South Devon Railway (heritage railway)

The South Devon Railway is a tourist railway that runs along the River Dart between Buckfastleigh and Totnes. It is operated on a nonprofit basis.

History

The railway line was originally built by the Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway and opened on 1 May 1872 - in broad gauge 7 foot ¼ inch ( 2140 mm). Changed over one weekend; Some years later the track was on standard gauge of 4 feet 8 ½ inches ( mm 143). The route then went from Totnes to Ashburton on Buckfastleigh, the present terminus. 1876 ​​took over the Great Western Railway, the railway line. It was shut down permanently on 7 September 1962. The reopening was held by the Dart Valley Railway on April 5, 1969. The track section of Buckfastleigh to Ashburton remained shut down, because the construction of the highway A38, the railway line was in the way to Ashburton. The so-called Primrose Line ( cowslip route) only joined Totnes and Buckfastleigh each other. In the old Ashburton station today an auto repair shop is housed. On 1 January 1991 finally took over the South Devon Railway Trust ( SDRT ) operation - the part of the holding " South Devon Railway Group " (SDR ) is.

Current operation

As tractors various steam locomotives as well as older diesel locomotives are used - along with some historic cars. The South Devon Railway (SDR ) also has diesel railcars and pull trains with steam locomotives.

The headquarters of the SDR is now in Buckfastleigh. There, the station was expanded and now offers many attractions such as a maze, a museum, a narrow gauge railway, walking paths and a very beautiful garden, a restaurant and much more. Free train buses ( some of the old double-decker buses from London) commute through Buckfastleigh and after Buckfast Abbey.

Another source of income for the railway is the railway depot located in Buckfastleigh ( workshops ) where you repaired locomotives of the SDR and other railway companies and waits. So has the SDR a " Gibson Ringpress ", with which one can provide railway wheels with a coat. The SDR has a lot of orders to tires for private railways raise. The advantage is that the SDR can also install tires of nostalgic steam locomotives. The building of the railway operating plant was expanded in the winter of 2008 and now has a spacious auditorium.

Route

The single-track railway line is 7 miles ( about 11.3 km) long. On the route there is the Buckfastleigh station, repair station Bishops Bridge, Staverton railway station, bus stop and train station point Nappers Totnes Littlehempston. Furthermore, there is a connection to the national rail network by Network Rail, which connects the branch line to the main line. This connection is, however, only used for special trips. The operation continues with two interlocking ( a third is under construction in Totnes Littlehempston station ), a railroad crossing guard and a local control device ( will be replaced by the under construction interlocking expected summer 2011) settled.

The train service is not available all year round throughout place - but with the season adapted timetables, because the SDR is mainly a tourist train.