DAFFODIL CENTRAL

BERE ALSTON | 1890 - 1960s

Bere Alston station, June 1961

The railway opened up whole new markets for Tamar Valley produce.

The coming of the railway meant that, for the first time, produce could reach London and other cities quickly so that it would be in good condition to be sold.

The Tamar Valley’s location and mild climate make it perfect for growing flowers (especially daffodils), fruit and vegetables and the arrival of the railway in 1890 (and to Callington in 1908) and the new access to major markets it provided led to a massive expansion of the local market gardening industry.

Wagons would be filled with produce at Bere Alston and at branch line stations. The wagons would be shunted in the sidings and added to long distance goods trains.

The sidings were in the area behind the disused platform and also next to the Callington branch, just south of the station. Sometimes in the season, Bere Alston’s sidings would be full and wagons were sent as far at Lydford for storage.

Special trains were included in the timetable, to run when required.

For example in 1958 there was a special fruit train from Bere Alston to Crewe which would run on weekdays during the season. There needed to be the guarantee of fifteen or more vehicles on the train from Exeter for the train to run.

It arrived at Crewe at 1 08AM, having also dropped off wagons in Bristol for other destinations as necessary.

John Snell was a local railwayman who lived in Bere Alston. He started at Calstock station in 1949, retiring from British Rail 46 years later.

Part of his career was spent as a booking clerk at Bere Alston. In 1998, John published a book about his railway career “Tamar Valley Trains”.

John took these photos of boxes of flowers waiting to be loaded on to the train at Calstock on a sunny April day in 1955:

Two small black and white photos of boxes of flowers stacked up on railway station platform, with members of staff stood alongside. Caption reads: Busy flower season 1955. Calstock station. Porter Albert Harris. Relief Signalman Frank Chard in doorway. Photo J.T.R. Snell.

John said from early March to early July in the 1950s around 350,000 packages of flowers and fruit would leave the Tamar Valley for up country markets, with most going to London.

A huge amount of fruit, flowers and vegetables was taken by train from stations across Devon and Cornwall.

This lasted until the 1960s. In the Tamar Valley, firstly goods facilities were withdrawn from local stations, then lines were closed (the last trains running between Gunnislake and Callington on 5 November 1966, and between Bere Alston, Tavistock and Okehampton on 5 May 1968), stations were unstaffed and finally the line was singled with sidings being removed.

For a period, Tamar Valley fruit, flowers and vegetables could still be taken by train but only from Plymouth and growers had to get their produce to Plymouth by road. After a while, this too ended and the market gardening industry in the Tamar Valley contracted.

John Snell sadly passed away in 2024. Here is an interview with him, conducted in 2019 by local historian Clive Charlton: