Railway Construction
In 1871 the Devon and Cornwall Railway had reached Okehampton giving that town access to the eastern network via Exeter. In 1874 the company extended its line to Lydford (then spelt Lidford) to get access to the important city of Plymouth over the Great Western Railway line. A third rail was laid on that line, which had been broad gauge, to give the standard gauge trains access. The Devon and Cornwall Line was leased and operated by the L&SWR, but never owned by it.
On 20 January 1879 the L&SWR opened a new line diverging from the Lydford line at Meldon Junction, to Holsworthy. At that time Bude was a small harbour town, and although proposals had been put forward to run the branch to the town, the L&SWR evidently did not consider it important enough to justify the cost of running the line there. A coach service was operated from Holsworthy station to Bude, a distance of ten miles.
In the following 19 years, the importance of Bude rose as a regional centre, and the notion of seaside holidays had gained in importance. On 10 August 1898 the line was finally extended to Bude. The neighbouring inland town of Stratton was still considered by its residents to be more important, and according to Wroe the station at Bude stopped short of the town centre to appease Stratton. However there was a wharf siding line extending from near the station to a tidal harbour.
Read more about this topic: Okehampton To Bude Line
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