Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway
Bideford occupies a unique place in British railway history. This short line was the only standard gauge railway in Britain not to be connected to the rest of the system and was the only railway company with an exclamation mark in its title!
Opened in 1901 it ran down the centre of Bideford Quay, round the corner and up Kingsley Road to the engine and carriage sheds. The line then turned sharply west and headed up past Kenwith Castle to Cornborough Cliffs. From here the line turned right and followed the edge of the cliffs down and into Westward Ho!
Westward Ho! - Captain George Mill Frederick Molesworth, J.P, R.N. was keen to develop land into a fashionable resort. In 1863 the Northam Burrows (North Devon) Hotel & Villa Building Company was floated to erect grand hotels and villas.
A railway link was felt to be vital to encourage prospective residents, holidaymakers and visitors. The town was named “Westward Ho!” following the success of Charles Kingsley’s 1855 novel of that name. In 1896 the Bideford, Westward Ho! & Appledore Railway Act was passed.
The extension to Appledore was opened in 1908.
Problems - the timetable wasn’t designed to attract regular ‘commuter business’; travellers going on to Westward Ho! and Appledore had to carry luggage over Bideford bridge and transfer to the BWH&A line . But a cheaper and quicker alternative, a motorbus, was parked in the station yard.
In 1917 the War Office in 1917 commandeered the track and locomotives for war service and so the track was taken up, locomotives shipped out and the rolling stock laid up. Two of the locomotives fell victim to enemy torpedoes and reputedly still lie at the bottom of the Bristol Channel.
What is left?
The first, and largest reminder of the railway, is Heards coach garage on Kingsley Road. This is the old railway carriage shed. Track bed can still be seen on the walk from Seafield House at Westward Ho! up along the cliff top towards Cornborough. At Appledore there is a reminder of the railway in the form of a recently erected ceramic mural which is fixed to the remaining part of the back wall of the station building in Torridge Road.
Author - Rod Garner 2009
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Bideford's Railway