Whimple railway station

Whimple railway station serves the village of Whimple in east Devon, England. It was opened by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1860 but is now operated by South Western Railway which provides services on the West of England Main Line. It is 163 miles 2 chains (262.4 km) down the line from London Waterloo.

Whimple
Seen from the east in 2016
Location
Place	Whimple
Local authority	East Devon
Coordinates	50.768°N 3.354°W / 50.768; -3.354
Grid reference	SY045973
Operations
Station code	WHM
Managed by	South Western Railway
Number of platforms	1
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	68,896
2015/16	68,448
2016/17	61,854
2017/18	59,538
2018/19	55,532
History
Original company	London and South Western Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
1860	Opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Whimple from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

History

The old station building

The station was opened by the LSWR on 19 July 1860, along with its Exeter Extension from Yeovil Junction to Exeter Queen Street. The station was situated to the east of the village and designed by the architect Sir William Tite. The main building was situated on the up platform and was two-storeys high to provide the station master with accommodation. The goods shed was nearby at the east end of the station, and a signal box was built opposite on the other platform in 1875. In 1892 Henry Whiteway established a cider factory on the north side of the station. This generated much of the goods traffic at the station; in the 1930s it was estimated that the factory was responsible for 30,000 tons of traffic each year.[1]

On 11 June 1967 all passenger trains were diverted to the down platform. The track through the northern platform was retained to serve Whiteway’s factory, but the signal box was closed and the train crew operated the points.[2] Public goods traffic was withdrawn on 4 December 1967 but Whiteways continued to handle rail traffic. The station became unstaffed on 5 October 1970.[1]

The Whiteways factory closed in 1989 and this allowed a redevelopment of the site. The goods shed was demolished in 1991 and houses were then built instead. The following year the original London bound platform was extended across the disused formation of the London bound track to meet the running line and was brought back into use. The other platform and the footbridge were then demolished.[1]

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Sidmouth Junction		London and South Western Railway Salisbury to Exeter		Broad Clyst

Description

The single platform has a simple metal and glass waiting shelter.[1] It is on the north side of the line so trains to Exeter travel to the right and those to London to the left.[3]

Services

South Western Railway operate at least a service every two hours between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids.[4] Due to the short platform at this station, passengers wishing to alight need to be in the front 3 coaches as the platform can only take 3-car trains.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Feniton or Honiton		South Western Railway West of England Main Line		Cranbrook

See also

• Southern Railway routes west of Salisbury

References

1. Oakley, Mike (2007). Devon Railway Stations. Wimbourne: The Dovecote Press. ISBN 978-1-904349-55-6.
2. Phillips, Derek; Pryer, George (1997). The Salisbury to Exeter Line. Sparkford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86093-525-6.
3. Jacobs, Gerald (2006). Railway Track Diagrams Book 3: Western. Bradford-on-Avon: Trackmaps. ISBN 0-9549866-1-X.
4. "Table 160: London to Salisbury and Exeter" (PDF). Electronic National Rail Timetable. Network Rail. December 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2009.