THE Folklore Library and Archive is delighted to announce that it has been awarded a generous grant from GWR’s Customer and Community Improvement initiative, which seeks to support rail-related community engagement projects.

The money will fund a heritage project focused on collecting and preserving people’s memories of Devon branch lines, with particular focus on the Exeter – Okehampton line, which is the first to be reinstated after falling victim to the Beeching cuts of the 60s and 70s.

The Folklore Library and Archive, which is a registered charity, is hoping to record people’s recollections about the line, and to digitise and preserve old cine film and photos.

The charity is also happy to receive donations or loans of artefacts. 

Project manager Tracey Norman said: “The Okehampton line is unique, as it’s the only branch line which has been reinstated so far, and there will still be people living who travelled on it prior to its closure, experienced its loss in 1972, and can now travel on it once again. We want to capture those special memories, preserve them and make them available to future generations of train enthusiasts, researchers and historians.”

The charity is inviting anyone with memories to share about Devon’s branch lines, especially Okehampton, to get in touch – passengers, staff, volunteers, drivers, and those who campaigned for the line’s reinstatement.

“We’d also love to hear from any rail-related groups,” Tracey said. “As well as a wealth of fascinating memories, they are also likely to have extensive collections of photos and video footage, which we can assist with preserving, digitising and safely archiving for the future.”

A short video presentation explaining the project can be found on the Folklore Library and Archive website at: www.folklorelibrary.com , and anyone interested in sharing memories or artefacts with the project can contact Tracey at: [email protected] .

The Dartmoor line is a 15.5 mile (24.9 km) railway line from Crediton, the line runs alongside the Tarka Line to the site of the former Coleford Junction where it diverges west to Okehampton. Previously a heritage line, it is owned by Network Rail.

The route was originally part of the London and South Western Railway's route from Exeter to Plymouth, which was opened between 1865 and 1879.

In 1968, British Rail closed the line beyond Meldon (two miles beyond Okehampton) as part of the Beeching cuts.

The Exeter to Okehampton passenger service was withdrawn by British Rail in 1972. The line itself remained open for freight services from the railway ballast quarry at Meldon.

From 1997 to 2019, the line was operated as a heritage railway by the Dartmoor Railway community interest company.

During this time, Great Western Railway ran a public service between Exeter and Okehampton on summer Sundays. Meldon quarry was mothballed in 2011, ceasing the use of the line for freight.

In July 2021, as part of the government's Restoring Your Railway programme, the line was transferred to Network Rail ownership, and regular national rail passenger services began in November of the same year.