History
The station was designed by William Tite and was opened by the LSWR on 19 July 1860, along with its Exeter Extension from Yeovil Junction to Exeter Queen Street. It was named "Feniton" after the nearest village, but less than a year later it was renamed (on 1 July 1861) as "Ottery and Sidmouth Road". In February 1868 this was changed again to "Feniton for Ottery St Mary". On 6 July 1874 a branch line to Sidmouth was opened and the station changed its name once more to become "Sidmouth Junction", a name that it managed to retain for more than 90 years.
On 1 May 1897 a new line to Budleigh Salterton was opened and this was extended on 1 June 1903 to Exmouth. Although the junction for this line was at Tipton St John, Sidmouth Junction was the de facto junction as it was situated on the London main line. A third platform was provided to accommodate branch line trains; this was a terminal bay at the Yeovil end of the westbound platform. It was on this platform that the main two-storey building was situated.
A goods yard and goods shed was provided adjacent to the bay platform. This was closed on 6 September 1965. The following year saw the withdrawal of local stopping trains on the main line, but Sidmouth Junction remained open until 6 March 1967 when passenger services were withdrawn from the branch lines.
The station was however reopened on 5 May 1971 as a result of local campaigning by the residents of the expanding village, assuming the original "Feniton" name. A ticket office was erected in 1974 as the original building had been demolished while the station was closed. The platform was rebuilt and lengthened in 1992 but is still shorter than many of the trains that call.
| Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honiton | London and South Western Railway |
Whimple | ||
| Ottery St Mary | London and South Western Railway |
Terminus | ||
Read more about this topic: Feniton Railway Station
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