The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway (BWH&AR) was a railway running in north west Devon, England. It is unusual in that although it was built as a standard gauge line, it was not joined to the rest of the British railway network, despite the London and South Western Railway having a station at Bideford East-the-Water, just on the other side of the river Torridge from the main town. The line was wholly situated on the peninsula made up of Westward Ho!, Northam and Appledore with extensive sand dunes by the Torridge and Taw estuary.
The line opened in stages between 1901 and 1908, but closed in 1917, having been requisitioned by the War Office. Re-opening the line after World War I was considered, but dismissed as a viable option. The BWH&AR was the only railway company in the British Isles to have an exclamation mark in its company title.
Charles Kingsley wrote the novel Westward Ho!, which led to a tourist boom on the peninsula, followed by the construction of a new town called Westward Ho!. This is the only case of the publication of a novel that led to the construction of a town and then a railway to serve it. The Bideford Railway Heritage Centre at the old Bideford station has an interactive display covering the BWH&AR as well as some surviving artefacts.
History
Construction and opening A scheme for building this railway was suggested as early as 1860 with a bridge across the Torridge and stations at Northam, Appledore, Clovelly, Hartland and Bude. With the (29 & 30 Vict. c. ccxxiv) a start was actually made on a line to run to Appledore with a branch to Westward Ho!, however soon after a full 'first sod cutting ceremony' by the Earl of Iddesleigh, the contractors went bankrupt and the project was abandoned. A project to create a branch from Abbotsham Road Station to Clovelly had been put forward by Messrs. Molesworth and Taylor.
Finally the Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway was incorporated on 21 May 1896 by the (59 & 60 Vict. c. xviii), with its head office address at the Electrical Federation Offices in Kingsway, London WC2. Soon after the line passed to the British Electric Traction Company (BET). It was not until 24 April 1901 that the single track line was opened as far as Northam, although the first trial train ran with a few friends of the directors in January 1901. The first train, pulled by Grenville was played off by Herr Groop's German Band which had been hired for the season and it reached speeds of on its inaugural run. The remaining extension to Appledore finally opened in 1908, on 1 May, costing £10,000.
The railway was built in three sections, with the first being from Bideford at 1 furlong, 9 chains and 50 links (0.39 km), the second from the termination of the first, being to Westward Ho!, length , 3 furlongs, 9 chains and 50 links (7.23 km), and the third being from the termination of the second, to Appledore, length , 3 furlongs and 4.2 chains (3.91 km). The contract for construction was awarded to Charles Shadwell of Blackburn and the estimate was for £50,000. The initial outlay was £87,208, but Shadwell was removed from his post on 13 December 1901. A subsequent court action proved that he did 'wilfully default' and judgment was given against him in 1905 for £7,500. Plans had been made for a gauge track, however as it was hoped to connect the line with the L&SWR by a bridge over the Torridge, the line was built to standard gauge. Gradients were severe in places, with a 1 in 47 (112 ft/mi) on the Kenwith Castle to Abbotsham Road section.
The rails were delivered by boat to Bideford Quay by the SS Snipe in May 1898 and the sleepers also arrived at the quay, coming from West Hartlepool in September. Wood blocks were used on the quay, flush with the road surface to deaden the noise, as was the practice on roads with heavy horse and cart traffic in many places. The wood became very slippery and caused accidents in wet weather, the company not always being as careful with the application of sand and gravel as it should have been.
The company filled in and culverted the stream coming down from Kenwith Castle, creating reclaimed land and preventing the high tides flowing up to the castle. The council had designs on this 'new land' and complained that the railway did not skirt the edge to release the land for other purposes.
Operation of the railway The coaches could each carry about 60 people, with two or three on each seat. The maximum speed was about , however the streets section had a speed limit. Trains could run at around on many sections of the track, however winter storms could slow the trains to little more than a walking pace. Trains were usually two carriages length, except during the winter timetable when one was more than sufficient; however four carriage trains which could therefore carry as many as two hundred people were sometimes run. A large collar factory at the Strand, Bideford, was responsible for a lot of traffic in the mornings and evenings. In its first six months the line carried 8,552 passengers and in May 1901 consideration was given to purchasing more carriages. The total for 1901 had been 110,647. In August 1908, some of the trains were so well patronised that some passengers had to ride on the steps. Visits from the Devon Hussars Yeomanry to Westward Ho! for several weeks' encampment at Commons Farm added significantly to takings.
The passenger timetable The company made it very clear that published timetables were only to indicate the times before which a train would not depart and the specified times for each stop were only given as a rough guide. Trains normally made three regular and eight conditional stops, but 'expresses' did run which did not stop between Bideford and Westward Ho!. With two engines in steam the frequency could be every half-hour, but a train every hour or so was the norm in summer, normally taking about 20 minutes from Bideford to Northam or 15 minutes for the 'express'. Fifteen trains ran in each direction in the July 1906 Bideford to Northam timetable and lighter service of four ran on Sundays. The 1910 Bradshaw's Timetable shows trains taking 30 minutes for the journey from Bideford to Appledore, 10 trains in each direction, with an extra run on market days (Tuesdays and Saturdays) and no trains on Sundays. The winter timetable for 1 November 1917 to 30 April 1918, which was destined never to be used, was down to seven trains in each direction and no Sunday service. Horse-drawn buses ran from Westward Ho! to Clovelly and through tickets were issued from Instow to cover the journey by ferry, railway and road transport. The bus service cost £51 18s 0d (£51.90) to run for the six months ending 31 December 1906.
Passenger, parcel and baggage fares In 1905 the Bideford to Westward Ho! or Northam fare was 3d for first class single, 4d return and a third class single was 2d, 3d return. Dogs cost 3d each and bicycles 6d or 1s if not accompanied. Parcels were 1d up to , 3d up to and 4d up to . A third class from Bideford to Appledore cost 8d. Market day tickets for Tuesdays and Saturdays were only 6d and an augmented train service ran. Bathing returns could be purchased and books of tickets for 10 journeys cost 3s 4d. Company regulations covered every conceivable type of carriage, such as 1s for a bitch or a litter of puppies in a hamper or 2s 6d for a harp in or out of a case. Return tickets admitted the holder to the Great Nassau Baths at Westward Ho! for only 4d. Tickets were made of paper, with a combination of the names of the boarding and alighting points printed in a double column on either side of the value.
Stations, halts and track layout
Trains started from Bideford Quay on their scenic journey across the peninsula to the cliffs at Cornborough and Westward Ho!, then over the fields close to Northam Burrows, finally coming to the terminus at the port of Appledore, with its shipyards and maritime traditions.
The line was in length when fully opened in 1908. There were 11 stations and halts which largely served visitors wishing to enjoy the bracing air along the coastline, or to swim in the clear waters.
After Bideford (Quay) was a halt at Bideford (Strand Road) Halt, which was close to the yard containing the principal engine, carriage, and maintenance sheds. Chanter's Lane Halt or The Lane Halt was next, followed by The Causeway Halt, which had a two-storey traditional signal box built by order of the Board of Trade which had inspected the line a month after it opened. Following on from these were Kenwith Castle Halt, Abbotsham Road Station, Cornborough Cliffs Halt with its wooden platform, Westward Ho! Station, Beach Road Halt, Northam Station (Pimpley Road) with a platform and waiting room, Richmond Road Halt with a level crossing, platform and shelter, Lovers Lane Halt with a platform and finally Appledore Station, which lay close to the Anglican church.
The railway seems to have lacked stock-proof fencing in places, clearly indicated in a postcard of a scene near Chanter's Lane. Presumably the light railway order, low speeds and cow catchers on the locomotives made this unnecessary on some parts of the line. On the same postcard the railway is mistakenly called the Bideford, Chanter's Lane, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway. Substantial wood fencing is present at other sites in surviving photographs.
Bideford Quay Station and Strand Road Halt Bideford Quay had a coal siding and eventually a loop, but no platforms and therefore carriages were fitted with steps that reached almost to ground level. It had benches on the quay side, the manager's office, a booking office and a waiting room, with an exterior clock saying "Train leaves for Westward Ho!, Northam and Appledore". Bideford (Strand Road) had a signal hut.
Abbotsham Road Station
Abbotsham Road, previously named Mudcott, was in open countryside with Mudcott Road having a level crossing across it. It had a passing loop, two wooden platforms and what appears to have been a combined ticket office and signal box hut. It was well equipped for its remote setting and lack of obvious patronage.
Westward Ho! Station
Westward Ho!, the busiest station, had its own station master, Mr. MacLaughlan; it had two platforms, platform lighting, a passing loop, ticket office, an eight-lever signal box and a two-lever ground frame operated by Mr. Spry; a waiting room, refreshment room, bookstall, level crossing gates and a concert hall called the Station Hall. A siding ran to the Westward Ho! gas works. An early photograph shows Westward Ho! with only the signal box and a long unbroken fence running along the back of the platforms with no other buildings or lighting. The similarity in appearance and construction between the Westward Ho! and Appledore platform buildings suggests that they were both built at the same time, circa 1908.
In an effort to entice the public onto their trains and provide shelter during inclement weather, the company built a concert or reception hall on the 'up' platform at Westward Ho! in 1901 / 02; it was called the Station Hall. Performers such as the Jolly Dutch and clog dancers performed there. It was an expensive undertaking, costing £17 9s 7d in 1906, under the heading of "Services of minstrels" in the traffic expenses log. The building was well built and still stood in 1980 as a beer garden.
Appledore Station
Appledore had its own station master, Mr. H R Moody; a run-round loop, one platform, platform lighting, a ticket office, signal box hut and a small engine shed, a water tower, footbridge and a fuel store siding.
Locomotives