King Tor Halt railway station was located on the 10.5 mile long single track branch railway line in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England, running from to with four intermediate stations. It was opened with only a basic wood platform and shelter in connection with the adjacent granite quarry and the associated worker's houses. Its later traffic was entirely walkers and like Ingra Tor Halt it was retained in an attempt to counter competition from local bus services and encourage tourist traffic.Mitchell, Page 114

History

The branch line was authorised in 1878 and opened on 11 August 1883. was the junction for the line when the halt opened, three other stations had been added to the line in the 1920s, in 1924, in 1936. Much of the route followed the course of the old

Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway The Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway (P&DR) was a gauge railway built to improve the economy of moorland areas around Princetown in Devon, England. Independent carriers operated horse-drawn wagons and paid the company a toll. It opened in 1823, and ...

. King Tor Halt was opened almost on the site of the old Royal Oak Sidings. The freight traffic on the branch line included granite from the rail served quarries of Swelltor and Foggintor which were closed in 1906. Owned by the Princetown Railway until 1 January 1922, the company then merged with the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

(GWR). The line passed to British Railways (Western Region) in 1948 and closed on 3 March 1956. The track was lifted on 6 December 1956. Much of the old track formation now forms the route of the Dousland to Princetown Railway Track, and only the concrete base of the shelter at the halt remains.

Services

References

;Notes ;Sources * Atterbury, P. (2006) ''Branch Line Britain: A Nostalgic Journey Celebrating a Golden Age.'' Newton Abbot : David & Charles. * Butt, R. V. J. (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. . OCLC 60251199. * Mitchell, David (1994). ''British Railways Past and Present - Devon.'' Wadenhoe : Past and Present. .

External links

Princetown Branch 1923–48 (GWR) – The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History

– footpath and rough cycle track

{{DEFAULTSORT:King Tor Halt Railway Station Disused railway stations in Devon Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1928 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1956 Former Great Western Railway stations