Next on the old GWR line from Plymouth to Launceston was Mary Tavy, which was just outside of Tavistock, Devon. It wasn’t the biggest of halts, but it was one of the most beautiful places on the line. Just north of Tavistock South, Mary Tavy had the privilege of serving the GWR branch and while the LSWR line went around it.
The station was just west of the town of Mary Tavy, as you headed down, imaginatively named, Station Road.
The bottom map shows the GWR branch line from Plymouth to Launceston (in green). The top line, was the LSWR line, which bypassed the station (in yellow). On the 11th Aug 1941 staffing ceased and the short siding was closed.
Photos of Mary Tavy
An up freight train obscures the single siding some time in 1939. The loop and the signal box had been out of use since 1892, having been little used since LSWR trains had been withdrawn in 1890. A ground frame shelter can be seen on the disused down platform. Image by Stations UK.
Here is another photo, from the same vantage point, with a lone passenger waits to join the 2:50pm Launceston to Plymouth train, with No 5541 in charge, on the 23rd June 1962. The former LSWR route is in the cutting which appears level with the ridge tiles of the railway cottage. Image by J. J. Smith.
Another solitary passenger alights the train at Mary Tavy and Blackdown on the 20th Aug 1954. The station at the time was an unmanned halt. Image by H. C. Casserley.
This stunning shot was just outside of Mary Tavy on the 10th May 1961. No 5541 with the 3:50pm train from Plymouth. When the LSWR competed its parrallel double track, it opened a station at Brentor, about two miles to the north of the GWR station. Image by S. C. Nash.
In the last days of service, poor Mary Tavy & Blackdown station was an unmanned halt. Image Lens of Sutton.
Mary Tavy Today
Sadly, there is very little of the station left today, and it was tricky to find any modern photos. The old station site and cottage is now in private hands.
Looking down towards the station cottage, there are ‘signs’ that the station once stood there, but alas, most of the station over grown.
What is nice, if you zoom in, it looks like the original Mary Tavy and Blackdown sign. I’m not sure who the mysterious figure is, maybe Dr Beeching doing undercover work, seeing how busy the line was?
As I said, there isn’t much else to see via Google Maps of the station.
Next Up
Next stop on the Plymouth to Launceston branch line was Lyford.
As always, thank you to Anthony Kingdom for the use of the images from his book, The Plymouth, Tavistock and Launceston Railway. Also, thank you to Middleton Press for the use of their images, their website has masses of books about the railways.
