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TURNCHAPEL STATION

Created: 20 September 2011

Turnchapel Station was constructed for the London & South Western Railway as the terminus for passenger services on its Branch from Plymouth's Friary Station and was opened on July 1st 1897. The line continued to Turnchapel Wharves/Turnchapel Dockyard. [1]

The platform was 175 feet in length reached from Undercliffe Road by a steep flight of steps. The original station building contained only a booking office and waiting room. That building, along with the original LSWR signal box, were destroyed by blazing oil when the adjacent oil tanks caught fire on November 27th 1940. The replacement buildings, erected very quickly, were of concrete slab construction. [1]

A loop was available here for running around the train although for most of the life of the Branch the trains were operated on the push-pull basis. Just beyond the Station was access to two sidings owned initially by Messrs F J Moore Ltd but later by the Air Ministry. [1]

Turnchapel Station was closed to normal passenger traffic from September 10th 1951 and to freight traffic from October 2nd 1961. [2]

Sources:

[1] Kingdon, Anthony R, "The Turnchapel Branch", Oxford Publishing Company, Poole, Dorset, 1982.
[2] Clinker, C R, "Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods depots in England, Scotland & Wales, 1830-1980", AvonAnglia Publications & Services, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, 1988.