Morebath Junction Halt was a

railway halt A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a Rail transport, railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passenger train, passengers, freight rail transport, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one r ...

near the junction of the

Devon and Somerset Railway The Devon and Somerset Railway (D&SR) was a cross-country line that connected Barnstaple in Devon, England, to the network of the Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) near Taunton. It was opened in stages between 1871 and 1873 and closed in 1966. ...

and

Exe Valley Railway The Exe Valley Railway was a branch line built by the Great Western Railway (GWR) in Devon, England, to link its Bristol to Exeter line with its Devon and Somerset Railway (D&SR), thereby connecting Exeter with (which is in Somerset). The li ...

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 ...

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...

Junction

The railway junction at

Morebath Morebath is an upland village in the county of Devon, England. It is mostly given over to sheep-farming, and situated on the southern edge of Exmoor. An account of life in Morebath in the 16th century can be read in ''The Voices of Morebath: Ref ...

was opened in 1884 to connect the newly built Tiverton and

North Devon Railway The North Devon Railway was a railway company which operated a line from Cowley Bridge Junction, near Exeter, to Bideford in Devon, England, later becoming part of the London and South Western Railway's system. Originally planned as a broad gaug ...

with the Devon and Somerset Railway that had been completed in 1873. The T&NDR became part of the Exe Valley Railway in 1885. 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 ...

operated the D&SR from the outset and took it over in 1901. Morebath Junction is the only location in Britain to have had a signalwoman in the 19th century.Wojtczak, 2005, page 11 Mrs Town was appointed in 1890, and in October 1913 ''

The Railway Magazine ''The Railway Magazine'' is a monthly British railway magazine, aimed at the railway enthusiast market, that has been published in London since July 1897. it was, for three years running, the railway magazine with the largest circulation in t ...

'' reported that she was "very proud" of her job after 23 years' service and hoped to continue indefinitely.

Halt

The GWR opened a halt near Morebath Junction in 1928. Trains on both lines called there, giving it a more frequent service than Morebath station on the Devon and Somerset line about to the east. Morebath Junction Halt was much nearer

village, but was accessible only by a footpath across fields. It's recorded that passengers walking to the halt stored their boots under the bench in the waiting hut, and retrieved them on their return for the walk home across the wet fields. The halt was a single platform and was designated as a halt throughout its working life. Trains on the Exe Valley line continued to terminate at , the next station to the west.

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

ways withdrew services from the Exe Valley line in 1963 and from the Devon and Somerset line in 1966.

Services

References

* *{{cite book , last=Wojtczak , first=Helena, title=Railwaywomen: Exploitation, Betrayal and Triumph in the Workplace , year=2005 , publisher=Hastings Press , location=Hastings , isbn=1-904109-04-7 , page=11 Disused railway stations in Devon Former Great Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1928 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1966 Beeching closures in England