Barnstaple Town railway station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Barnstaple Town was an intermediate station on the L&SWR line to Ilfracombe. The station replaced Barnstaple Quay, which opened in 1854, and renamed Barnstaple Town in 1886)) which had been located on the Junction side of the Commercial Road crossing, a short distance up-line. The total cost of rebuilding the station in its present location was about £6000, of which £2000 was contributed by the L&B.
Opened on 16 May 1898 to serve as the connection to the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (L&B), a narrow gauge line that ran through Exmoor from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth in North Devon, a distance by rail of almost 20 miles. Both lines came under Southern Railway ownership in 1923. The L&B closed in 1935. The main line closed, along with the station, in 1970.
In Southern days, this box controlled the L&B through to Pilton.
A small L&B museum occupied the box in the 1980s
When built in 1898, both lines were controlled by separate Signal Boxes, but rationalisation under Southern ownership saw the narrow gauge box downgraded to a ground-frame, with the former LSWR box taking over control of the narrow gauge line.
During the 1980s and early 1990s the the old LSWR signal box was operated as a small museum to the L&B.
Barnstaple Town station is at: grid reference SS55533321
| Preceding station |  Heritage railways |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | Lynton & Barnstaple Railway (1898-1935) |
Pilton (Goods Only) |
||
| Disused Railways | ||||
| Barnstaple Junction | L&SWR Ilfracombe Branch (1874-1970) |
Braunton | ||
 This article on a railway station in South West England is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
