Northam railway station was a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

on the

Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway (B, WH & A, R) was a railway running in northwest Devon, England. It is unusual in that although it was built as a standard gauge line, it was not joined to the rest of the British railway netwo ...

north Devon North Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. North Devon Council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon District include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and Lynmouth ...

, close to

Appledore Appledore may refer to: Places England * Appledore, Kent ** Appledore (Kent) railway station * Appledore, Mid Devon, near Tiverton * Appledore, Torridge, North Devon, near Bideford U.S.A. * Appledore Island, off the coast of Maine In fiction * App ...

. The station served the village of Northam, Parish of Northam, a community within the

peninsula. It was from

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ''By ...

.Jenkins, Page 110

History

Northam station was the terminus of the line in 1901 prior to the extension to Appledore in 1908. The station stood a little way from the village of Northam. Many of the passengers were golfers on their way to the links on

Northam Burrows Northam () is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in Devon, England, lying north of Bideford. The civil parish also includes the villages of Westward Ho!, Appledore, Torridge, Appledore, West Appledore, Diddywell, Buckleigh and Silford ...

Infrastructure

Northam had one platform in length, with a shelter, on the down side of the line. It originally had a short run-around loop, a signal box and one semaphore signal, but with the completion of the extension to Appledore in 1908 it was reduced to a single line without sidings or signalling. A goods yard was provided at one time. The line, without gates, crossed Pimpley Road on the level before reaching the Richmond Road request halt.

Micro history

In January 1901 a one-carriage train ran from Bideford to Northam carrying a few friends of the railway's directors. Jack Shears, who lived at Northam, was one of the trackmen who worked to maintain the permanent way.Griffith, Page 43 No photographs appear to exist of Northam railway station.

References

;Notes ;Sources # Baxter, Julia & Jonathan (1980). ''The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore railway 1901-1917.'' Pub. Chard. . # Christie, Peter (1995). ''North Devon History''. The Lazarus Press. . # Garner, Rod (2008). ''The Bideford, Westward Ho! & Appledore Railway''. Pub. Kestrel Railway Books. . # Griffith, Roger (1969). ''The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway''. School project and personal communications. Bideford Museum. # Jenkins, Stanley C. (1993). ''The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway.'' Oxford : Oakwood Press. . # Stuckey, Douglas (1962). ''The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway 1901-1917.'' Pub. West Country Publications. {{refend Disused railway stations in Devon Former Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1901 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1917 Torridge District