Devonport Kings Road railway station
Devonport Kings Road | |
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British Railways | |
Key dates | |
17 May 1876 | Opened |
26 September 1949 | Renamed Devonport Kings Road |
7 September 1964 | Closed |
Railways in the Plymouth area | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Devonport Kings Road railway station was the
History
The station was a large building facing Paradise Road near the junction with Kings Road. A tall tower was part of the main building which stood on the departure platform. The departure and arrival platforms and two sidings between were covered by two substantial train sheds with wide glazed arches at the end. The goods yard was situated to the south of the passenger station.[2][page needed]
A route independent of the Great Western was established on 1 June 1890 when the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway was opened from Lydford to Devonport. This route entered the station from the west through Devonport Park Tunnel and a bridge beneath Paradise Road. Now trains from London arrived from the opposite direction and so used the platform next to the main station offices. Trains then continued to North Road, Mutley and, eventually, the LSWR's new terminal at Plymouth Friary.
The train sheds were destroyed in the World War II Blitz but the station remained in use. New canopies were erected after the War but the tracks were left open to the elements.[2][page needed]
The "and Stonehouse" was dropped from the name quite early on, but from 26 September 1949 the station was known as Devonport Kings Road in order to distinguish it from the Western Region station at Devonport Albert Road.[2][page needed]
The station closed on 7 September 1964 when the remaining trains were diverted over the Western Region route to St Budeaux. Goods traffic continued until 7 March 1971. The station was demolished and the City College Plymouth has been built on the site. The approach road still drops down from Paradise Road and the wall is still topped by the LSWR's decorative railings, and the stone bridge still supports Paradise Road.[2][page needed]
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Albert Road Halt | London and South Western Railway – Exeter to Plymouth railway of the LSWR | Plymouth North Road | ||
Ocean Quay | London and South Western Railway – Stonehouse Pool branch | Terminus |
Ocean Quay
Ocean Quay | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Located at 50°21′54″N 4°10′02″W / 50.3650°N 4.1673°W
A 63 ch (1.3 km)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Ocean_Quay_station_LSWR.jpg/220px-Ocean_Quay_station_LSWR.jpg)
The GWR continued to hold the contract for carrying mail from the liners to London, but a number of the liner companies arranged for the LSWR to carry their passengers. This caused a race for the fastest train to London with fatal consequences. On 9 May 1904
The traffic never lived up to the LSWR's expectations so it closed Ocean Quay on 28 May 1910, after which all ocean traffic was handled by the GWR from Millbay Docks. The line remained open for freight traffic until 30 May 1970 although the last train had run in 1966.[2][page needed]
Signalling
The
A small signal box was installed at Ocean Quay in 1885 where it controlled the yard and the level crossing over Richmond Walk. It was taken out of use a couple of years after passenger trains ceased running.[6][page needed]
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 0-7153-6363-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-904349-55-6.
- ^ a b "Over-sea passenger traffic at Plymouth". Railway Magazine. May 1904. Retrieved 10 March 2017. (subscription required)
- ^ ISBN 0-906294-30-4.
- ^ Andrews, David (2008). "Special Experimental Tests – More Pieces of the City of Truro Puzzle". Backtrack. 22 (2). Pendragon Publishing: 116–121.
- ISBN 1-873228-18-X.
Further reading
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Cheeseman, AJ (1967). The Plymouth, Devonport & South Western Junction Railway. Blandford Forum: Oakwood Press.
- Leitch, Russell (2002). Plymouth's Railways in the 1930s. Peterborough: Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. ISBN 0-901115-91-6.
- Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1997). Branch Lines Around Plymouth. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-873793-98-7.
- Mosley, Brian (July 2006). "Devonport King's Road Station (PDSWJR)". Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History. Plymouth Data. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
- Pryer, GA. Signal Box Diagrams of the Great Western & Southern Railways, Volume 14: GWR Lines Plymouth and East Cornwall. Weymouth: GA Pryer. ISBN 0-9532460-5-1.
- Smith, Martin (1995). An Illustrated History of Plymouth's Railways. Caernarfon: Irwell Press. ISBN 1-871608-41-4.