This brand new Past & Present Companion title is being
published to mark the 150th Anniversary of the lines opening!
Today's South Devon Railway originally ran for nine miles from
Totnes to the ancient stannary town of Ashburton, via Staverton and
Buckfastleigh. It was opened on 1st May 1872. The line never made a
profit and had a quiet life, mainly being used for goods traffic,
such as coal, wool, cider and agricultural goods, and serving the
local population. In November 1958, the line closed to passengers,
freight continuing until 1962. A group of businessmen announced
their intention to run the line, to be named the Dart Valley
Railway, as a tourist line and in 1965 the first rolling stock
arrived. Services between Buckfastleigh and Totnes started in 1969.
In 1971, the line from Buckfastleigh to Ashburton was lost to the
widening of the A38. In 1991, the line was taken over by a
registered charity, the South Devon Railway Trust and renamed the
South Devon Railway, , the name of the first company to run trains
over the line. The volunteer supporting body was similarly renamed
the South Devon Railway Association. The first train under SDR
operation ran on 29th March 1991 with BR(W) pannier tank locomotive
1638 and a rake of former BR coaches, all hired from the Dart
Valley company. Since then the line has expanded enormously,
building a loop at Staverton to enable two train running,
completing the station buildings at Totnes, expanding facilities at
Buckfastleigh, carrying out major civil engineering works on the
line, undertaking major resignalling, including the re-erection of
two historic GWR signal boxes, developing, rebuilding and
maintaining a fleet of historic rolling stock, establishing a
flourishing engineering business, launching a share issue to
purchase the line and, importantly, attracting more and more
visitors to come and visit. In 2007, the line carried over 100,000
passengers for the first time under SDR operation and was named
Heritage Railway of the Year
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