N Gauge Forum

The Tale of the Lost Railway

It's been a while since I've bored forum readers with one of my ridiculous stories but with encouragement from @Train Waiting and a few others I've decided to give it another go.

I'll be aiming to publish at least a couple of posts each week - maybe more if I have the time and I'm feeling creative and in the mood.

Let's start with a short Introduction.

The Tale of the Lost Railway

"Thou  'as ta believe in it laddie, thou 'as ta believe. Believe it an'  'tis there but doubt it an' 'tis all nothing but a dream"

This is a story of mystery and intrigue centred around a railway line which, according to local legend, ran  from Moretonhampstead to Okehampton on the north eastern fringes of Dartmoor in Devon.

Local folk are absolutely convinced  of its existence but did that railway really exist?

Look on any map of the area and there is no trace of said line. There is just a rough footpath linking the two towns around the very edge of the moor.

Trains certainly ran North  from Newton Abbot to Moretonhampstead  on the former Great Western branch line whilst Okehampton was served by the ex LSWR main line from Exeter to Plymouth.
However, there is no record of a railway ever being built between those two towns even though it would have made sense.
It is likely that cost was the reason that it was never seemingly constructed.

The area traversed by the mystery railway is extremely remote and  frequently shrouded  by thick mists which roll down from Dartmoor. This only adds to the sense of mystery and intrigue surrounding  the railway.

The story is based largely in the Autumn and Winter  of 1961.

Let's start with a brief introduction to the various railway lines which will be central to the plot.

(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/160/230-280626182842.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=160568)


The Great Western Main Line from Exeter to Plymouth and into Cornwall
To many this stretch of line which is part of the Great Western route from Paddington to Penzance , and which includes the coastal stretch from Starcross to Teignmouth, requires little introduction.


The Southern Railway route to Plymouth from Exeter
The LSWR route from Exeter to Plymouth was finally opened throughout in 1876 construction of various sections of the line having been undertaken on a piecemeal basis in earlier years.
The route roughly follows the Northern and Western edges of Dartmoor through Crediton, Okehampton, Lydford and Tavistock before dropping down towards Plymouth.

The Moretonhampstead Branch
The Moretonhampsted and South Devon railway built a branch which ran from the South Devon Railway main line (from Exeter to Penzance) at Newton Abbot to Moretonhampstead via Bovey Tracey and Lustleigh.
The line, which follows the lowest foothills on the eastern fringes of Dartmoor opened in 1866 closing to passenger traffic in 1959 lingering on until 1972-for local freight operations.
The line was acquired by the Great Western Railway in 1878.
Originally built to the broad gauge conversion to standard gauge took place in 1892 taking a gang of 60 men to complete the entire route of 12 miles and 28 chains.
Lustleigh station was used as the base for the 1931 film Hound of the Baskervilles.

The Missing link (The Lost Railway)
The missing section is, of course, that from Moretonhampstead to Okehampton which, crucially, passes through the grounds of Baskerville Manor owned, for several centuries, by the Hardcastle family.
The family is currently headed by the effervescent, benevolent, idiosyncratic and somewhat eccentric Sir Archibald Hardcastle who is, to say the very least, an extremely enthusiastic railway enthusiast, as was his father before him and grandfather before that.
Did this railway line, linking the two Devon towns, ever exist and is it still extant in the early 1960s?
Although you might diligently search for Railway Clearing House Junction Diagrams of the area or  refer to local OS maps you will surely find no reference to its existence.
Many local  folk, however, are certain  that it does exist and furthermore there are countless rumours revolving around  a headless female ghost, howling wolf like dogs and even gruesome murder.

Are the tales true or is the entire  thing a figment of rather over active and maybe alcohol  fuelled imaginations?

Pay a visit to the Baskerville Arms in the hamlet of the same name, offer to buy a pint for one of the locals at the bar and you'll be rewarded with tales of mysterious trains and strange goings on.

Our story hopes to uncover the truth be it fact or fiction.

To be continued .........