Sampford Courtenay Station - June 06, 1983 - 11 years after closure

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jhluxton

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The station was originally opened by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) as Okehampton Road when it formed the terminus of the line from Exeter.

The station was renamed as Belstone Corner when the line was extended to Okehampton in 1867, and later renamed again as Sampford Courtenay after a nearby village. 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 and Bude as well as Plymouth. At the 1923 grouping the line became part of the Southern Railway and passed to British Railways Southern Region on Nationalisation in 1948. In the early 1960s the Southern lines in the west were transferred to the western region and a steady run down of services began.

Passenger services to Sampford Courtenay were withdrawn on June 05, 1972 along with the remaining train services to Okehampton. However, the railway survived with freight trains continuing to run to Okehampton and Meldon Quarry.

Following privatisation of British Railways, the Yeoford to Okehampton section of the former "Dartmoor Mainline" passed through several owners. The line is currently (2010) operated by British America Railway Services Ltd part of the Iowa Pacific Railroad Group.

Sampford Courtenay Station reopened in 2002 though it only boasts an upgraded up platform and new "Southern style" signage which serves the summer weekend services between Okehampton and Exeter and the Dartmoor Pony shuttle operated by British America Railway Services Dartmoor Railway subsidiary.

As can be seen in this photograph some maintenance was still in progress as a ganger's wheel barrow and some replacement sleepers can be seen (bottom left).

This convinced me that someone might turn up so a fuller investigation of the site was precluded.
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Sampford Courtenay station looking towards Exeter on June 06, 1983. The station had been closed for exactly 11 years and 1 day when I took this photograph.

Unfortunately the view taken on a damp and miserable day is slightly over exposed and I have had to tweak the transparancy image with photoshop and have included a fake blue sky borrowed from another picture!
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Peering through the broken window which can be seen in the previous photo revealed this poster board which has the remains of the last timetable and a poster advising of the local Area Manager's contact details. A previous poster in the form of a map obviously lay underneath - however, I can't quite identify the map! Presumably this poster board had been ripped off the exterior wall of the building an put inside after the station closed.
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Close up of the last timetable on the poster board dated 02 May 1971 "until further notice"
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Happily Sampford Courtenay Station was reopened in 2002. A limited weekend service is available in the summer season between Exeter and Okehampton operated by First Great Western whilst British American Railway Services Dartmoor Railway operate a shuttle service between Sampford Courtenay, Okehampton and Meldon on selected dates.

This is a view taken on December 27, 2009:

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John

John
 
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A thumper, I love those.
 

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