Sampford Courtenay railway station

Infobox UK station


caption=The station in October 1969
name=Sampford Courtenay
manager= Closed
code =
locale=Sampford Courtenay
borough=West Devon, Devon
lowusage0405=
platforms=
years1=
events1=Opened
years2=5 June 1972
events2=Closed to passengers
years3=1997
events3=Re-opened by the Dartmoor Railway
years4=2008
events4=Dartmoor Railway services withdrawn following closure, Devon County Council Sunday service during Summer retained

Sampford Courtenay railway station was a railway station at Belstone Corner serving the nearby village of Sampford Courtenay in Devon.

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.Nock, O. S. (1965) "The London & South Western Railway." Pub. Ian Allan. London. P. 48.] 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.

Reopening

The Dartmoor Railway operated tourist passenger services from the station until April 2008, running to Okehampton and Meldon Quarry. This ceased to operate when the railway closed. 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. [ [http://www.dartmoorrailway.co.uk/newsevent.htm Dartmoor Railway, News & Events] ]

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. [Western Morning News, "£1.5m plan to expand moor railway", 8 June 2007, p. 34.] This is now unlikely unless a buyer for the railway is found.

British American Railway Services, a new company created by the Iowa Pacific 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."Heritage Railway," Pub. Heritage Railway Magazine. Issue 116, 2 October 2008 - 29 October 2008. P. 18.]

References

External links

* [http://www.friendsofdartmoorrailway.org/ Friends of Dartmoor Railway website]