Barnstaple Junction Devon 26th July 2015
The former Barnstaple Junction station from the rail side shows quite a different story. The fine Station Master's house, designed by Sir William Tite in 1854, still stands but the single track with buffer stop and cut-back platform awning is all that remains of the once extensive rail layout here.
The first line to Barnstaple was the 1854 North Devon broad gauge railway from Crediton. LSWR trains ran on to Fremington in 1863 and then to Bideford & Torrington from 1872. It became an important junction when the Ilfracombe branch (which ran behind the camera) opened in 1874 and a link to the line to Taunton was completed in 1887. The final development was the introduction of services through to Halwill Junction when the Torrington line was extended in 1925.
Closures in the 1960s and 70s decimated this complex of lines leaving just the original branch to Exeter with trains today, using just one platform of the original three. All the goods yards, sheds and sidings were closed to be replaced by the inevitable supermarket and retail park seen in the distance.
Barnstaple Junction Devon 26th July 2015
The former Barnstaple Junction station from the rail side shows quite a different story. The fine Station Master's house, designed by Sir William Tite in 1854, still stands but the single track with buffer stop and cut-back platform awning is all that remains of the once extensive rail layout here.
The first line to Barnstaple was the 1854 North Devon broad gauge railway from Crediton. LSWR trains ran on to Fremington in 1863 and then to Bideford & Torrington from 1872. It became an important junction when the Ilfracombe branch (which ran behind the camera) opened in 1874 and a link to the line to Taunton was completed in 1887. The final development was the introduction of services through to Halwill Junction when the Torrington line was extended in 1925.
Closures in the 1960s and 70s decimated this complex of lines leaving just the original branch to Exeter with trains today, using just one platform of the original three. All the goods yards, sheds and sidings were closed to be replaced by the inevitable supermarket and retail park seen in the distance.