The Dart Valley Railway

The Dart Valley Railway operates a quaint steam service on the Primrose Line

The Dart Valley Railway operates from Littlehempston station in Totnes via Staverton to Buckfastleigh. Preserved as a steam line since 1969, the passing loop is at Bishops Bridge. The train runs along the east bank of the River Dart and the scenery is among the most breathtaking. The GWR 1450 locomotive, built at Swindon in 1935, runs the Primrose Line in the 1970s and 1980s pulling Devon Belle Pullman carriages and offering wide expansive views of the Devon countryside.

At Buckfastleigh, there is an otter sanctuary and a butterfly farm as well as a railway museum. The locomotives are also maintained here. The Dart Valley Railway is today known as the South Devon Railway and continues to operate on the seven mile single track.