Crediton railway station

Crediton
Location
Place	Crediton
Local authority	Mid Devon
Coordinates	50°46′59″N 3°38′49″W / 50.78318°N 3.64707°W / 50.78318; -3.64707Coordinates: 50°46′59″N 3°38′49″W / 50.78318°N 3.64707°W / 50.78318; -3.64707
Grid reference	SX840994
Operations
Station code	CDI
Managed by	First Great Western
Number of platforms	2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2002/03	21,607
2004/05	22,478
2005/06	22,550
2006/07	24,021
2007/08	27,422
2008/09	32,344
2009/10	36,784
2010/11	44,074
2011/12	48,978
2012/13	43,106
2013/14	50,342
History
Original company	Exeter and Crediton Railway
Pre-grouping	London and South Western Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Opened	1851
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Crediton from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Crediton railway station is a railway station serving the town of Crediton in Devon, England.

It is the current junction of the Tarka and Dartmoor lines, though the two lines run parallel until Coleford Junction (where the junction of the Barnstaple and Okehampton lines used to be) at Penstone near Coleford (west of Yeoford).

History

A train driver hands over the single-line token at the signal box in 2011

The station, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, was opened by the Exeter and Crediton Railway on 12 May 1851. The line to Barnstaple was then opened by the North Devon Railway on 1 August 1854. After 1 November 1865 additional London and South Western Railway trains ran through the station going towards Okehampton.^[1]

The signal box which controls the level crossing was put into use on the 2 June 1875, and the footbridge built in 1878. It now controls the entire Tarka Line from just north of the Cowley Bridge Junction with the Bristol to Exeter line, all the way to Barnstaple, although most of the line uses the No Signalman Token Remote (NSTR) system. Under this method of operation only a single train is allowed into each section, so not much signal control is actually required.^[1]

The creamery and dairy in Crediton is located next to the church, but the company's transport depot was located in Hoskin's Yard next to the station.^[2] Every day, a train of three or more Milk Tank Wagons would be filled from lorries, and then taken to London by either the GWR or the SR. Express Dairies sold the creamery and a similar unit in Kirkcudbright, Scotland in July 2002 to Milk Link, which by that time produced UHT milk.

The goods yard closed on 4 December 1967.^[1]

Services

Crediton is served by all trains on the Barnstaple to Exmouth service. They connect with main line services at Exeter St Davids.^[3]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Newton St Cyres		First Great Western Tarka Line		Yeoford
Exeter St Davids		First Great Western Dartmoor Line Summer Sundays only		Sampford Courtenay

Community railway

The railway between Exeter and Barnstaple is designated as a community railway and is supported by marketing provided by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership. The line is promoted under the Tarka Line name.

The main station building is the award-winning Tea Rooms. These appeared in a list of "highly commended" station cafes published in The Guardian in 2009.^[4] The tea rooms house a 0 gauge static model of the station in LSWR days and displays about the railway locally.

The Friends of Crediton Station actively promote the station and have been involved in schemes such as planting flower beds.

In 2007, working with the Friends of Crediton Station, First Great Western painted the station in authentic LSWR colours.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Crediton railway station.