Burrator and Sheepstor Halt railway station

Burrator and Sheepstor Halt

The remains of Burrator and Sheepstor Halt
Location
Place Princetown
Area West Devon
Coordinates 50°29′37″N 4°02′45″W / 50.4935°N 4.0458°W / 50.4935; -4.0458Coordinates: 50°29′37″N 4°02′45″W / 50.4935°N 4.0458°W / 50.4935; -4.0458
Grid reference SX5498667972
Operations
Original company Great Western Railway
Post-grouping Great Western Railway
Platforms 1
History
4 February 1924 Station opens as Burrator Platform for workmen
18 May 1925 Station opened to the public as Burrator Halt
1929 Renamed Burrator and Sheepstor Halt
3 March 1956 Station closed to passengers
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 12 in (1,435 mm)
Length 10 12 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

Burrator and Sheepstor Halt railway station was located on the 10.5 mile long single track branch railway line in Devon, England, running from Yelverton to Princetown with eventually four intermediate stations.[1] The station was opened as Burrator Platform and became Burrator Halt when it was opened to the public, the name being changed again in 1929 to Burrator and Sheepstor Halt.[2]

Opened as Burrator Platform[2] on Monday 4 February 1924 the station at first only catered for workmen employed on the raising of the Burrator and Sheepstor Dams.[3] This service consisted of a morning train that left Princetown at 6.27am for Dousland and Yelverton and then, after collecting workmen off the 6.20am from Millbay Station, left Yelverton Station at 6.58am, stopping at Burrator and Sheepstor Platform at 7.05am to set them down. On Mondays to Fridays the 4.05pm from Princetown called at Burrator at 4.30pm to pick up workmen for the homeward journey. On Saturday mornings the 12.25pm from Princetown called at 12.50pm to collect workers and the later train would then not stop.[3]

From Thursday 6 November 1924 the early morning trains ran only on Monday mornings. The 4.05pm from Princetown no longer called, but the return journey, the 4.55pm from Yelverton did. For the remainder of the week the 7.38am from Princetown conveyed the workmen to Burrator.[3] Burrator and Sheepstor Platform was opened to the general public as from Monday 18 May 1925 and was served by trains during daylight hours only.[2][3]

Its later traffic was almost entirely walkers and like Ingra Tor Halt it was retained in an attempt to counter competition from local bus services and encourage tourist traffic.[4]

History

The branch line was authorised in 1878 and opened on 11 August 1883. Yelverton was the junction for the line when the halt opened, three other stations had been added to the line in the 1920s, Ingra Tor Halt in 1936.[5] Much of the route followed the course of the old Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway.[4] King Tor Halt was opened almost on the site of the old Royal Oak Sidings.

The freight traffic on the branch line included granite from the rail served quarries[4] 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.[4] The track was lifted in December 1956.[6]

Only the foundations of the station remain, together with the old steps up from the lane and a swing gate. Much of the old track formation now forms the route of the Dousland to Princetown Railway Track.[4]

Services

Preceding station Disused railways Following station
Dousland
Line and station closed
  Great Western Railway
Princetown Railway
  Ingra Tor Halt
Line and station closed

References

Notes
  1. Moseley, Brian (October 2011). "The Route, 1947 [GWR Princetown Branch]". The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History. Plymouth Data. Archived from the original on 23 August 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Butt, Page 135
  3. 1 2 3 4 Moseley, Brian (December 2012). "Princetown Branch [GWR]". The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History. Plymouth Data. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Mitchell, Page 114
  5. Atterbury, Page 34
  6. Moseley, Brian (August 2012). "Princetown Branch [BR]". The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History. Plymouth Data. Archived from the original on 7 March 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
Sources
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