The Great Western Railway Princetown Branch ran from the Princetown, Dartmoor to Yelverton Station on the Plymouth - Tavistock - Launceston line. The upper sections of the line were very bleak. One halt even had a sign warning passengers about snakes! The line closed to all traffic in March 1956. I visited sections of the railway in the 1980s.
Peek Hill bridge abutments where the railway crossed the Princetown to Yelverton Road.
These timbers were probably the base of a ground (lever) frame used to control the points giving access to the Swell Tor Quarry Siding. The siding to the quarry rises to the left of the main track bed which falls away towards the tree in the right distance.
Buffer stop at the end of the headshunt at Swell Tor siding, the line climbing to Princetown can be seen on the left.
My late father stands on an underbridge provided or drainage and livestock movement near Swell Tor.
Remains of a platelayers hut. The wooden building has long since gone but the toppled chimney and fire place remained.
A drainage culvert
The site of King Tor Halt - the concrete base of the waiting shelter which stood at the end of the wooden platform can be seen.
A close up of the base of the waiting shelter at King Tor.
A full set of photos can be found at:
http://www.jhluxton.com/The-35mm-Film-Archive/Railways/Great-Western-Railway-Princeto/
It is over 25 years since these photos were taken, the moorland section of the railway remains a popular moorland walk and Google Earth reveals that these features remain extant for those who wish to explore.
John
Peek Hill bridge abutments where the railway crossed the Princetown to Yelverton Road.
These timbers were probably the base of a ground (lever) frame used to control the points giving access to the Swell Tor Quarry Siding. The siding to the quarry rises to the left of the main track bed which falls away towards the tree in the right distance.
Buffer stop at the end of the headshunt at Swell Tor siding, the line climbing to Princetown can be seen on the left.
My late father stands on an underbridge provided or drainage and livestock movement near Swell Tor.
Remains of a platelayers hut. The wooden building has long since gone but the toppled chimney and fire place remained.
A drainage culvert
The site of King Tor Halt - the concrete base of the waiting shelter which stood at the end of the wooden platform can be seen.
A close up of the base of the waiting shelter at King Tor.
A full set of photos can be found at:
http://www.jhluxton.com/The-35mm-Film-Archive/Railways/Great-Western-Railway-Princeto/
It is over 25 years since these photos were taken, the moorland section of the railway remains a popular moorland walk and Google Earth reveals that these features remain extant for those who wish to explore.
John
The Dartmoor Brewery - Jail Ale is a great pint and available in many local and not so local pubs and hotels.
