Bow railway station, Devon

Infobox UK disused station
name = Bow


caption = Bow railway station in 1970
original = London and South Western Railway
pregroup = Southern Railway
code =
locale = Bow
borough = West Devon, Devon
platforms = 2
years = 1865
events = Opened
years1 = 5 June 1972
events1 = Closed to passengers

Bow railway station was a railway station serving the town of Bow and the hamlet of Nymet Tracy in Devon. Bow lies about 8 miles west of Crediton.

History

The station was originally opened by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1865.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 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 was proposing to restore the interchange at Yeoford Junction, running passenger trains past Bow, 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.]

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]