Lapford railway station

Lapford railway station is a rural station on the Tarka Line in Devon, England, serving the village of Lapford. It is served by trains between Barnstaple and Exeter.

Lapford
As it was in 2006
Location	Lapford, Mid Devon England
Coordinates	50.8575°N 3.8108°W
Grid reference	SS726079
Managed by	Great Western Railway
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	LAP
Classification	DfT category F2
History
Original company	North Devon Railway
Pre-grouping	London and South Western Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Key dates
Opened	1854
Passengers
2015/16	2,252
2016/17	2,262
2017/18	1,498
2018/19	1,316
2019/20	2,078
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

Lapford in 1913.

Lapford in 1969.

The station was opened by the North Devon Railway on 1 August 1854.[1] In its outset, it only had the one platform, and goods sidings including the Ambrosia milk-processing factory. After a time, a second (northbound) platform was added, but due to space constraints was sited on the other side of the A377 road bridge. A small booking office was located on the platform, but was only staffed during the few minutes prior to a train's arrival. In 1990, the goods yard was the destination of a weekly fertilizer train.[2] Although the second platform has been removed, the loop serving it was still in place but disused. By June 2012, the loop had been removed and the track "plain lined".

A bridge over a river to the south of the station shows that many structures were built to accommodate double track, but between Copplestone and Umberleigh the line has always been single track and those structures have never been used.

Services

Six trains a day in each direction stop at Lapford and four on Saturdays and Sundays on the Barnstaple to Exmouth. However it is a request stop – meaning that passengers alighting here must tell the conductor that they wish to do so, and those waiting to join must signal clearly to the driver as the train approaches. Trains connect with main line services at Exeter St Davids.

Community railway

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.

A pub at Lapford has been included in the Tarka Line rail ale trail.

References

1. Nicholas, John (1992). The North Devon Line. Sparkford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86093-461-6.
2. Mitchell, David (1994). British Railways Past and Present - Devon. Peterborough: Past and Present Publishing. ISBN 1-85895-058-9. p. 66