123 Okehampton to Friary

This is another refresher that the scout will do in stages, there being so much ground to cover.

All the loud trumpeting made the return of a regular train service to Okehampton seem like a miraculous achievement, but the truth was that a line which had never really become disused was simply reinstated, in large part as an exemplar for the “Restoring Your Railway”—or “Reversing Beeching”—diversion.

Okehampton was a terminus after it first opened but the line soon went on, reaching its furthest extent west at Padstow, on the North Cornwall coast, and south at Turnchapel, outside Plymouth.

Today, Okehampton is a terminus again but 100 miles of dismantled railway lie beyond. This mileage does not include the Plymouth lines serving the Southern’s former main stations, Devonport and Friary; Callington; and the humble N.D. & C.J.R. between Torrington and Halwill.

Mileages: Okehampton to Bere Alston, 22¾; Meldon Junction to Bude, 28¼; Halwill Junction to Padstow, 49¾. Total: 100¾ miles.

April, 2023: B.R. Totems given to the groups campaigning for their lines to be reinstated are exhibited on the Up platform.
All four stations could once have been reached by going in this direction.

In 2022, the scout followed the former main line to Coleford Junction and the old turnpike to Exeter.

The compactness of the town suggests a turn of the century view, but actually this was taken from above in 1932.
The station can be seen at centre right, with the line curving towards the south-west, past the military sidings and beneath Park Road, today’s Tors Road.
This is one of the photographs found in “Okehampton in ’88 and ’91.”
The dismal state of the former double main line in April, 2023. The rails were only visible in places when the scout rode this way in August, 2025.

Meldon Quarry

Quite by surprise and at first shrouded in a cloak of mystery, the quarry was reactivated in 2025 by Meldon Aggregates, Ltd., which firm has a lease from Aggregate Industries. The mobile plant and machinery brought in reminded those at Christow of what happened at Ryecroft Quarry in 2000.

Meldon Viaduct

The viaduct seen in April, 2023.
Cyclists often move as fast as the trains once did: there was always a 20 m.p.h. restriction. +
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Meldon Gorge in April, 2023. The dam is at centre. +
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Meldon Junction

These photos were taken in February, 2025.

Modern-day passengers, perhaps expecting to have a scenic journey between Exeter and Okehampton, often remark about the line being in a green tunnel for much of the way. Actually, the most majestic scenery was always enjoyed beyond Okehampton, where the line sweeps down from its summit at 950 feet on the slopes to the north and west of Dartmoor.

A cyclist knows that he is over the hump, once the highest point on the Southern system.

As if further to emasculate this highly engineered railway, the trail makers have included meanders, possibly to give the feel of a country lane.
Between Worting Junction and Devonport, the maximum persmissible speed for loco-hauled trains was 85 m.p.h. There were, of course, local restrictions.
The sun came out just as the scout stopped to look at St. Thomas à Becket’s Church in Sourton.

Lake Viaduct

It is not known whether this was the first view passengers once had of Brent Tor. +
Unlike others along the line, this hut on the approach to Bridestowe was boarded shut. The scout did not know until he developed the film what the flash had exposed, after he had poked the camera through a hole. If he’d seen the open window, he might have realized that this was home to bats.

Rattlebrook Peat

Bridestowe

Between Bridestowe and Lydford was one of the few lengths of line with no earthworks. This was probably eradicated by the farmer and the trail has been made along the original course.
The main line, seen at the top of the picture, with Lydford Viaduct at left, was still Southern-owned in 1947, but it would not be for much longer.
The castle and St. Petrock’s are obvious.
The old main line is right beside the road leading to Lydford Station, which was about a mile and a half from the Post Office in the village.

Lydford

The broad gauge Launceston Branch opened in 1865. The station buildings at the then Lidford were on the Up platform, used by trains going towards Plymouth.

In 1874, the terminus of the L. & S.W.R. line from Okehampton was built next to the earlier station. New buildings were erected on each side of the enlarged station and the original building became a waiting room on the island platform.

From old surveys, it appears that the new line took part of the G.W. goods yard and restricted access to the shed. This may have become a transfer shed for broad and standard gauge wagons.

In 1876, a connection was made between the two lines and the South Western exercised running powers by working its trains through to Devonport over a single, mixed gauge branch line. This was unsatisfactory and in 1890 a new double line between Lydford and Devonport was opened. It crossed the G.W. line at Wringworthy and served a new Tavistock Station.

There was no connection between the two standard gauge lines at Lydford until one was installed in 1943 as a wartime precaution. Three sidings were added between the two lines and another five beside the Southern line, from the survey, appear to block access to the station frontage.

Coordination and economy were achieved by the South Western taking over the station and erecting a joint signal box on the island platform.

The exposed western flank of Dartmoor saw heavy snow in harsh winters, with drifts blocking the railway. An old Relief Station Master told the scout of the time he got away from Lydford on the last train to get through. Others told of being marooned there. Snowdrifts were so deep that after the plough had cleared the lines on one occasion, two trains passed, each unseen by the other. Or so the story went.

The Launceston Branch closed to passengers in 1962 and the main line was closed between Meldon and Bere Alston in 1968.

Staff at Christow frequently dismiss claims that the British railway system was far too large and that there was much unnecessary provision. This charge should more properly be laid against roads, particularly the vast amount of space that has to be provided for vehicles not moving.

But, in the case of the Plymouth, Devonport & South Western Junction, which built the line from Lydford to Devonport, it has to be admitted that a more unified railway would have doubled the Launceston Branch between Wringworthy and Lydford, and would have had joint stations at Mary Tavy and Brentor. A junction would have been necessary at Wringworthy but there would have been one less bridge.

Brentor

Channel Four’s “Losing Track” chapter which shows Brentor and the war memorial in the village comes to mind.

As the scout took the road between Brentor and Mary Tavy, he thought that St. Michael’s would not have been seen from the train here, as the line is in the dip. +
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Mary Tavy

In this 1949 aerial view, the straight Station Road can be seen dropping down from the village and turning to cross the main line.
An Evans Transport lorry thunders along the A386 towards the junction of Station Road.
Few today wonder how it occurred that a high capacity, guided transport system, operating in its own highly-engineered reservation, fell into ruin and road haulage gained supremacy.
A 30 m.p.h. restriction applies through the village from just ahead, for about half a mile. Not long after he set off towards Okehampton, the scout saw an articulated lorry laden with huge concrete “Lego” blocks overtake a car towing a caravan.
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