King Tor Halt railway station explained

King Tor Halt
Status:Disused
Borough:Princetown, West Devon
Country:England
Coordinates:50.5409°N -4.0261°W
Grid Name:Grid reference
Platforms:1
Original:Great Western Railway
Postgroup:Great Western Railway
Years:2 April 1928[1]
Events:Station opens
Years1:3 March 1956
Events1:Station closed to passengers

King Tor Halt railway station was located on the 10.5 mile long single track branch railway line in Devon, England, running from to with four intermediate stations.[2] It was opened with only a basic wood platform and shelter in connection with the adjacent granite quarry and the associated worker's houses. Its later traffic was entirely walkers and like Ingra Tor Halt it was retained in an attempt to counter competition from local bus services and encourage tourist traffic.[3]

History

The branch line was authorised in 1878 and opened on 11 August 1883. was the junction for the line when the halt opened, three other stations had been added to the line in the 1920s, in 1924, in 1936.[4] Much of the route followed the course of the old Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway.[3] 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[3] 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.[3] The track was lifted during winter of 1956/7.[5]

Much of the old track formation now forms the route of the Dousland to Princetown Railway Track,[3] and only the concrete base of the shelter at the halt remains.[3]

References

Notes
Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Butt, Page 135
  2. Web site: The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History . Plymouth Data . Moseley . Brian . The Route, 1947 [GWR Princetown Branch] ]. October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120823030036/http://www.plymouthdata.info/Railways-GWR%20Princetown%20Branch-Route%2C%201947.htm . 23 August 2012 . 14 February 2015 . dead .
  3. Mitchell, Page 114
  4. Atterbury, Page 34
  5. Web site: The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History. Plymouth Data. Moseley. Brian. Princetown Branch [BR]]. August 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20130307040308/http://www.plymouthdata.info/Railways-British%20Railways%20Princetown%20Branch.htm. 7 March 2013. 14 February 2015.