welcome to Bideford Railway Heritage Centre & Instow Signal Box

Bideford Railway Heritage Centre manages the Bideford station site and Instow signal box on the old railway line from Barnstaple to Bideford in north Devon.  The old railway track is now part of the popular Tarka Trail and so our two sites are points of interest for cyclists and walkers on the trail.  

 

At Bideford station you can visit:

  • an interactive interpretation centre about north Devon's railways;
  • a railway museum in a signal box;
  • a cafe;
  • and we also offer occasional cab rides in our diesel locomotive.  The programme of dates are advertised in the panel on the left with a poster for the next one below. 

At Instow Signal box the box has been preserved just as it was when trains finished running.  We try to open it to the public from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Mondays from Easter to October half-term.   If you want to visit we suggest you check on the Instow Signalbox FB page that we haven't had to close unexpectedly.

 

Entry is free to both of our sites but a donation would be appreciated.

 

Click on the tabs above to find out more about us.

 

BRHC also supports the extension of the existing GWR Exeter to Barnstaple rail service back to Bideford.  See the ACE Rail tab. 

 

If you would like to help us, see our Getting Involved page for further details.

 

We look forward to seeing you.

 

Here's a fantastic view of our Bideford site taken by drone in April 2022.  There's another one in the Bideford section of this website.  They really help to put the railway into the heart of East-the-Water.

 

THE ATLANTIC COAST EXPRESS 1926 - 1964.

 

The 11.00 train from Waterloo to Devon and Cornwall had always been the Southern Railway's main holiday train to the West Country but on 19th July 1926 - a hundred years ago this year - the SR Publicity Department decided to publicise it as a named train - THE ATLANTIC COAST EXPRESS.

 

Before the Second World War it was hauled by King Arthur Class locos but after the war the new Merchant Navy Class pacifics took over.  It was at this time that the ACE name (as was its shortened form) was included in the public timetables and the train's locomotive was given a headboard.  BRHC is proud to own one of these headboards (see below)