THE former Tavistock North Railway Station has been named a winner at the National Railway Heritage Awards.

Owners Colin and Jenny Rogers have received the award for the most meritorious entry in the commercial sector for their project to convert the closed station into private and holiday accommodation, which comprises three 5-star gold holiday cottages.  

Mr Rogers said this week he was 'chuffed to bits' with the award: 'I thought we did a good job but to have it recognised by people who are railway enthusiasts is just great.'

The site was visited by enthusiast and Antiques Roadshow regular Paul Atterbury, who is one of the judges along with Michael Papps. They said of the station: 'The saving of what was a very derelict station building and to find a new sympathetic commercial use was a work of dedication.

'The restoration of the building is carried out with a keen eye and skill. It retained a railway feel that was not overdone or forced.'

The old station was opened to holidaymakers in 2008 and the station master's house, which is currently undergoing careful restoration is home to Colin and Jenny.

The National Railway Heritage Awards 2011 were presented by the new Lord Mayor of London, Alderman David Wootton, in the illustrious Merchant Taylor's Hall in Threadneedle Street, London.

The awards were instituted in 1979 as the Best Restored Station Competition, with the object of encouraging high standards of structural restoration and environmental care by amateur, commercial and private groups involved in railway preservation.  

Each year a team of judges visits preserved railways in Britain.  By awarding marks for those aspects of most concern to visitors, facilities, scenery, cleanliness etc, it is possible to draw up a 'league table' of the preserved railways, from which the winner is chosen.

The awards are sponsored by Ian Allan Publishing in partnership with the Railway Heritage Trust, Network Rail and many others.