Working model commemorates 60th anniversary of Dulverton Railway Station closure

THE upcoming 60th anniversary of the closure of Dulverton Railway Station is being commemorated with residents and visitors encouraged to view a working model of the station.

Dulverton Station was built in Brushford, a mile and a half south of the town, by the Devon and Somerset Railway Company between 1870 and 1873.

It was the largest station on the line from Taunton to Barnstaple, but fell victim to what became known as Beeching’s Axe on October 6, 1966.

The railway had been well used over many years for passenger and freight traffic, and in its heyday carried 20,000 tons of goods and 25,000 passengers in a year.

The railway transformed the lives of Exmoor people, as, for the first time, they could travel from Dulverton to Taunton, Tiverton, Exeter, and even to London easily and quickly.

Many local students also travelled to schools in Taunton, and today past-pupils, including Keith Ross and John Atkins, have many tales to tell of what they got up to on the train.

After the station was closed the site was eventually purchased by the then-Carnarvon Arms Hotel proprietor.

For the next 25 years or so, many of the buildings initially stood empty, but the development value of the site became evident.

Today, many of the old railway structures have been removed, most of the original railway buildings have been converted into dwellings, a new house has been built, and the site has been transformed, taking on a different life.

A group of local enthusiasts keen to preserve the memory of Dulverton’s link with the railway later conceived a plan to recreate the station in model form with working trains.

With the vision and forethought of the dedicated volunteers, financial backing, and the fortuitous provision of a dedicated home provided by Dulverton Heritage Centre, the dream of creating a Dulverton Station Model Railway was realised.

The project started in 1996 and, although most of the layout was completed over the following 10 years, parts continued to be added, and, in reality, the work is still in progress today.

A spokesperson said: “The heritage centre is grateful for the hundreds of hours of support provided in the past and now in the present time by local volunteers, both in the model railway and in the main heritage centre.

“The model railway is enjoyed by visitors to the town and by local people who often reminisce about their experiences on the trains in the past.”

In 1884, the Tiverton and North Devon Railway added a line from a junction at Morebath, a few miles to the east of Dulverton, which ran along the Exe Valley, initially to Tiverton and then extended to Exeter.

Both of these and many other lines in the West of England and Wales were incorporated into the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1901, running with that branding until the formation of British Railways in 1947.

Dulverton’s model railway is open Monday to Saturday, and admission is free.

Opening hours can be found on the Dulverton Heritage Centre website.