Crediton railway station

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Crediton
National Rail
2011 at Crediton station - up side buildings.jpg
LocationCrediton, Mid Devon
England
Coordinates50°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 referenceSX840994
Managed byGreat Western Railway
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeCDI
ClassificationDfT category F1
History
Original companyExeter and Crediton Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and South Western Railway
Post-groupingSouthern Railway
Key dates
Opened12 May 1851
Passengers
2015/16Increase 55,112
2016/17Increase 58,390
2017/18Decrease 56,006
2018/19Increase 57,670
2019/20Increase 66,606
Listed Building – Grade II
FeatureCrediton Railway Station Main Range
Designated24 August 1989
Reference no.1197092[1]
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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 collects the single-line token at the signal box in 2016
Pre 1892 view of mixed gauge track

The station, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, was opened by the Exeter and Crediton Railway on 12 May 1851.[2] 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.[3] The signal box which controls the level crossing was put into use on 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.[3]

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.[4] 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.[citation needed] The creamery was sold in a management buyout in 2013 and now trades as Crediton Dairy Limited.

The goods yard closed on 4 December 1967.[3]

Description[]

The station complex comprises five Grade II listed buildings. The main range dating containing the ticket office constructed in Flemish-bond red brick with painted Bathstone dressings and a slate roof with gable ends from 1851 which may have been designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and built for the Exeter and Crediton Railway.[1] The timber-framed waiting rooms on the north platform which likely date from 1862 for the London and South Western Railway,[5] and a similar waiting room on the south platform.[6]

The plate girder station footbridge was erected in 1878[7] and the signal box probably dates from 1862.[8] Both of these were built by the London and South Western Railway

Stationmasters[]

  • Mr. Tamlins ca. 1852 ca. 1853
  • Charles Spencer ca. 1861
  • John Vickery 1864 - 1875[9]
  • George Vallance 1876
  • Thomas B. Taplin 1876 - 1882[10]
  • John Banks 1883 - 1912[11]
  • T. Johnson 1912[12] - ca. 1924
  • Alfred Ernest Hurst 1926 - 1931[13]
  • W.E. Jerrett 1932[14] - 1934[15]
  • Mr. Reeves
  • S. Tett ca. 1937 - 1944[16] (afterwards station master at Haslemere)

Services[]

Crediton is served by all trains between Barnstaple and Exeter St Davids, most of which continue to St James Park. In the summer of 2016 that was between 14 and 16 weekdays and 7 each way on Sundays. Until 8 September 2019 on summer Sundays there was an additional service from Exeter to Okehampton over the Dartmoor Railway provided with Devon County Council funding as part of the Dartmoor Sunday Rover network.[17]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Newton St Cyres   Great Western Railway
Tarka Line 		  Yeoford
  Future development  
Exeter St Davids   Great Western Railway
Dartmoor Line
 		  Okehampton

Community railway[]

Plaque to railway engineer Joseph Locke on the platform of Crediton station

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.[18] 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 (now Great Western Railway) painted the station in authentic LSWR colours.

Restoration of services to Okehampton[]

It was announced on 19 March 2021 that Okehampton station would reopen to regular services by the end of the year. This is to be funded as part of the Government's 'Restoring Your Railway' programme. The service is planned to be two-hourly between Okehampton and Exeter St Davids with some services extended to Exeter Central. The service will increase to hourly towards the end of 2022.[19]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Historic England, "Crediton Railway Station Main Range (1197092)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 12 July 2021
  2. ^ "Opening of the Exeter and Crediton Railway". North Devon Journal. England. 15 May 1851. Retrieved 14 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Nicholas, John (1992). The North Devon Line. Sparkford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86093-461-6.
  4. ^ Wills, Jimmy. "History of the Milk Marketing Board Crediton Depot covering the years 1965-2000". Devon Transport History. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  5. ^ Historic England, "Waiting rooms immediately east of Crediton Railway Station Main Range (1297292)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 12 July 2021
  6. ^ Historic England, "Waiting rooms immediately south west of Crediton Railway Station Main Range (1197093)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 12 July 2021
  7. ^ Historic England, "Footbridge immediately west of Crediton Railway Station Main Range (1209597)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 12 July 2021
  8. ^ Historic England, "Signal Box immediately west of Crediton Railway Station Main Range (1292537)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 12 July 2021
  9. ^ "Crediton". North Devon Journal. England. 29 April 1875. Retrieved 10 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ "Crediton". Express and Echo. England. 20 January 1882. Retrieved 10 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ "Retirement of the Stationmaster at Crediton". Western Times. England. 11 September 1912. Retrieved 10 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^ "1839-1920 Clerical Staff". London and South Western Railway: 666. 1839. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Presentation to Crediton Stationmaster". Exeter and Plymouth Gazette. England. 26 November 1931. Retrieved 10 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. ^ "New Stationmaster for Crediton". Exeter and Plymouth Gazette. England. 26 August 1932. Retrieved 10 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. ^ "Stationmaster's Death at Crediton". Exeter and Plymouth Gazette. England. 16 February 1934. Retrieved 10 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. ^ "Haslemere". West Sussex Gazette. England. 16 November 1944. Retrieved 10 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. ^ "Guide to train times: Exeter to Barnstaple (Tarka Line)" (PDF). Great Western Railway. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  18. ^ Wills, Dixe (12 May 2009). "Ten of the best railway cafes". Guardian. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  19. ^ "Dartmoor line rail services will be restored for first time in half a century". GOV.UK. Department for Transport. Retrieved 29 March 2021.

External links[]

  • [1] Video footage of Crediton Station 10 2016
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