Buckfastleigh railway station
Encyclopedia
Buckfastleigh railway station is situated on the South Devon Railway
South Devon Railway Trust
The South Devon Railway Trust is a charitable organisation that operates a heritage railway from Totnes to Buckfastleigh in Devon, alongside the River Dart...

, a heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...

 in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, England. It serves the town of Buckfastleigh
Buckfastleigh
Buckfastleigh is a small market town and civil parish in Devon, England situated beside the Devon Expressway at the edge of the Dartmoor National Park. It is part of Teignbridge District and, for ecclesiastical purposes lies within the Totnes Deanery. It has a population of 3,661...

.

History

The station was opened by the Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway
Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway
The Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway built the broad gauge railway line from Totnes to Buckfastleigh and Ashburton in Devon, England.-History:...

 on 1 May 1872. The railway was amalgamated
Consolidation (business)
Consolidation or amalgamation is the act of merging many things into one. In business, it often refers to the mergers and acquisitions of many smaller companies into much larger ones. In the context of financial accounting, consolidation refers to the aggregation of financial statements of a group...

 into the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...

 in 1897 and this in turn was nationalised into British Railways on 1 January 1948.

The station closed to passengers in November 1958 although goods traffic on the line continued until 7 September 1962.

It was re-opened as the Dart Valley Railway, a heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...

, on 5 April 1969. The South Devon Railway Trust
South Devon Railway Trust
The South Devon Railway Trust is a charitable organisation that operates a heritage railway from Totnes to Buckfastleigh in Devon, alongside the River Dart...

 took over the running of the line on 1 January 1991.

In 1971 Buckfastleigh became the terminus of the line when the route beyond the station was closed to allow improvements to the A38 road
A38 road
The A38, part of which is also known as the Devon Expressway, is a major A-class trunk road in England.The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, making it one of the longest A-roads in England. It was formerly known as the Leeds — Exeter Trunk Road,...

. Workshops have since been provided for restoring and repairing the locomotives and rolling stock used on the railway.

The goods shed
Goods shed
A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train.A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built alongside a track with possibly just a canopy over the door...

 has been converted to a railway museum and this is the home of Tiny the last remaining broad gauge
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...

 locomotive.

Services

The station is served by trains on all operating days of the South Devon Railway. Trains operate daily from late March to the end of October. On most days a single train set operates, providing four journeys a day in each direction. On busy days two train sets may operate, providing more journeys.

External links




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