Bere Ferrers railway station

Infobox UK station


caption = Former station building and signal box
name = Bere Ferrers
manager = First Great Western
code = BFE
locale = Bere Ferrers
borough = West Devon
latitude = 50.4514
longitude = -4.18125
lowusage0203= 17,808
lowusage0405= 12,862
lowusage0506= 11,459
lowusage0607= 10,824
platforms=1

Bere Ferrers station on the Tamar Valley Line is situated near the village of Bere Ferrers in Devon. The station is on the former Southern main line between Exeter and Plymouth via Okehampton. The station is operated by First Great Western.

History

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.

The station was originally called Beer Ferris after the local Beer family who owned several nearby villages. However in 1898, 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 old signal box, which as of 2006 is being converted into a small railway museum. The signal box, while an LSWR original, is quite new to the site having been erected in 1989/90 – it was formerly at Pinhoe railway station on the outskirts of Exeter.

Through services from Lydford were withdrawn on 6 May 1968 and the line reduced to a single track on 7 September 1970.

1917 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 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. [Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/news/092001/26/kiwis.shtml|title=Memorial Unveiled for Kiwi Soldiers|accessdate=2007-11-26|publisher=BBC Devon News|year=2001]

ervices

Bere Ferrers is served by 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 to or from Exeter St Davids.

Trains only stop on request – this means that passengers alighting here must tell the conductor that they wish to do so, and those waiting to join must signal clearly to the driver as the train approaches.

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.

References

*
*
* Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership (2006), "Tamar Valley Line Rail Ale Trail"

External links

* [http://www.tamarbelle.co.uk/ The Tamar Belle] , a visitor centre based in the old station building.
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/news/092001/26/kiwis.shtml BBC News: "Memorial unveiled for Kiwi soldiers"]
* [http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~owend/interests/rail/stnpages/bereferrers.html Owen Dunn photos] of Bere Ferrers station and surrounding buildings