History
The station was opened by the North Devon Railway on 1 August 1854. On 1 November 1865 the first section of the Okehampton Railway opened, joining the main line at Coleford Junction, a short distance north of Yeoford. This route was part of the London and South Western Railway main line between Exeter and Plymouth, and was the main junction of the LSWR's Plymouth and Barnstaple routes (being called Yeoford Junction for some time), but this lost its through trains beyond Okehampton in May 1968 and closed to passengers in 1972.
Passenger trains have since been restored to the Okehampton line, but they only operate on summer Sundays and do not call at Yeoford. The two tracks passing through the station are actually independent single lines, with the one running through the disused (former northbound) platform used for Okehampton line trains, including stone traffic from the Aggregate Industries quarry at Meldon. The Tarka Line trains utilise what used to be the Exeter (southbound) platform in both directions, with the two lines connecting further south at Crediton.
The station has been used by many operators, but recently, over the last decade by Wales & West, a regional West Country and south Wales train operator, which in 2001 divided into Wessex Trains and Wales & Borders. Since then, Yeoford has been served by Wessex Trains and more recently by the Greater Western franchise, owned and operated by First Group and now known as First Great Western.
Read more about this topic: Yeoford Railway Station
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