Tower Hill 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 prep ...

that served a rural district being named after a local farm, near the

River Carey The River Carey is a small river in West Devon that is a tributary to the River Tamar.Neale, John (2010) "Discovering the River Tamar". Amberley Publishing. p. 45. Retrieved 14 October 2021. The Carey rises in the Halwill Moor Plantation 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. Devo ...

, England. It was located on the

North Cornwall Railway The North Cornwall Railway was a railway line running from Halwill in Devon to Padstow in Cornwall via Launceston, Camelford and Wadebridge, a distance of . Opened in the last decade of the nineteenth century, it was part of a drive by the Lon ...

southwest of Halwill

History

The ceremonial opening of this section of the line 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 ...

, was Tuesday, 20 July 1886, with public services commencing on the following day. The line arrived at Tower Hill the station name being taken from a nearby farm. Local people had favoured a station at Boldford, 1½ miles nearer to Launceston, whereas St. Giles on the Heath, ½ mile to the west, was the only village in the area chosen, having a population of 258 in 1901. The station was then absorbed by the Southern Railway during the

Grouping Grouping may refer to: * Muenchian grouping * Principles of grouping * Railways Act 1921, also known as Grouping Act, a reorganisation of the British railway system * Grouping (firearms), the pattern of multiple shots from a sidearm See also ...

of 1923. The Second World War was to bring a reversal of fortunes when in 1943 the loop was restored and extended by a further 150 yards to enable the servicing of U.S. ammunition dumps in the surrounding countryside. At the same time the signal box was moved from the Down platform to a position in front of the booking office on the Up platform. The station passed to the

Southern Region of British Railways The Southern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948 until 1992 when railways were re-privatised. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s. The region covered south London, southern England and the south ...

on nationalisation in 1948, and was subsequently closed by the

British Railways Board British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. The station was oil lit throughout its existence, services being withdrawn in February 1964. The signal box closed on 7 November 1965, from which date the from Halwill to Launceston was a single section. The gradual run-down in services during the 1960s saw Tower Hill reduced to an unstaffed halt, followed by complete closure on 3 October 1966.

Station layout

The original station layout was identical to Ashwater and was typical of all the stations on the North Cornwall line, with a substantial stationmaster's house, booking office and waiting room on the upside with both ladies' and gentlemen's toilets. From 16 June 1920, the down loop was taken out of use and the signalbox closed leaving the section as one of seven miles between Ashwater and Launceston. A ground frame was installed to operate the goods yard points, released by a key on the single line tablet. From 1928 the station came under the control of Launceston and in 1933 the goods siding was shortened.North Cornwall railway
Retrieved : 2012-10-18 In March 1943 two new sidings were laid and the headshunt lengthened considerably, the down loop was restored and a new signal box opened in the booking hall, extending out onto the up platform. The points to the goods yard were moved south allowing a 40 wagon train to be held in each loop and in the headshunt. Wartime traffic was mainly ammunition and by August 1944 almost all of this had gone to France. The yard was closed and removed in 1950, however the long crossing loop remained in use, particularly for the 1950s holiday traffic. In February 1964 the goods yard closed and was lifted the following year whilst the down loop was finally out of use, and the signalbox closed on 7 November 1965, creating a single section from Halwill to Launceston.

The site today

The station was completely demolished after closure and only the railway cottages survive. Today there is almost no trace of the station at Tower Hill. A row of LSWR cottages survives close to the site.

References

;Notes ;Sources * 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.

External links

North Cornwall Railway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tower Hill (Devon) Railway Station Disused railway stations in Devon Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1886 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1966 Beeching closures in England Former London and South Western Railway stations Torridge District