Lynton and Barnstaple Railway

Woody Bay Station: Refreshments, gifts, souvenirs

On 16 May the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (LBR) was officially opened. Freight was carried on the railway but never reached the levels to justify the running of separate trains, instead a few wagons would be attached to a passenger train. Peak traffic was from 1902-1913 when the LBR carried almost 97,000 passengers a year.

The Southern Railway ran the LBR after 1923. A new locomotive "Lew" was ordered in 1925 from Manning Wardle and many other improvements were made to the railway. By the 1930s the Southern found it was losing £5,000 - £6,000 a year on the line. On 19 September 1935 the last train ran on the LBR.

Formed in 1979 the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Association held its first meeting in Lynton to discuss the possibility of rebuilding the railway. There were many false starts, it was not until 1994 when an appeal to purchase Woody Bay station that any progress was made. Ownership of the station was secured in 1995 and work proceeded on purchasing land to lay the rail track. Woody Bay station re-opened on 11 May 2003 with trains running along a short length of track. In future the LBR will be extended towards Blackmoor and Lynton.

There are two steam locomotives "Axe" built in 1915 and "Sid" which dates from 1925. "Heddon Hall" is a Hunslet diesel engine used occasionally for passenger trains.

South Devon Railway

 Address: The Station, Buckfastleigh, Devon TQ11 0DZ

Buckfastleigh Station: Refreshments, souvenir shop, locomotive and carriage shed, museum, children's play area, picnic tables, garden, miniature railway

A railway to the town of of Ashburton was first advanced in 1845, these plans did not go ahead. In 1864 another project was proposed this was for a line from Buckfastleigh to Totnes, a year later an extension to Ashburton was also approved. Financial problems meant the route was not completed until 1872, by this time Ashburton's wool trade was in decline although there was still considerable wool traffic through Buckfastleigh.

At first it was called the Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway although it was operated by the South Devon Railway (SDR). The Great  Western Railway took over from the SDR in 1876. Originally built to 7ft 0¼ inch gauge it was converted to standard  4ft 8½ inches in 1892.

Freight was the major source of income, as it was with many branch lines. Coal, wool, cider, farm produce were all transported, although the Ashburton-Totnes route never made a profit. On 3 November 1958 the passenger service was withdrawn, goods traffic lasted until 7 September 1962.

A group of businessmen announced in 1962 that they wished to reopen the line as a commercial venture with funds coming from business rather than the general public. There were many years of negotiations before it was officially opened on 21 May 1969 by Lord Beeching, better known as Dr. Beeching, the man responsible for closing many railway lines.

During the forty years the railway has been in preservation it has operated under various names including: Dart Valley Railway, Buckfast Steam and Leisure Park, Buckfast Steam Railway and the Primrose Line. The last name change was in 1991 to - the South Devon Railway, by this time the railway had proved not to be an economic business proposition and from this date has been run by volunteers.

Difficulties in getting access to Totnes station encouraged the volunteers to build their own station at Liitlehempston. A footbridge connects to the mainline which is only ten minutes walk away.

Whenever possible the SDR uses locomotives that would have been seen on the line in the steam era. There are four steam locomotives available No.3803 GWR 2-8-0, No.5526 GWR 2-6-2T, No.5786 GWR 0-6-0T, No.1369 GWR 0-6-0T and 11 diesel powered locomotives/DMU.

Further photographs of the South Devon Railway can be found in the Gallery section.

Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway

Paignton Station: Refreshments, shop, mainline railway

Kingswear Station: Refreshments, visitor centre, boat trips

Early proposals by the South Devon Railway were to have a line from Exeter to Plymouth via Dartmouth. This indirect route was not used on the instructions of the chief engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who insisted the shortest route should be taken. The Exeter-Plymouth mainline was completed in the late 1840s but left Dartford without a connection.

Conversion from broad gauge to standard was completed in 1892. Another major change came in the 1920s when the line was upgraded to have the capability to accommodate the largest Great Western locomotives (King class 4-6-0s). These improvement were required because of the increase in passenger numbers. In the 1930s the boom in holiday traffic meant the line was highly profitable. The most famous mainline train was the "Torbay Express" from Paddington.

After World War II tourist traffic on the Torbay line went into a slow decline. All through services to Kingswear ended in 1971 and British Rail applied to close the section from Paignton in 1972. 

The Dart Valley Railway Company stated their wish to purchase the line to run it as a tourist railway. Negotiations with British Rail were successful with the company taking possession in autumn 1972. Considerable alterations had to made by the new owners including a completely independent track laid from Paignton to Goodrington.

There are spectacular views of the sea on the first part of the journey from Paignton, followed by attractive vistas of the River Dart and Dartmouth harbour. At Kingswear you can cross by the ferry to Dartmouth where you can take a boat trip up the river to Totnes or go on a harbour cruise.

The railway has four steam locomotives in working order No.4277 GWR 'Hercules' 2-8-0T, No.5239 GWR 'Goliath' 2-8-0T, No.7827 GWR 'Lydham Manor' 4-6-0 and No.75014 BR 'Braveheart' 4-6-0. Built to mainline standards - large, powerful locomotives can be used.

A branch line to Swanage was not opened until 1885, the late arrival of the railway to the resort was caused by strong objections from local inhabitants. Built as a single track it connected to the London-Weymouth route at Wareham. The eleven mile line was completed in two years and cost £76,000. First operated by the London and South Western Railway it was controlled by Southern Railway after the 1923 grouping.

The Swanage branch served a growing seaside resort which required an increasing number of trains, especially at weekends. By the beginning of the 20th century this holiday traffic was expanding so rapidly that doubling of the track was considered. Allowance had been made in the original construction for two tracks, however this work was never carried out.  In 1937 Swanage station was enlarged to cope with the number of passengers.   

Steam was the motive power used until July 1967 when it was changed to diesel. British Railways then decided the line was no longer financially viable with the last passengers being carried on 1 January 1972. All track was lifted within six months, apart from the the three mile section from the BP terminal at Furzebrook to the mainline at Worgret Junction. This continued to be used until 2005.

A preservation society was formed soon after closure, unfortunately they were unable to make much progress towards saving the line. In the meantime the local council had purchased Swanage station and wanted to make it a car park. The preservation society was spurred into action, forcing a local referendum on the issue. There was an overwhelming 83% majority in favour of keeping the station. On 14 February 1976 the society was granted a lease on the station site.

From August 1979 passenger trips were run over a few hundred yards of track. In the summer 1980 a steam locomotive arrived at the railway, an oil fired Barclay 0-4-0T  "Richard Trevithick". Even though track was only a ¼ mile in length, over 30,000 passengers were carried.

Despite the obvious popularity of the railway, the council again proposed to put an obstacle in their way. This took the form of a road to be built on the trackbed at Corfe Castle, fortunately the council were again defeated by public opinion.

The original short length of line was extended to Herston giving the Swanage Railway one mile of track. It was later to expand to Harman's Cross followed by Corfe Castle and the present  final destination at Norden.

The railway runs through some outstanding countryside in the Purbeck peninsula. All passengers should alight at the restored Victorian Corfe Castle station to visit the remains of the castle and admire the view. 

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