Go by train from Bideford - Westward Ho!

By lazydays | Tuesday, December 15, 2009, 07:34

Unfortunately the option of travelling by train from Bideford to Westward Ho! has long gone. Does anybody remember the line?

The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway (B, WH

& A, R) was most unusual amongst British railways in that although it

was built as a standard guage (4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm)) line. It was not

joined to the rest of the railway network, despite the London and South Western

Railway having a station at Bideford East-the-Water, just on the other side of

the river Torridge from the main town. The line was wholly situated on the

peninsula made up of Westward Ho!, Northam and Appledore with extensive sand

dunes by the Torridge and Taw estuary. The line opened in stages between 1901

and 1908, but closed in 1917, having been requisitioned by the War Office.

Re-opening the line after World War I was considered, but dismissed as a viable

option. It was the last standard-gauge

passenger railway to be built in Devon.

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Bring back the trains! I'd love to travel from Bideford to Torrington on a train - what a view!

By Nonnie_Mouse at 07:54 on 15/12/09
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The coaches could each carry about 60 people, with two or three on each seat. The maximum speed was about forty mph (60 km/h), however the streets section had a 4 mph (6.4 km/h) speed limit. Trains could run at around 30 mph (50 km/h) on many sections of the track, however winter storms could slow the trains to little more than a walking pace. Trains were usually two carriages length, except during the winter timetable when one was more than sufficient; however four carriage trains which could therefore carry as many as two hundred people were sometimes run. A large collar factory at the Strand, Bideford, was responsible for a lot of traffic in the mornings and evenings. In its first six months the line carried 8,552 passengers and in May 1901 consideration was given to purchasing more carriages. The total for 1901 had been 110,647. In August 1908, some of the trains were so well patronised that some passengers had to ride on the steps. Visits from the Devon Hussars Yeomanry to Westward Ho! for several weeks' encampment at Commons Farm added significantly to takings.

By lazydays at 07:41 on 15/12/09
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