Sampford Courtenay railway station is a disused

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 ...

Belstone Corner Belstone Corner is a hamlet (place), hamlet in West Devon in the England, English county of Devon, part of the civil parish of Sampford Courtenay. The Sampford Courtenay railway station, on the Exeter to Okehampton line, is at Belstone Corner a ...

, which used to serve the nearby (1.6 miles) village of

Sampford Courtenay Sampford Courtenay is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Devon in England, most famous for being the place where the Western Rebellion, otherwise known as the Prayerbook rebellion, first started, and where the rebels m ...

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 ...

. 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. In 2020-21 it was the joint least used station in Great Britain with zero passengers.

History

The station was originally opened by the

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...

(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, and later renamed again as Sampford Courtenay.Nock, O. S. (1965) ''The London & South Western Railway.'' Pub. Ian Allan. London. P. 48. Services on the line were extended further west to

Lydford railway station Lydford railway station was a junction at Lydford between the Great Western Railway (GWR) and London and South Western Railway (LSWR) situated in a remote part of north-west Dartmoor in Devon, England. History The station, known then as "Lidfo ...

with the inauguration of

Meldon Viaduct Meldon Viaduct carried the London & South Western Railway (LSWR) across the West Okement River at Meldon (near Okehampton) on Dartmoor in Devon, South West England. The truss bridge, which was constructed from wrought iron and cast iron not sto ...

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 Padstow (; kw, Lannwedhenek) is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately northwest of Wadebridge, ...

and

Bude Bude (; kw, Porthbud) is a seaside town in north east Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Bude-Stratton and at the mouth of the River Neet (also known locally as the River Strat). It was sometimes formerly known as Bude Haven.''Cornish ...

as well as

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

. Boat trains carrying passengers from ocean liners calling at Stonehouse Pool, Plymouth and prestige services such as the

Atlantic Coast Express The ''Atlantic Coast Express'' (''ACE'') is an express passenger train in England that has operated at various times between London and seaside resorts in the South West England. It is currently operated as a summer only service by Great Weste ...

and

Devon Belle The ''Devon Belle'' was a luxury express passenger train in England which ran between London Waterloo station and Ilfracombe and Plymouth in Devon in the years from 1947 to 1954. The train The Southern Railway was anxious to encourage the resum ...

all used the route. Following publication of the

Beeching Report Beeching is an English surname. Either a derivative of the old English ''bece'', ''bæce'' "stream", hence "dweller by the stream" or of the old English ''bece'' "beech-tree" hence "dweller by the beech tree".''Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames' ...

in 1963, the Exeter to Plymouth Line was cut back to

Okehampton Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is situated at the northern edge of Dartmoor, and had a population of 5,922 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards are based i ...

in 1968. ,

North Tawton North Tawton is a small town in Devon, England, situated on the river Taw. It is administered by West Devon Council. The population of the electoral ward at the census 2011 was 2,026. History Romans crossed the River Taw at what is now Newla ...

, Sampford Courtenay and

lost their passenger services from 1972. The line survived, however, for the purposes of freight thanks to the activities of the

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 ...

ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship, ...

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...

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 Aggregate Industries, a member of the Holcim Group, is a company based in the United Kingdom with headquarters at Bardon Hill, Coalville, Leicestershire. Aggregate Industries manufactures and supplies a range of heavy building materials, primari ...

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

Reopening

The

Dartmoor Railway The Dartmoor line is a railway line in Devon, England. From , the line runs alongside the Tarka Line to the site of the former Coleford Junction where it diverges west to . Previously a heritage line, it is owned by Network Rail. The route ...

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 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 ...

from Exeter and all serve Sampford Courtenay. These trains are timetabled to link in with Dartmoor Rover bus services and Dartmoor Railway services at

. Occasional heritage passenger services operate from the station, running to

and

Meldon Quarry Meldon Quarry is a granite quarry in Devon, England. It is at the northern edge of Dartmoor, about 2 miles SW of Okehampton. It was developed from 1897 to supply track ballast and other stone products for the London and South Western Railway (LSW ...

. Train services were suspended after the last train on Sunday 8 September 2019.

Future options

The Dartmoor Railway proposed to restore the interchange at Yeoford Junction where its line meets Great Western Railway's

Tarka Line The Tarka Line, also known as the North Devon Line, is a local railway line in Devon, England, linking the city of Exeter with the town of Barnstaple via a number of local villages, operated by Great Western Railway (GWR). The line opened in ...

. The company looked to create a railhead at Okehampton which would serve local industry and thereby save 50,000 lorry journeys per year.

British American Railway Services British American Railway Services (BARS) was a British locomotive and spot hire company. It was a subsidiary of Iowa Pacific Holdings. The company was established in 2008 to acquire the rail assets of Ealing Community Transport. BARS subsidiar ...

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,''Heritage Railway,'' Pub. Heritage Railway Magazine. Issue 116, 2 October 2008 – 29 October 2008. P. 18. however the line was put up for sale in January 2020 and purchased by Network Rail. The Dartmoor Line reopened for regular passenger services on 20 November 2021. However, Sampford Courtenay is not part of the scheme, and there are currently no plans to reopen the station. Instead, Network Rail is looking to open a station at Okehampton Parkway.

References

External links

Dartmoor Railway Supporters' Association website
{{coord, 50.76975, -3.94896, type:railwaystation_region:GB_source:npemap.org.uk-enwiki, display=title Railway stations in Devon Heritage railway stations in Devon Former London and South Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1867 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1972 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 2002 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 2019 Beeching closures in England Mid Devon District Disused railway stations in Devon