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Originally promoted as the Taw Vale Railway, the North Devon Railway was a broad gauge railway that linked Crediton with Barnstaple, Devon, England. It opened on 1 August 1854 and was extended on 2 November 1855 as the Bideford Extension Railway to Bideford
It is a rare example of a broad gauge railway that did not become a part of the Great Western Railway, instead it was leased and then sold to of the London and South Western Railway. The line from Crediton to Barnstaple is still open and forms part of the scenic Tarka Line; the remainder is now a cycleway.
[edit] Chronology
- 1838 Taw Vale Railway and Dock Company established by Act of Parliament to link Fremington to Barnstaple
- 1846 Taw Vale Extension authorised to link Barnstaple with Crediton
- 1848 Fremingtom to Barnstaple opened for standard gauge goods traffic
- 1851 Name changed to North Devon Railway
- 1853 Bideford Extension Railway authorised from Fremington to Bideford
- 1854 Crediton to Fremington opened using broad gauge
- 1855 Bideford Extension Railway opened using broad gauge
- 1863 Leased to the London and South Western Railway
- 1863 Converted to mixed gauge, passenger services normally worked on standard gauge
- 1865 Okehampton Railway opened from Coleford Junction near Yeoford
- 1872 New station opened at Bideford to allow through working on new line to Torrington
- 1874 Ilfracombe Railway opens from Barnstaple
- 1877 Broad gauge abandonded
- 1887 Connection opened from Barnstaple to Great Western Railway's Victoria Road station
- 1923 London and South Western Railway amalgamted into the Southern Railway
- 1948 Southern Railway nationalised into British Railways
- 1965 Barnstaple to Torrington passenger trains withdrawn
- 1966 Trains to Taunton over Great Western Railway route withdrawn
- 1970 Ilfracombe line and connection to Victoria Road closed
- 1982 Line closed beyond Barnstaple
[edit] Stations
Fremington station in 1969.
- Bideford Extension Railway
[edit] Locomotives
2-4-0
Creedy at Barnstaple
Most of the locomotives were bought from the Bristol and Gloucester Railway, but a few were also built by Thomas Brassey at his Canada Works in Birkenhead. Brassey had a contract to operate the railway and the locomotives continued to operate on the line after the London and South Western Railway bought the line.
[edit] Bristol and Gloucester 2-2-2
- Previously Bristol and Gloucester Railway Berkeley, the new name was chosen for the River Barum.
- Previously Bristol and Gloucester Railway Bristol, but the River Exe follows the railway into Exeter.
- Previously Bristol and Gloucester Railway Stroud, the new name represents the local River Mole.
- Previously Bristol and Gloucester Railway Cheltenham.
- Previously Bristol and Gloucester Railway Gloucester, the locomotive was now named for the River Tite.
[edit] Bristol and Gloucester 2-4-0
- Previously Bristol and Gloucester Railway Industry.
[edit] Bristol and Gloucester 0-6-0
- Defiance (1857 - 1867)
- Dreadnought (1856 - 1863)
- Sold to Robert Sharp in 1863, it was moved to Cornwall where he was building the Falmouth extension of the Cornwall Railway.
[edit] Creedy
- Creedy worked the first train to Bideford on 2 November 1855. It was a 2-4-0 locomotive, built by Thomas Brassey in his workshops at Birkenhead. It was named after the local River Creedy.
[edit] Dart and Yeo
- Built in 1855 as a 2-2-2 but rebuilt in 1868 as a 2-4-0. It was named after the River Dart which gives its name to Dartmoor.
- These two 2-2-2 locomotives, like Creedy were built by Thomas Brassey in his workshops at Birkenhead. There are several River Yeos in England, indeed there are two in the area served by the railway, one flowing into the River Taw, the other into the River Creedy.
This locomotive was built by Robert Stephenson and Company before 1840 as a standard gauge 2-2-2 and rebuilt for the broad gauge in 1855 by Stothert and Slaughter. It was still running in 1859 but was not part of the stock listed for the London and South Western Railway in 1862. It was named after the River Taw that flows to the sea through Barnstaple.
[edit] References
- Garnsworthy, Paul (1992). "Creedy". Broadsheet 27: 4-12.
- Garnsworthy, Paul (1992). "Dart and Yeo". Broadsheet 28: 8-13.
- Garnsworthy, Paul (1993). "News from Canada". Broadsheet 30: 3-6.
- Garnsworthy, Paul (1999). "Bristol and Gloucester Railway Stothert & Slaughter Singles". Broadsheet 42: 7-17.
- Maggs, Colin (1992). The Bristol and Gloucester Railway. Headington: Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-435-0.
- Nicholas, John (1992). The North Devon Line. Sparkford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86093-461-6.
[edit] See also
