Lost Railways of Dartmoor by Chris Bedford
(Part 2). The following pictures conclude Chris Bedford's
photographic survey from Devon. |
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Left: A final look at Yelverton
Tunnel, this being one of the refuges where gangers could
step out of the way of passing trains. Mineral deposits now
stain the wall, the colour suggesting that there is plenty
of iron in the rocks above. Spring 2010. (Chris Bedford) |
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Above:
The first station out of Yelverton on the branch line to
Princetown was Dousland, which is now in use as a residence. The modern
extensions cannot disguise the property's railway origins, which are
confirmed by the village name in GWR-style lettering, mounted on the
facing wall of the platform. Spring 2010. (Chris Bedford) |
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Right: It
has been a long time since anyone at Dousland station had
to beware of a train. Despite the passing of the years, the
distinctive architecture, the blue engineering bricks along
the platform edge and the cast iron signs all proclaim this
to have been a former GWR outpost. Spring 2010. (Chris Bedford) |
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Above:
The trackbed of the Princetown branch curves off to the left
in the vicinity of Swelltor Quarry. Lumps of granite provide silent
testimony to the hard physical graft that used to take place here.
Despite the fact that the line gained height by following the contours,
some sizeable embankments were still necessary, as can be seen from
the example in the foreground. Spring 2010. (Chris Bedford) |
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Above:
Uncollected corbels for London Bridge still litter parts
of the quarry site. Brett Sutherland on geograph
gives a nice account of these: 'There are various explanations as
to why these beautifully cut stones remained behind. They may have
been cut too short, have been condemned due to defects in the stone
or may have been "wastage" – there are 650 corbels
incorporated in the bridge! Whatever the reason, they bear testament
to the skill of the stonemasons here. The bridge was sold to a wealthy
American in 1968 and now spans Lake Havasu in Arizona. Urban myth
has it that he thought he was buying Tower Bridge.' Spring 2010. (Chris
Bedford) |
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Above:
After passing Swelltor Quarry, the branch runs on an embankment
around the western slopes of King's Tor, which can be seen through
the arch. This bridge was almost certainly constructed to allow water
draining off of the tor to pass safely under the line. Spring 2010.
(Chris Bedford) |
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Above:
The Princetown trackbed in the vicinity of Foggintor Quarry,
which (not to be outdone by its neighbour at Swelltor) supplied the
granite sections of Nelson's Column. It is sometimes tempting to view
the country's remote rural railways and tramways as extravagant wastes
of capital, but many of them carried types of traffic which are almost
unimaginable on the modern railway. The photographer's motive power
lies in the foreground. This would be an 0-1-1 in railway parlance.
Spring 2010. (Chris Bedford) |
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Above:
We ought really to finish this selection of Dartmoor railway
pictures with a scene of Princetown station, but the building was
demolished immediately after the line closed, and today the flattened
scene makes for a truly dull picture. By way of compensation, here's
a Southern Railway parcels label from Waterloo to Launceston. Trains
travelling over this route would have skirted the north of Dartmoor,
passing through Okehampton before heading west at Meldon Junction
for Halwill Junction and Launceston, which marked the start of the
scenic North Cornwall line to Wadebridge. Although the Southern Railway
ceased to exist on 1st January 1948, the infant British Railways continued
to use old SR parcels labels throughout the 1950s. Member Ron Strutt
has informed us that these labels remained in use into the late 1970s
if you knew where to look for them – which he did, since he
worked in the railway industry! (Jeff Vinter Collection) |