A few glimpses of Bideford back in 1985, when the line was, incredibly, being demolished.
25 years on Bideford has been fully restored, but no sign of train services yet. There's also something happening further down the line at Torrington, and north of Bideford at Instow.
This is a real no-brainer of a reinstatement. Bideford is far too large to be train less, and the problem of the station being on the 'wrong' side of the river could surely be solved by running a tram service across the road bridge into the heart of the town, perhaps using tram-trains? And why not extend this tram route on to Westward Ho!? (Could this be the only correct use of an exclamation mark followed by a question mark in English?) The scenery along the whole route is superb and the location of the line alongside the estuary would bring passengers in their thousands in this prime holiday area. Regular year round traffic taking people into Barnstaple and beyond should ensure the line is profitable from day one, and no doubt freight traffic could also be developed.
This is definitely a line merely sleeping ...
