Feniton railway station

Feniton
Location
Place	Feniton
Local authority	East Devon
Coordinates	50°47′10″N 3°17′06″W / 50.786°N 3.285°WCoordinates: 50°47′10″N 3°17′06″W / 50.786°N 3.285°W
Grid reference	SY094993
Operations
Station code	FNT
Managed by	South West Trains
Number of platforms	1
DfT category	E
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2002/03	49,632
2004/05	57,541
2005/06	55,341
2006/07	59,872
2007/08	61,653
2008/09	66,644
2009/10	60,048
2010/11	64,490
2011/12	68,520
2012/13	66,958
2013/14	66,394
2014/15	70,534
History
Original company	London and South Western Railway
Pre-grouping	London and South Western Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
19 July 1860	Opened as Feniton
1 July 1861	Renamed Ottery and Sidmouth Road
February 1868	Renamed Feniton for Ottery St Mary
April 1868	Renamed Ottery Road
6 July 1874	Renamed Sidmouth Junction
6 March 1967	Closed
5 May 1971	Reopened as Feniton
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Feniton from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Feniton railway station serves the village of Feniton in Devon, England. It was opened by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1860 but is now operated by South West Trains which provides services on the West of England Main Line running from London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids.

It has been known by several different names, but from 1874 to 1967 it was Sidmouth Junction while it was the junction for branch lines to Sidmouth and through Budleigh Salterton to Exmouth.

History

Local railway lines

The station was designed by William Tite and was opened by the LSWR on 19 July 1860, along with its Exeter Extension from Yeovil Junction to Exeter Queen Street. It was named "Feniton" after the nearest village, but less than a year later it was renamed (on 1 July 1861) as "Ottery and Sidmouth Road". In February 1868 this was changed again to "Feniton for Ottery St Mary". On 6 July 1874 a branch line to Sidmouth was opened and the station changed its name once more to become "Sidmouth Junction", a name that it managed to retain for more than 90 years.^[1]

On 1 May 1897 a new line to Budleigh Salterton was opened and this was extended on 1 June 1903 to Exmouth. Although the junction for this line was at Tipton St John, Sidmouth Junction was the de facto junction as it was situated on the London main line. A third platform was provided to accommodate branch line trains; this was a terminal bay at the Yeovil end of the westbound platform. It was on this platform that the main two-storey building was situated.^[1]

A goods yard and goods shed was provided adjacent to the bay platform. This was closed on 6 September 1965. The following year saw the withdrawal of local stopping trains on the main line, but Sidmouth Junction remained open until 6 March 1967 when passenger services were withdrawn from the branch lines.^[1]

The station was however reopened by British Rail on 5 May 1971 as a result of local campaigning by the residents of the expanding village, assuming the original "Feniton" name. A ticket office was erected in 1974 as the original building had been demolished while the station was closed. The platform was rebuilt and lengthened in 1992^[1] but is still shorter than many of the trains that call.

Signalling

The station was built next to the level crossing of the Ottery Road which was operated by the station staff. A signal box was provided in 1875 at the east end of the station on the north side of the line, opposite goods yard. Because it was too far from the level crossing a small signal box was provided at that end of the station to control the level crossing. The main signal box was closed on 21 May 1967 but the level crossing box was retained. The line through the station reduced to just a single track on 11 June 1967. In 1974 the level crossing gates were replaced by lifting barriers; the level crossing box was abolished at the same time and the barriers are operated from a panel within the station building.^[2]

Description

The platform is on the south side of the line, east of the level crossing of Ottery Road. It is only long enough for 3 car trains^[3] so only the doors on the front unit are opened if the train is longer. The disused eastbound platform still stands but the goods yard site is now occupied by houses.^[1]

Services

South West Trains operate at least a service every two hours between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids.^[4]

See also

• Southern Railway routes west of Salisbury

References

1. Oakley, Mike (2007). Devon Railway Stations. Wimbourne: The Dovecote Press. ISBN 978-1-904349-55-6.
2. Phillips, Derek; Pryer, George (1997). The Salisbury to Exeter Line. Sparkford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86093-525-6.
3. Jacobs, Gerald (2005). Railway Track Diagrams Book 3: Western. Bradford-on-Avon: Trackmaps. ISBN 0-9549866-1-X.
4. "South West Trains Timetable 20: Exeter, Yeovil and Salisbury to Basingstoke, Woking and London Waterloo" (PDF). South West Trains. Retrieved 21 March 2016.

External links

• Subterranea Britannica site record for Sidmouth Junction station
• www.sidmouthjunction.co.uk