Sampford Courtenay railway station

Sampford Courtenay railway station is a railway station at Belstone Corner serving the nearby (1.6 miles) village of Sampford Courtenay in Devon. The village lies 3 minutes away by car or around 30 minutes by foot via the B3215. In 2018/19 it was the least used station in Devon and in the South West and the tenth least used station in Great Britain.[1]

Sampford Courtenay
The station in 2016
Location	Sampford Courtenay, West Devon England
Grid reference	SX626985
Managed by	Dartmoor Railway
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	SMC
Key dates
1867	Opened
5 June 1972	Closed to passengers by British Rail
2002	Re-opened by the Dartmoor Railway
2008	Dartmoor Railway services temporarily withdrawn during change of ownership, Devon County Council sponsored Sunday service during Summer retained
2009	Dartmoor Railway services reintroduced, Devon County Council Sunday service during Summer continued operated by Great Western Railway
8 September 2019	Dartmoor Railway service- last train ran
Passengers
2015/16	130
2016/17	144
2017/18	188
2018/19	186
2019/20	240
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The station in October 1969

The station was originally opened by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) as Okehampton Road when it formed the terminus and it was renamed as Belstone Corner when the line was extended to Okehampton in 1871,[2] and later renamed again as Sampford Courtenay.[3] Services on the line were extended further west to Lydford railway station with the inauguration of Meldon Viaduct in 1874. Constructed to rival the South Devon Railway route to Plymouth, the completion of the LSWR's own route to Plymouth saw this line become an important route with lines to Padstow and Bude as well as Plymouth. Boat trains carrying passengers from ocean liners calling at Stonehouse Pool, Plymouth and prestige services such as the Atlantic Coast Express and Devon Belle all used the route.

Sampford Courtenay in 1970

Following publication of the Beeching Report in 1963, the Exeter to Plymouth Line was cut back to Okehampton in 1968.

Bow, North Tawton, Sampford Courtenay and Okehampton lost their passenger services from 1972. The line survived, however, for the purposes of freight thanks to the activities of the British Rail ballast quarry at Meldon, three miles from Okehampton, which had an output of 300,000 tons per year. The quarry is not at present in operation and no freight originates from it. The quarry site is owned by Aggregate Industries.

The station name is sometimes given as Sampford Courtney, but it is unclear as to whether it was ever officially spelt this way.

Reopening

The Dartmoor Railway reopened the former up side platform at the station in 2002. The Exeter to Okehampton service, known to many as the 'Sunday Rover', is operated by Great Western Railway, thanks to financial support from Devon County Council . Four return services are operated by Great Western Railway from Exeter and all serve Sampford Courtenay. These trains are timetabled to link in with Dartmoor Rover bus services and Dartmoor Railway services at Okehampton. Occasional heritage passenger services operate from the station, running to Okehampton and Meldon Quarry.[4] Train services were suspended after the last train on Sunday 8 September 2019.

Preceding station	Heritage railways			Following station
Terminus		Dartmoor Railway		Okehampton
	National Rail
Crediton		Great Western Railway Dartmoor Line Summer Sundays only		Okehampton
	Proposed Heritage railways
Yeoford		Dartmoor Railway		Okehampton

Future options

Dartmoor Railway
miles Tarka Line to Exeter 0¾ Crediton   Salmon Pool level crossing 3¾ Yeoford served by Tarka Line trains only Coleford Junction Tarka Line to Barnstaple 8½ Bow 11¾ North Tawton 14½ Sampford Courtenay 18¼ Okehampton 20¼ Meldon Viaduct/ Meldon Quarry Meldon Viaduct London & South Western Rly and Exeter–Plymouth line to Padstow and Bude to Plymouth via Bere Alston

The Dartmoor Railway proposes to restore the interchange at Yeoford Junction where its line meets Great Western Railway's Tarka Line. The company is looking to create a railhead at Okehampton which would serve local industry and thereby save 50,000 lorry journeys per year.[5]

British American Railway Services Ltd, a new company created by Iowa Pacific Holdings of Chicago, became the new owner of the Dartmoor Railway on 4 September 2008. The company intended to develop freight, passenger and tourist services on the railway,[6] however the line was put up for sale in January 2020.

References

1. "Office of Rail and Road statistics".
2. Southern Region Record by R.H.Clark
3. Nock, O. S. (1965) The London & South Western Railway. Pub. Ian Allan. London. P. 48.
4. Dartmoor Railway, News & Events
5. Western Morning News, "£1.5m plan to expand moor railway", 8 June 2007, p. 34.
6. Heritage Railway, Pub. Heritage Railway Magazine. Issue 116, 2 October 2008 – 29 October 2008. P. 18.

External links

• Dartmoor Railway Supporters' Association website