The Dartmoor Railway is a 15.5-mile (24.9 km) long railway line in Devon, England. From Crediton the line parallels the Tarka Line to the site of the former Coleford Junction. Heading west it then serves Sampford Courtenay, Okehampton and Meldon Quarry. The route is owned from Coleford to Meldon by Aggregate Industries. Freight trains served the ballast quarry at Meldon. The line is leased to and maintained by the Dartmoor Railway CIC, who operate heritage railway services and facilitate access to the line by other operators.
A public service between Exeter and Okehampton is run on summer Sundays operated by First Great Western. Ballast trains were operated by one of the national freight operating companies. In 2011 the quarry was mothballed leading to the suspension of ballast trains for the time being. The line is also used occasionally by other operators for training purposes.
The route was originally part of the London and South Western Railway West of England Main Line from Exeter to Plymouth, which opened between 1865 and 1879. In 1968, British Rail closed the line beyond Meldon as part of the Beeching cuts. The Exeter to Okehampton passenger service was withdrawn by British Rail in 1972. Between 1972 and 1997 the line was used for railway ballast traffic from Meldon Quarry and occasional freight traffic to the remaining goods yard at Okehampton before its closure. Occasional Charter and Special trains operated to Okehampton and Meldon Quarry during the passenger closure period. The railway reopened to regular passenger services in 1997 with the creation of Dartmoor Railway.
The Dartmoor Railway currently operates at 15 miles in length making the line the Eighth longest preserved Standard Gauge railway in Great Britain.
Read more about Dartmoor Railway: Public Train Services, Heritage Activities
Famous quotes containing the word railway:
“Her personality had an architectonic quality; I think of her when I see some of the great London railway termini, especially St. Pancras, with its soot and turrets, and she overshadowed her own daughters, whom she did not understand—my mother, who liked things to be nice; my dotty aunt. But my mother had not the strength to put even some physical distance between them, let alone keep the old monster at emotional arm’s length.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)