The line was opened from
Barnstaple to
Fremington in 1848. Passenger trains ran throughout from
Barnstaple railway station to
Bideford from 2 November 1855 as the
Bideford Extension Railway. The line was further extended to
Torrington in 1872 when the current
Bideford railway station was opened. Passenger services ceased on 2 October 1965 although
ball clay traffic continued until 1982. The track was removed in 1985 after some interest by
British Rail in reintroducing a passenger service to Bideford. The trackbed was later converted into the
Tarka Trail, a walkway using the formation between
Petrockstow (later the terminus of services after the line was truncated in the 1960s) and Barnstaple Junction. In 2009,
James May attempted to reconnect the former Bideford station with Barnstaple Junction using an
OO scale model train as part of ''
James May's Toy Stories''. Unfortunately, the last train - a Hornby
Class 395 "Javelin", and the prototype model for the production models - burnt out at Instow at 12:18am the day after the trains left Barnstaple. In 2011, May returned to complete the challenge with the help of the German model railway attraction
Miniatur Wonderland, racing several model trains over the from Barnstaple to Bideford. The first train to arrive at Bideford was a Hornby
Intercity 125, followed by a
hydrogen-powered train and finally, May's own model of LNER 'Pacific' 4472
Flying Scotsman. ==Visitor attractions==