14 miles. The history of the northeastern maritime region of north america has been dominated by the fishing industry, but it is significant that the cod gadus callarias linnaeus, the staple fish, has secured recognition only grudgingly as the basis of economic development. The bideford railway heritage centre cic previously the bideford and instow railway group in devon, england, is responsible for the management of the bideford station site. Bideford buzz a free community newsletter for bideford, northam, appledore, westward ho. The east kent railway ekr is a heritage railway in kent, england.
Beach, cliffs, spit, salt marsh, rocky foreshore, sand dunes. Barnstaple railway station is the northern terminus of the tarka line and serves the town of barnstaple, devon. See east kent light railway for details of the original lines. This station was resited in 1872 when the line was extended to torrington. An interactive map based on new sea level research shows that major conurbations in devon are. Travelling from other parts of the uk, take the m5, and exit at junction 27. The old railway line is now part of the popular tarka trail and so our two sites provide points of interest to cyclists and walkers alike, as well as to the more. Progress issue 10 the newsletter of tarka valley railway. Lynton and barnstaple railway simple english wikipedia. This was in various ways, a fascinatingly odd line in a picturesque. The port and town of bideford occupies a unique place in british railway history as the home of the bideford, westward ho. The new workhouse infirmary which the bideford board of guardians have built to take the place of the old buildings previously used for the accommodation of the sick poor was opened on the 2nd inst. The coast path ends at the site of bideford station.
A guide and list to a collection of historic railway documents. Facebook page of the bideford railway heritage centre. Its an indepth historical experience of life on the north devon railways come and see us. Reverted to barnstaple national rail uk railway stations. Believed to be the first bidefordian to qualify for the southern railway gold medal for long service, mr john henry sharley, 9 chudleigh avenue, bideford, completed fifty years railway service on february 28th. On 1 august 1854 the north devon railway opened from barnstaple to crediton.
Weve rounded up the best railway and transport attractions in bideford in our quest to discover brilliant family attractions and places to visit near you. Of modern growth, it takes its name from a famous novel by charles kingsley. Bideford railway heritage centre community interest company free company information from companies house including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return, officers, charges, business activity. Barnstaple to bideford explore the south west coast path. The term north devon railway is often extended to include a number of other railways connected with that company, including the exeter and crediton railway which it leased, the bideford extension railway which it operated, and the london and south western railway s later extension to torrington.
It is located at shepherdswell station on the london to dover priory direct mainline. Trains were extended via fremington to bideford on 2 november 1855. Sep 05, 2014 westward ho, a small seaside village in the barnstaple parliamentary division of devonshire, england, on the east of barnstaple bay, 2. Operated by the original south devon railway, this company was taken over by the great western railway in 1876. Although opened after the 1896 light railways act came into force, it was authorised and constructed prior to that act. History of bideford, in torridge and devon map and. Services suspended 2831917, locomotives requisitioned and track lifted. The shed, with its turntable, coaling stage and water tower had been built by the southern railway in 1931. Some of the coastal landforms here are particularly spectacular including a two.
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