Princetown railway station

Princetown
Location
Place	Princetown
Area	West Devon
Coordinates	50°32′37″N 3°59′45″W / 50.5435°N 3.9959°WCoordinates: 50°32′37″N 3°59′45″W / 50.5435°N 3.9959°W
Grid reference	SX5867273436
Operations
Original company	Princetown Railway
Pre-grouping	Princetown Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Platforms	1
History
11 August 1883[1]	Station opened
3 March 1956[2]	Station closed
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z
UK Railways portal

Princetown Railway
Locale West Devon Dates of operation 1883 – 1956 Successor Great Western Railway Track gauge 4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Length 10 ^1⁄2 miles (16.9 km)
Legend
Princetown Foggintor siding King Tor Halt Swell Tor siding Ingra Tor Halt Lowry Road Crossing Burrator & Sheepstor Halt Prowse's Crossing Dousland Yelverton South Devon and Tavistock Railway

Princetown railway station, opened in 1883 was the terminus of the 10.5 mile long single track branch line in Devon, England, running from Yelverton with eventually four intermediate stops, three being halts and one at Dousland as a fully fledged station.^[3]

History

The branch line was authorised in 1878 and opened on 11 August 1883. Yelverton was the junction for the line when the station opened, three other stations had been added to the line : Burrator and Sheepstor Halt in 1924, King Tor Halt in 1928, and Ingra Tor Halt in 1936.^[4] Much of the route followed the course of the old Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway.^[2] The freight traffic on the branch line included granite from the rail served quarries^[2] of Swelltor and Foggintor which were closed in 1906.

Owned by the Princetown Railway until 1 January 1922, the company then merged with the Great Western Railway (GWR). The line passed to British Railways (Western Region) in 1948 and closed on 3 March 1956.^[2]

The station had a single platform, a passing loop, goods yard, signal box, goods shed, an engine shed for two locomotives, a 180 foot long carriage shed and a turntable.^[5] The station buildings were all demolished soon after closure.

Much of the old track formation now forms the route of the Dousland to Princetown Railway Track.^[6][2]

Services

Preceding station	Disused railways			Following station
King Tor Halt Line and station closed		Great Western Railway Princetown Railway		Terminus

References

Notes

1. Butt, Page 191
2. Mitchell, Page 114
3. Plymouth History Retrieved : 2012-10-29
4. Atterbury, Page 34
5. Old Maps Retrieved : 2012-10-30
6. Railway Path Retrieved : 2012-10-29

Sources

• Atterbury, Paul (2006). Branch Line Britain: A Nostalgic Journey Celebrating a Golden Age. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0715324165. OCLC 70230042.
• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.
• Mitchell, David (1994). British Railways Past and Present - Devon. Wadenhoe: Past and Present. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1.

External links

• Line history
• Photos of the line today