What it Looks Like Today:   Bampton to Lower Lodfin Crossing

   Today's little adventure carried out by myself,Christine and my two youngest,was broken up into two trips.Firstly,we drove to Lower Lodfin Crossing and secondly,we walked down Frog Street in Bampton to a long forgotten bridge.

Lower Lodfin Crossing

 There were five level crossings on the Exe Valley Railway that had keepers living in adjacent cottages.It had always been the tradition for the wives of signalmen to run the crossings.The work was not too hard,but you had to be on call for anything up to 16 hours a day,which could cause problems with things like food shopping etc.,especially if your post was in a  remote and rural location. Although as a Crossing Keeper you were basically tied to the house,it did come rent free,so there were never any shortages of people wanting the job.

  When a train was coming,a bell would sound outside the keeper's cottage and the crossing keeper would close the gates to stop the road traffic.When the gates were shut,a signal would be sent to the train telling it that it was safe to pass.  

   The keeper's cottage at Lower Lodfin,is now a private residence,but there are still many clues as to its old use.Crossings had wooden signal boxes with windows looking down the line,so crossing keepers could view all coming trains.Lodfin's signal box is still there(see pics) and has been converted by the present owners into a sort of conservatory.

 

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News From Down the Line

newslogo44Every now and then when I talk to people and they hear of my interest in the Exe Valley Railway,they tell me little bits of information or recall an old memory.It always amazes me how even today,more than 50 years after it's closure,the fondness with which people remember the railway and how fresh the memories seem to be to them.

This little section of the website is to pass on to you these little "titbits" and any other small pieces of information that I have come across.

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- LATEST NEWS-

 

 

24/4/19These interesting pictures of Dulverton Station were sent in by Fred Gillard, who visited in about 1970 to take some pictures for a model railway project that he was building. The station buildings were bought by the Carnarvon Arms (now closed down) and used as staff and overflow guest accommodation,before being converted into residential housing. Thank you very much Fred for taking the time to share your pictures.

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Memories of the EVR

If you have any memories of the Exe Valley Railway that you would like to share with us,please get in contact with me and maybe we could publish them on our website.Likewise,if you have any photographs or film related to the railway that you would like to share,please contact me.   

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