Princetown Railway Preservation

[Jasper Greene]

I’ve seen a number of people on this site mention the possibility of reinstating the Princetown branch line from Yelverton to Princetown.

I am incredibly and increasingly enthusiastic about this project as days pass. I understand that the line is a popular footpath, but even just reopening the station at Princetown could be fun.

It’s obviously a better idea to have this as a 2” railway or something, but I can envisage a standard gauge station and slowly extending the line to Burrator and Sheepstor Halt.

The land of the station (after multiple visits by myself) is in little use and not really built upon besides a small hut. It was last sold in 2016 for £30,000 so is probably valued around £45-50,000 nowadays.

I also saw about spreading volunteers even thinner among railways is a bad idea, I can see that reasoning but if youngsters such as myself, or people who are enthusiast about this project and live near, want to be involved, it’s definitely feasible to see a small station base slowly expanding in coming years. I reckon for a few years after conception, it’s unlikely to appeal to public and work as a commercial project, but would be funded somehow else.

This is a bonkers idea and really a bit silly, but I certainly have the dedication to devote my time to learning the ways of railway preservation and this project. This may be a lost cause or dying thought, but if anyone out there has anything critical to say or support the project, go ahead! An idea is where it starts, after all .

 

[JKF]

The scenery is quite spectacular on that route, I remember when walking some of it in the 80s thinking it would make a decent narrow gauge line. But I don’t think the climate for starting preserved lines is very good these days, many small projects not really getting anywhere and a declining pool of volunteers. A cycle track would be nice but might not look so good in the landscape.

 

[Jasper Greene]

The scenery is quite spectacular on that route, I remember when walking some of it in the 80s thinking it would make a decent narrow gauge line. But I don’t think the climate for starting preserved lines is very good these days, many small projects not really getting anywhere and a declining pool of volunteers. A cycle track would be nice but might not look so good in the landscape.

Yes, that’s what I thought. I think just the idea of a 45 tank and some collets or even a mk1 chuffing through the moors was very luring. I also expect many walkers would object. I suppose a path could be built? But this is all speculation!

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

The scenery is quite spectacular on that route, I remember when walking some of it in the 80s thinking it would make a decent narrow gauge line. But I don’t think the climate for starting preserved lines is very good these days, many small projects not really getting anywhere and a declining pool of volunteers. A cycle track would be nice but might not look so good in the landscape.

It is already a cycle track, but it is more suitable for a mountain rather than a road bike in places. The bridge over the main Yelverton to Princetown road near Dousland has been replaced by a lightweight bow-string affair for bikes, but otherwise the structures are intact. Beyond Burrator to Yelverton much of the formation has been lost, in particular in Dousland.

 

[Jasper Greene]

It is already a cycle track, but it is more suitable for a mountain rather than a road bike in places. The bridge over the main Yelverton to Princetown road near Dousland has been replaced by a lightweight bow-string affair for bikes, but otherwise the structures are intact. Beyond Burrator to Yelverton much of the formation has been lost, in particular in Dousland.

Yes. I imagine if one where to reinstate the route, it would be to just south of Dousland, as the trackbed through Dousland is obliterated by houses. I suppose that you could do the Yelverton to Dousland stretch and go all the way round Dousland, but that’s only if the entire population of the south west consecutively win Euromillions.

 

[Mr. SW]

Why not go Continental?

Go for 800mm or 1 metre gauge and electrify. Import S/H equipment from Switzerland or something. Maybe have cute German trams trundling through the moorland. And powered by green electricity, of course. I'd go and see that.

 

[Jasper Greene]

Why not go Continental?

Go for 800mm or 1 metre gauge and electrify. Import S/H equipment from Switzerland or something. Maybe have cute German trams trundling through the moorland. And powered by green electricity, of course. I'd go and see that.

Thad not a bad shout, and it would definitely see a lot of visitors, especially tourists. It would also please the council and make a great day out for continental rail enthusiasts. Still, the project would take many years.