Bere Ferrers railway station

Bere Ferrers station on the Tamar Valley Line is situated near the village of Bere Ferrers in Devon, England. The station is on the former Southern main line between Exeter and Plymouth via Okehampton. It is currently operated by Great Western Railway (GWR).

Bere Ferrers
Former station building and signal box
Location
PlaceBere Ferrers
Local authorityWest Devon
Coordinates50.450°N 4.181°W / 50.450; -4.181
Grid referenceSX452635
Operations
Station codeBFE
Managed byGreat Western Railway
Number of platforms1
DfT categoryF2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 16,858
2015/16 16,982
2016/17 16,000
2017/18 15,704
2018/19 16,108
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Bere Ferrers from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

History
Bere Ferrers in 1964

The Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway opened the station on 2 June 1890 with its main line from Lydford to Devonport, which gave the London and South Western Railway a route into Plymouth that was independent of the Great Western Railway.[1][2]

The station was originally called Beer Ferris after the local Beer family who owned several nearby villages. However, in 1897, the railway authorities of the time decided that this name promoted an unrefined image of the village due to the association with beer, and therefore changed the name to Bere Ferrers. The original spelling can still be seen on the sign on the signal box in the heritage centre.

The station was host to a Southern Railway camping coach from 1936 to 1939.[3] A camping coach was also positioned here by the Southern Region from 1954 to 1959, and two coaches from 1960 to 1964.[4]

Through services from Lydford were withdrawn on 6 May 1968 and the line reduced to a single track on 7 September 1970.

1917 accident
Main article: Bere Ferrers rail accident

The station was the scene of a fatal railway accident on 24 September 1917. Ten soldiers from New Zealand were being transported from Plymouth to Salisbury following their arrival in Britain. At Bere Ferrers station they alighted from their troop train for a brief rest (on the wrong side of the train, between the tracks) and, being unaccustomed to British railways, were struck and killed by an oncoming express. The men are buried in a Plymouth war cemetery, and a plaque was unveiled in 2001 in their memory in the village centre.[5][6]

Services

Bere Ferrers is served by GWR trains on the Tamar Valley Line from Gunnislake to Plymouth. Connections with main line services can be made at Plymouth, although a small number of Tamar Valley services continue beyond Plymouth.[7]

Preceding station National Rail Following station
St Budeaux Victoria Road   Great Western Railway
Tamar Valley Line		   Bere Alston

Heritage Centre

The sidings alongside the station form the Tamar Belle Heritage Centre. This includes some old carriages which are used as a restaurant and as camping coaches.[8] The LSWR signal box was erected here in 1989/90 but was formerly at Pinhoe railway station on the outskirts of Exeter.

Community railway

The railway from Plymouth to Gunnislake is designated as a community railway and is supported by marketing provided by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership. The line is promoted under the "Tamar Valley Line" name.

The Olde Plough Inn takes part in the Tamar Valley Line rail ale trail, which is designed to promote the use of the line. The line is also part of the Dartmoor Sunday Rover network of integrated bus and rail routes.

gollark: Too late, the orbital laser satellites just locked targets.
gollark: Or, er, the stuff in it.
gollark: Please, if caffeine is a drug then so is cannabis.
gollark: Connecting to orbital lasers... please wait...
gollark: Oh, so it is for U N L E G A L D R U G S!

See also

References
  1. Quick 2019, p. 70.
  2. Grant 2017, p. 450.
  3. McRae 1997, p. 33.
  4. McRae 1998, p. 59.
  5. "Memorial Unveiled for Kiwi Soldiers". BBC Devon News. 2001. Retrieved 26 November 2007.
  6. "Bere Ferrers Station Accident-1917". Waymarking.com. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  7. Table 139 National Rail timetable, May 2016
  8. "Welcome to the Tamar Belle". Tamar Belle. Retrieved 30 October 2019.

Bibliography
  • Grant, Donald J. (2017). Directory of the Railway Companies of Great Britain (1st ed.). Kibworth Beauchamp, Leicestershire: Troubador Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-78803-768-6.
  • McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.
  • McRae, Andrew (1998). British Railways Camping Coach Holidays: A Tour of Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part Two). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-53-3.
  • Quick, Michael (2019) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (PDF) (5th ed.). Railway and Canal Historical Society.

Further reading
  • Cheesman, AJ (1967). The Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway. Blandford Forum: Oakwood Press.
  • Clinker, CR (1963). The Railways of Cornwall 1809 - 1963. Dawlish: David and Charles.
  • Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership (2006), Tamar Valley Line Rail Ale Trail
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