train depots in north Devon?

[6026KingJohn]

A bigger problem with running extra trains to Barnstaple is the fact that there are only two passing loops on the branch (Crediton and Eggesford). Every train already crosses another at both loops. There are no other paths on the branch without increasing the number of crossing loops. Even on Sundays now that there are hourly trains.

 

[RPI]

The station for North Devon is Tiverton Parkway. The drive there from Barnstaple is straightforward and high speed throughout, all new road, about 45 minutes, about half the time the train takes to get to Exeter, plus going the right way for trains to Bristol or London. Barnstaple station is in an inconvenient location, on the wrong side of the river for the town (like Looe or Londonderry), and with a trivial town bus operation most people would need to get the car out to get there anyway; locals would say the station is in Sticklepath rather than Barnstaple. It's actually a sight more dogleg and non-intuitive to walk from there over the bridge into the town than was the case in the 1960s when I arrived there on the last trains from Taunton. Trains continuing to Ilfracombe stopped at the far more convenient Barnstaple Town station, having crossed the river, but that's all gone.

The link Road is hardly "high speed", its single carriageway a lot of the way and hilly, if stuck behind a caravan its anything but high speed, not to mention the numerous accidents along that road.
Also Barnstaple Station to the town isn't a bad walk as its all flat, well lit with a safe walkway, although the majority of traffic I seem to find does originate in Barnstaple with a lot of long distance travel

 

[RoseW]

Obviously Exeter isn't in 'North Devon' but GWR's depot facilities there have been significantly enhanced to support services across much of the county, including Barnstaple.

I'm now looking at Exeter, coming up with a list of potential places to live that are within the one hour catchment area, while hopefully also within one hour from Plymouth so I could have cross country as a second choice.

 

[allaction]

Blackpool North has full signalling, six platforms, a traincrew depot, extensive stabling sidings used overnight (but available during the day) with toilet tank emptying facilities and a washing plant. It may still have fuelling as well, though lots of the stabled trains are electric. Basically hardly comparable to Barnstaple, being at the end of a double track electrified secondary main line. Blackpool South, now, that's comparable. One train working, no sidings, single line, truncated remains of a longer route.

Blackpool North sounds absolutely divine.

It must be a dream come true to work at the station ☺️

 

[Kilopylae]

A bigger problem with running extra trains to Barnstaple is the fact that there are only two passing loops on the branch (Crediton and Eggesford). Every train already crosses another at both loops. There are no other paths on the branch without increasing the number of crossing loops. Even on Sundays now that there are hourly trains.

And even if the money appeared out of thin air to build a new passing loop and token hut on the Tarka Line (ha!) you would want to leave most spare paths for recovery. A leaf falls off a tree at the wrong angle and the Tarka Line is speed restricted or suspended for hours and at the moment the lack of recovery is more of an issue than increasing the number of trains. Trying to cram additional trains in there without other very costly infrastructure improvements would be unwise even with a new loop and token hut.

 

[BayPaul]

I'm still struggling to see the point of any of this - it seems to be going beyond the usual "solution to a problem that doesn't exist" to "not a solution, or a problem, and even if it was a solution then it still wouldn't work because of other issues -i.e. the passing loops". Barnstaple has a regular basicallly clockface (?) hourly service, that is about right for the line, that fully utilises all of the current infrastructure very efficiently. As far as I can tell this would be an awful lot of work, would only be useful to allow excursion trains for which there is probably no market for, and which would be unable to run between the service trains because all of the passing loops are used. If there was a desire to make Barnstaple half-hourly, then I could see the point of installing more loops, and making the Exeter - Newton St Cyres section double track rather than 2x single track to make that work, but even then, a single platform at Barnstaple would surely be adequate.