338:, the first to be so listed by the Department for the Environment. The signal box was closed in 1979, though after closure of the line to passengers, the loop through the station was removed and it only controlled the crossing gates and immediate signals. The crossing was replaced with automatic barriers in 1979. A railway strike in 1982, unexpectedly benefited the preservationists. They had wanted to carry out repairs to the box, but British Rail would have needed to charge £52 per day (equivalent to £232 in 2023) for a flagman to wave the two daily trains a day through the level crossing and past the signal box. The strike stopped traffic, and allowed the repairs to be carried out without incurring a penalty. The signal box was opened to the public in 1990, with just over 12,000 people visiting in the first eleven years. The trackbed through the station has been converted into the
37:
319:
Torrington, where most passenger trains terminated. In
January 1859, a steam train travelling south along the line derailed north of Instow station. The leading wheelset on the steam engine was defective, and caused the accident. Although the train had 30 passengers, no injuries were recorded. Most services on the line ran between Torrington and Barnstaple, or Exeter Central. In some years, longer trains extended to Eastleigh and Yeovil. The station regularly saw express traffic, such as the Atlantic Coast Express, a portion of which went to Torrington, but it did not stop at Instow.
323:
371:
In 1906, the timetable records all booked train movements, 19 in all, 16 of which carried passengers, some of which carried mail. One late morning train, which travelled northwards through the station, was shown as being an express passenger train to connect patrons to London
Waterloo. By 1910, the
330:
Passenger trains south of
Torrington were stopped in March 1965, and the line through Instow was closed to all passengers on 4 October 1965, though the last trains had run on the Saturday before (2 October); the station had stopped being staffed from the previous January. After closure to passenger
318:
trains. The company was amalgamated into the London and South
Western Railway on 1 January 1865. The station was 6 miles 33 chains (10.3 km) south-west of Barnstaple, 2 miles 10 chains (3.4 km) north of Bideford, and 7 miles 53 chains (12.3 km) north of
354:
Due to the mixture of gauges in the 1860s, the timetable listed the services separately according to the gauge and whether or not it was passenger only, mixed traffic, or goods only. A service of eight trains were shown as calling at Instow in 1863, with only one (labelled as a narrow goods), not
372:
through weekly services accounted for ten each way, however, Sunday services had been curtailed to one a day only. The 1922 timetable shows that services remained static at ten through the week, but no Sunday service. In 1924, (after the grouping, when services came under the
363:
and
Torrington. All trains were advertised as having first,second and third class carriages "without exception". The timetable for 1891 shows nine trains heading south through Instow, but only eight going north. Most were services between
942:
380:. During the war years, trains remained at the static number of ten per day each way, with a combination of short local trains between Barnstaple and Torrington, and some longer distance services which started and terminated in
295:
method. The station had two platforms as a passing loop on a single track railway, and a small siding on the south-western side, which handled mainly coal inwards, and sugar beet and timber outwards.
1302:
1297:
1292:
287:
The North Devon
Bideford Extension Railway was opened on 29 October 1855, however Instow was not opened until 2 November 1855. The station was located right on the water's edge of the
271:. Opened in November 1855, the station closed to passengers in 1965, but the line remained open for freight until 1982. The signal box has been preserved as a working attraction. The
291:, in the village of Instow. Engineering at the site included a substantial sea wall, and an 83-yard (76 m) tunnel just north of the station, which was built using a
107:
1031:
Bradshaw's August 1887 railway guide; a new edition of the August 1887 issue of
Bradshaw's General Railway and Steam Navigation Guide for Great Britain and Ireland
1106:
Bradshaw's April 1910 railway guide; a new edition of the April 1910 issue of
Bradshaw's General Railway and Steam Navigation Guide for Great Britain and Ireland
69:
1287:
1307:
710:
433:
698:
The
Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present
384:. Under British Rail, and the 1951 summer season, the station had twelve stopping trains, with other expresses passing through non-stop.
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Torridge rivers combined into one estuary, and the quay just to the west of the station, allowed travellers to catch ferries to
450:"View map: SS43 - B (includes: Braunton; Heanton Punchardon; Northam) - Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 maps of Great Britain, 1945-1969"
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342:. A proposal to reinstate the line between Bideford and Barnstaple, would see the return of trains through Instow. The
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between Monday and Saturday, with three on Sundays. Some of those originated at Exeter and split portions went on to
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and Torrington. Sunday working consisted of two services only, both in the late afternoon/early evening.
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being able to take passengers. Between 1874 and 1887, services consisted of nine services towards
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traffic, the line remained open for ball clay traffic from Meeth, which continued until 1982.
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The North Devon Line : the Exeter to Barnstable railway from inception to the present day
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Pritchard, Robert, ed. (December 2022). "Barnstaple–Bideford boost from GWR".
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aims to deliver an outline business case for the reinstatement by March 2023.
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428:(4 ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. p. 225.
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1944 Bradshaw's Guide for Great Britain and Ireland No. 1328: March, 1944
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Instow station and rail network on navigable 1946 Ordnance Survey map
256:
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The signal box, which was built in 1861, has been preserved as a
426:
Railway passenger stations in Great Britain : a chronology
553:
The Official Guide to the London and South Western Railway
1132:. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. 1985 . p. 144.
590:. No. 25116. Column E. 23 February 1865. p. 5.
405:. No. 22192. Column D. 23 October 1855. p. 5.
1108:. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. 1968 . p. 141.
926:, ed. (4 February 1982). "Cloud with a silver siding".
1033:. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. 1968 . p. 52.
970:"On your bike: our favourite cycle routes in England"
999:. No. 250. Sheffield: Platform 5. p. 14.
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586:"Railway Intelligence London and South Western".
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1298:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1855
1293:Former London and South Western Railway stations
847:"Instow Signal Box (Grade II) (1107599)"
298:The station fronted onto the place where the
275:used to go through the station on its way to
8:
401:"Railway Intelligence Bideford Extension".
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255:was a railway station in the village of
16:Disused railway station in Devon, England
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1210:Instow station on bidefordrailway.co.uk
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306:(on the other side of the estuary) and
668:"Disused Stations: Torrington Station"
555:. London: Cassell. 1894. p. 151.
705:: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 127.
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344:Atlantic Coast–Exeter Railway Project
7:
1130:Bradshaw's July 1922 railway guide
852:National Heritage List for England
746:. Midhurst: Middleton. p. 8.
14:
1288:Disused railway stations in Devon
279:, but it did not call at Instow.
1188:. Yeovil: Oxford Publishing Co.
202:London and South Western Railway
821:. Basingstoke: AA. p. 68.
1:
1308:Beeching closures in England
930:. No. 61149. p. 2.
622:"Bideford Extension Railway"
902:. Midhurst: Middleton. 30.
877:. Midhurst: Middleton. 31.
771:. Midhurst: Middleton. 28.
672:www.disused-stations.org.uk
531:. Midhurst: Middleton. 27.
481:. Midhurst: Middleton. 26.
465:Located at gridref SS474301
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1258:Bideford Extension Railway
900:Branch lines to Torrington
875:Branch lines to Torrington
769:Branch lines to Torrington
744:Branch lines to Torrington
529:Branch lines to Torrington
479:Branch lines to Torrington
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898:Mitchell, Victor (1994).
873:Mitchell, Victor (1994).
797:www.bidefordrailway.co.uk
767:Mitchell, Victor (1994).
742:Mitchell, Victor (1994).
527:Mitchell, Victor (1994).
477:Mitchell, Victor (1994).
326:Tarka Trail Tunnel Instow
310:. Originally laid with a
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227:
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160:2 November 1855
34:
817:Holland, Julian (2011).
336:grade II listed building
175:4 October 1965
41:Level crossing at Instow
1271:Line and station closed
1245:Line and station closed
1184:Nicholas, John (1992).
819:Steaming across Britain
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273:Atlantic Coast Express
253:Instow railway station
1253:North British Railway
629:railwaysarchive.co.uk
424:Quick, M. E. (2009).
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948:infoweb.newsbank.com
118:21 feet (6.4 m)
503:"Instow - The Quay"
269:North Devon Railway
191:North Devon Railway
81: /
47:General information
1235:Following station
1223:Preceding station
652:1951 July Bradshaw
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265:Bideford Extension
263:, England, on the
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1229:Disused railways
976:. 5 November 2021
712:978-1-85260-508-7
435:978-0-901461-57-5
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454:maps.nls.uk
382:Yeovil Town
340:Tarka Trail
312:broad gauge
261:North Devon
88: /
64:Coordinates
1282:Categories
1241:Fremington
1195:0860934616
980:2 November
954:2 November
858:2 November
802:2 November
677:2 November
634:2 November
512:2 November
459:2 November
388:References
361:Ilfracombe
357:Torrington
277:Torrington
179:1965-10-04
164:1855-11-02
73:51°02′56″N
1005:1475-9713
928:The Times
729:11956311M
703:Sparkford
596:0140-0460
588:The Times
411:0140-0460
403:The Times
378:Eastleigh
304:Appledore
123:Platforms
115:Elevation
76:4°10′44″W
1267:Bideford
721:60251199
561:25960440
350:Services
237:Location
108:SS474301
52:Location
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1178:Sources
283:History
267:of the
177: (
162: (
152:History
59:England
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257:Instow
215:(1923)
204:(1865)
193:(1855)
172:Closed
157:Opened
147:Closed
144:Status
131:Tracks
27:Instow
625:(PDF)
56:Devon
1190:ISBN
1134:ISBN
1110:ISBN
1035:ISBN
1001:ISSN
982:2022
956:2022
904:ISBN
879:ISBN
860:2022
823:ISBN
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773:ISBN
748:ISBN
717:OCLC
707:ISBN
679:2022
636:2022
592:ISSN
557:OCLC
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430:ISBN
407:ISSN
300:Taw
1284::
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1043:.
1007:.
984:.
958:.
912:.
887:.
862:.
831:.
806:.
781:.
756:.
731:.
681:.
638:.
598:.
563:.
541:.
516:.
491:.
438:.
413:.
181:)
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134:2
126:2
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