Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway
Locale	England
Dates of operation	1866–1872
Successor line	South Devon Railway
Track gauge	7 ft 0¼ in
Length	12.35 miles
Headquarters	Newton Abbot

The Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway was a 7 ft 0¼ in (2,140 mm) broad gauge railway which linked the South Devon Railway at Newton Abbot railway station with Bovey Tracey and Moretonhampstead, Devon, England.

The railway opened on 26 June 1866, the last passenger trains ran on 28 February 1959, regular goods trains continuing until 6 April 1964. The last special passenger train ran up to Bovey Tracey on 5 July 1970. Oil and china clay trains continue to operate occasionally on the south section of the line below Heathfield (Devon) railway station.

Contents 1 Chronology 2 The last train 3 Stations 4 References 5 See also

[edit] Chronology

• 1862 Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway authorised by Act of Parliament
• 1866 Railway opened
• 1872 Amalgamated with the South Devon Railway Company
• 1876 South Devon Railway amalgamated with the Great Western Railway
• 1882 Standard gauge Teign Valley Railway opened from Heathfield
• 1892 Broad gauge converted to standard gauge
• 1948 Great Western Railway nationalised into British Railways
• 1959 Passenger trains withdrawn
• 1964 Goods trains withdrawn beyond Bovey
• 1970 Goods trains withdrawn beyond Heathfield

[edit] The last train

These pictures show the journey of the last special passenger train to Bovey Tracey on 5 July 1970.

Teigngrace station building.	Teigngrace.	The Devon Clay Company siding near Heathfield.	The train at Heathfield station.
The trackwork of the Gulf Oil Depot near Brimley Halt.	The train at Brimley Halt.	Bovey Tracey station.	The train at Bovey Tracey.
Teigngrace clay sidings.

[edit] Stations

• Newton Abbot (South Devon Railway)
• Teigngrace Halt
• Heathfield
• Brimley Halt (opened 1928)
• Bovey
• Hawkmoor Halt (opened 1931, renamed Pullabrook Halt in 1955)
• Lustleigh
• Moretonhampstead

[edit] References

• Beck, Keith (1990). The Great Western in South Devon. Didcot: Wild Swan Publications. ISBN 0-906867-90-8. 
• Jenkins, S C; Pomroy, L J (1989). The Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway. Oxford: Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-389-3. 

[edit] See also

• Haytor Granite Tramway granite siding near Bovey