Meldon Quarry

Meldon Quarry is a granite quarry in the parish of Meldon, West Devon, England. Meldon Quarry railway station is a railway station which serves the quarry.

History

The station was originally constructed in the 1920s as Meldon Quarry Halt. It had no public access and functioned as a staff halt for quarry workers, their families and railway staff working at Meldon Quarry. The quarry originally had no metalled road access and some quarry workers and their families lived in cottages nearby. The halt was used by them for access to and from Okehampton. The halt was not shown in the public railway timetable and local passenger services only called by special arrangement. A workmen's service from Okehampton also operated during this time using a workmen's coach attached to one of the ballast trains. The platforms of the halt were constructed using standard components manufactured at the Exmouth Junction Concrete Works and the platforms were very narrow and short, about the same as as a single coach. They were situated at the east end of Meldon Viaduct between the viaduct and Meldon Quarry signal box.^[1]

The Beeching Report in 1963 recommended that the Exeter to Plymouth Line be cut back to Okehampton and when this was implemented the Halt became disused in 1968 on the closure of services between Okehampton and Bere Alston. It was later totally demolished during modifications to the rail layout and access at the western end of Meldon Quarry.

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 owned and operated by Aggregate Industries.

References

1. ^ Nicholas, John & Reeve, George (2001) The Okehampton Line. Clophill: Irwell Press ISBN 1-903266-13-0

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