FOR the past nine months, Crediton-based charity The Folklore Library and Archive has been creating a new and unique collection of heritage materials about Devon’s railways, which they are launching at an event on Saturday, March 22 at Crediton Library, between 4pm and 9pm.

Project Manager Tracey Norman said: “We were fortunate to obtain a very generous grant from Great Western Railway’s Customer and Community Improvement Fund last year, and have been working to preserve ‘hidden’ heritage – personal archives of photos, film and video, documents, and the most precious archive of all – our memories. The oral histories we’ve gathered offer a very personal insight into our interactions with the railway.”

Arthur Westlake's cap in the heritage ticket office at Okehampton Station.
Arthur Westlake's cap in the heritage ticket office at Okehampton Station. (Mark Norman)

The archive features memories from passengers, railway workers, volunteers and campaigners, along with associated images, film and artefacts, making it a unique collection.

It will be formally unveiled this Saturday in a celebratory event featuring exhibits from Crediton Museum, Prof. Robert Stone (Birmingham University), the Railway Studies Library, The Museum of Dartmoor Life, the Dartmoor Railway Association and Ian Dinmore’s The Railway Archive.

Tracey explained that there will be interactive exhibits, allowing visitors to hear extracts from some of the oral histories in the archive, to record their own contribution, and to explore the online archive itself.

“We also have talks from Prof Stone and Dr Paul Cleave (Exeter University), plus a performance from Turning Tides, who run Crediton Station Café, and who are catering the event” Tracey said.

“As well as celebrating the launch of our new archive, the event is also part of the national Railway200 celebrations, marking the railway’s 200th anniversary.”

The charity’s Archivist and Founding Curator, Mark Norman, added: “The Folklore Library and Archive is thrilled to be able to make this new collection of heritage materials available to everyone via our online collections. As with all our material, this is free to access, for the benefit of all.”

The launch event is free, but space is limited – please email: [email protected] or see Mark at Crediton Library if you would like to attend.