Summer, Devon 1990s

(Almost) a wordless Wednesday!

Winter Steam Festival

14xx 1450 will be returning to the South Devon Railway for the line’s 2016 Winter steam Festival, marking the early days of preservation in 1966 when the 0-4-2T arrived on the former Dart Valley Railway. The festival will take place over 13-22 February 2016 and is likely yo feature auto trains for 1450 and another…

First signs that oldest surviving Hall will be brought back to life

The South Devon Railway is home to 49xx Hall class 4920 Dumbleton Hall. The locomotive last steamed in 1999 and has since been awaiting funds to be raised in the order of £250,000-£300,000. The latest reports from the railway media are that donations have reached a level at which it’s overhaul could begin as early as 2016, although this…

Modern Day Steam

Every now and then the prepared photographer get’s a rare opportunity such as the one above. In this shot two very different yet very significant forms of railway traction run literally side by side. When the timing is right, Totnes Littlehempston station is a location where heritage rail meets the mainline. Upon reflection, one of the…

Blink and You’ll Miss It – Nappers Halt

On the return service train to Totnes, the South Devon Railway gave a commentary as the locomotive chuffed leisurely through the beautiful Dart valley. The commentary was very good and created plenty of interest, but one item in particular had me running for the window with the camera. Fortunately at this stage in the journey I…

Collett Goods Cab

I’m a big fan of 0-6-0 six-coupled type steam locomotives. They were simple, rugged and historically significant (especially in the UK) as they were one of the most important and numerous types to be constructed. The South Devon Railway is home to the newest surviving 0-6-0 steam locomotive – the only surviving 2251 Collett Goods class…

Susan

One of the delights of the modern heritage railway is it’s ability to surprise you when you find something unusual. So it was just over a week ago when I met Susan for the first time on the South Devon Railway. Susan at first glance might look like a diesel shunter, but she is a steam locomotive! …

The Prodigal Pannier Returned

Earlier this year, pannier tank engine 6412 returned to service on the South Devon Railway to begin a new lease of life as was originally intended when it hauled the first train in preservation on this line in 1969. However it spent a long time away in between! 6412 was soon moved to the Paignton and…

South Devon Railway Promo

The South Devon Railway, where I plan to visit this summer have released a rather good promotional video that I thought I’d share here. The railway is a lovely little line that maintains it’s branch line feel, despite it having many tourists to haul and having a fantastic workshop at Buckfastleigh. The description with the…

Devonshire Diesel Power

Whilst class 37/0 locomotive D6975/37275 (click here for more) was in action during my last visit to the South Devon Railway (click here for more), upon exploring Buckfastleigh I soon found that it was one of a number of heritage diesels to be found on the site. This allowed for the opportunity to practice my…