In 1848, the Taw Vale Railway & Dock Company opened a short line to Fremington Quay which had become an important transportation hub for goods. It was extended six miles to Bideford in 1855, crossing Fremington Pill on a curved iron bridge of nine spans supported on piers comprising pairs of braced, tubular columns.

The single line faired better than most, serving freight trains until 1982. The bridge’s tracks sat idle for five years before being salvaged. It is now crossed by the Tarka Trail, a path following the North Devon coast along the old trackbed.