See important guidance on the use of this record.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

Line of the former Torrington and Marland light railway from Torrington station (ss41ne/8), SS48011975 to SS48181500. Replaced by North Devon and Cornwall light junction railway, see ss41se/25 and ss51sw/40, in 1920's.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS41NE/77

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• RAILWAY (XVIII to XXI - 1751 AD to 2009 AD)

Full description

Turton, S. D., Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV1379.

Started as narrow gauge line in 1880 to serve clayworks at Peters Marland and Meeth. Converted to standard gauge in 1920's, becoming North Devon and Cornwall light junction railway.

MESSENGER, Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV1420.

Torrington and Marland light railway (site of): from Torrington station (ss41ne/8), ss48011975 to ss48181500. Replaced by North Devon and Cornwall light junction railway, see ss41se/25 and ss51sw/40, in 1920's (Messenger).

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV1429.

Messenger, m. J. /North Devon clay/(1982)25-87/photo,plans.

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV1430.

Thomas, d. St. J. /A Regional history of Railways of Great Britain/1(1981)108- 109.

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV1431.

Turton, s. D. /archaeological assessment of sww Winswell to Torrington water pipeline/(1991)2/(emafu report 91.12).

THOMAS, Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV399.

The North Devon and Cornwall junction light railway was opened on 27/2/1925. Passenger traffic ceased on 1/3/1965 and only the Meeth-Torrington section has been retained for clay traffic.

Bradbeer, J., 2021, Torrington and Marland Light Railway (Correspondence). SDV364654.

Originally a 3 foot gauge line engineered by John Barraclough Fell (1815-1901) using his system of employing wooden trestle viaducts extensively and trying to minimise deep cuttings and earth moving to form embankments. In passing Fell also developed a unique mountain climbing system for railways but which was soon displaced by various rack and pinion systems- the Rimutaka incline in New Zealand was one of only a few to use the Fell system until it was by-passed by a tunnel. There had been much talk about converting the Torrington to Marland line to standard gauge to avoid trans-shipment in Torrington and active in some of these schemes was Holman Stephens (1868-1931). Work started in 1920, with Stephens now back from war service with the rank of Colonel. Stephens had to build a line to higher standards and capable of carrying heavier locomotives and in any case, some of the trestle viaducts were in poor repair, so he used more conventional earth embankments. Stephens had also been engineer to the Hawkhurst railway in Kent and the Calstock and Callington branch both of which ended up in the Southern Railway, like the Torrington to Halwill line, but he acquired direct control of a number of light railways (hence his nickname as King of the Light Railway) So the raiways stations at Hawkhurst, Calstock, Gunnislake and on his own lines look very like the stations built at Petrockstow, Hatherleigh and Hole.

For further information please see:
Robin Jones (2020) King of the Light Railways: the Story of Colonel Stephens.
Horncastle:Mortons Media Group, Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith (1994) Branch Lines to Torrington. Midhurst: Middleton Press

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.