Whitstone and Bridgerule railway station
Whitstone and Bridgerule Mengwynn ha Ponsrowald | |
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Southern Railway Western Region of British Railways | |
Key dates | |
1 November 1898[1] | Opened |
3 October 1966[1] | Closed to passengers and goods |
Okehampton to Bude Line | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Whitstone and Bridgerule (
The station had been proposed for closure in the
History
The LSWR's branch line from
The Station
The line was single track, however a signal box with a passing loop was located here with sidings, a goods shed. The station had a ticket office and waiting room with a simple shelter on the second platform.[3]
The station was unaltered from the day it was built and in 1964 still had its LSWR enamel nameplate.[4]
The distance was 5 miles 8 chains (8.2 km) between Holsworthy and Whitstone and Bridgerule, for which passenger trains were allowed 8 minutes.[5]
Services
Passenger services were never very frequent. The pattern of services changed after the handover of the line to the Western Region of British Railways from 1 January 1963 when services became more local and the through-coaches to Waterloo were discontinued.[6] Bude had a local shuttle service to and from Okehampton for the final months of its existence.[6]
The Station today
The station itself is in private hands but still standing in an average state.
Incidents
On 7 September 1950 a tractor and trailer were struck at 5.29pm by a passenger train at the Hopworthy Farm level crossing between Holsworthy and Whitstone and Bridgerule, resulting in three dead from the trailer and the tractor driver thrown over a hedge and suffering only minor injuries. The dead were the mother, father, and sister of the driver. The driver mistakenly believed that this train had already gone past and the inquiry advised that the crossing be closed. No one on the train was injured.[5]
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
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Holsworthy | Bude Branch
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Bude |
References
- Notes
- Sources
- Butt, R (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1.
- Gammell, C.J. (1976). Southern Branch Lines 1955-1965. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-902888-76-5.
- Pryer, G.A.; Bowring, G.J. (1980). An Historical Survey of Selected Southern Stations: Volume One. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86093-016-5.