Burrator and Sheepstor Halt railway station was located on the 10.5 mile long single track branch railway line in Devon, England, running from Yelverton to Princetown with eventually four intermediate stations.[1] The station was opened as Burrator Platform and became Burrator Halt when it was opened to the public, the name being changed again in 1929 to Burrator and Sheepstor Halt.[2]
Opened as Burrator Platform[2] on Monday 4 February 1924 the station at first only catered for workmen employed on the raising of the Burrator and Sheepstor Dams when Burrator Reservoir was enlarged.[3] This service consisted of a morning train that left Princetown at 6:27am for Dousland and Yelverton and then, after collecting workmen off the 6:20am from Millbay Station, left Yelverton Station at 6:58am, stopping at Burrator and Sheepstor Platform at 7:05am to set them down. On Mondays to Fridays the 4:05pm from Princetown called at Burrator at 4:30pm to pick up workmen for the homeward journey. On Saturday mornings the 12:25pm from Princetown called at 12:50pm to collect workers and the later train would then not stop.[3]
From Thursday 6 November 1924 the early morning trains ran only on Monday mornings. The 4:05pm from Princetown no longer called, but the return journey, the 4:55pm from Yelverton did. For the remainder of the week the 7:38am from Princetown conveyed the workmen to Burrator.[3] Burrator and Sheepstor Platform was opened to the general public as from Monday 18 May 1925 and was served by trains during daylight hours only.[2][3]
Its later traffic was almost entirely walkers and like Ingra Tor Halt it was retained in an attempt to counter competition from local bus services and encourage tourist traffic.[4]
History
The branch line was authorised in 1878 and opened on 11 August 1883. Yelverton was the junction for the line when the halt opened, three other stations had been added to the line in the 1920s, Ingra Tor Halt in 1936.[5] Much of the route followed the course of the old Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway.[4] King Tor Halt was opened almost on the site of the old Royal Oak Sidings.
The freight traffic on the branch line included granite from the rail served quarries[4] of Swelltor and Foggintor which were closed in 1906.
Owned by the Princetown Railway until 1 January 1922, the company then merged with the Great Western Railway (GWR). The line passed to British Railways (Western Region) in 1948 and closed on 3 March 1956.[4] The track was lifted in December 1956.[6]
Only the foundations of the station remain, together with the old steps up from the lane and a swing gate. Much of the old track formation now forms the route of the Dousland to Princetown Railway Track.[4]
^ abcdMoseley, Brian (December 2012). "Princetown Branch [GWR]". The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History. Plymouth Data. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
^Moseley, Brian (August 2012). "Princetown Branch [BR]". The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History. Plymouth Data. Archived from the original on 7 March 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford, Somerset: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN1-8526-0508-1. OCLC60251199.
Mitchell, David (1994). British Railways Past and Present – Devon. Wadenhoe, Northants: Past and Present. ISBN1-85895-058-9. OCLC54046803.
