north devon - time to get building!

Instow Signal Box 24.6.2012

 

'Tarka Trail' near Barnstaple 25.6.2012

We had a long weekend away in Barnstaple last weekend. The thing that strikes me most about North Devon is its terrible public transport. This should be a hotbed of railways, both Network routes and heritage lines. But apart from the Exeter-Barnstaple line and the Lynton and Barnstaple mile or so at Woody Bay the rest of the area is firmly stuck in the past.

But it should be so different. Why on earth was the Barnstaple-Taunton line ever closed? This provided a much quicker link to London and the Midlands. And how can Ilfracombe and Bideford seriously be off the rail network in 2012??

Fortunately the Torrington-Barnstaple-Ilfracombe route is protected, currently forming the 'Tarka Trail', so rebuilding of these routes should be straightforward. They will be needed soon enough! The Lynton and Barnstaple line is well organised and will gradually return, finally reaching Barnstaple (possibly tramway-style as at Porthmadog). I think it was the crazy loss of this line that launched the preservation movement worldwide, with a break for World War 2. As for the Taunton-Barnstaple - come on, get it open!

Near Instow 14.5.1985

I actually caught the last few days of the line as a physical entity back in 1985 when I took the above shot near Instow. A bit further along track was being lifted. Bideford needs to get back on the railway map soon - as a mixed S&D style modern/heritage route this would make millions!

Eggesford 30.8.1972

It's good that the Barnstaple-Exeter line is thriving, but it needs expresses, through trains and freight to realise its potential. People in Barnstaple are so desperate that they're trying to get stations closed to speed up the service, but this is a backwards step. Doubling and introducing a lot more trains would do the job far more effectively!

Watergate 24.6.1980

And back over Bideford way, south of Torrington, the line used to be a light railway, rejoining the network at Halwill Junction. The line closed to passengers in 1965 but there was a freight service over much of the route for a good while afterwards. Watergate was one of the tiny halts on this most rural of railways. Notice the ungated crossing and tiny platform. Will this route reopen? I suspect it will eventually, but the major routes need building first! This was a classic example of a line years ahead of its time, bringing modern transport to a very rural area, keeping costs down by being built using a light railway order. Parry People Movers would no doubt operate this route efficiently in the future. This line didn't even open until 1925, having an amazingly short life.