Plym Valley Railway
The Plym Valley Railway is a standard-gauge heritage line at Marsh Mills on the eastern outskirts of Plymouth, Devon, running north along the wooded Plym valley on the trackbed of the former Great Western Railway Tavistock branch — one of the most dramatically engineered of all GWR West Country branches, crossing the edge of Dartmoor through steep-sided valleys and over granite viaducts.
The Plym Valley Railway Association was formed in 1980, and after nearly three decades of volunteer work reclaiming the overgrown trackbed and rebuilding Marsh Mills station, the line opened to passengers in 2008. The setting is one of the most attractive of any heritage railway on the outskirts of a major city: the Plym valley is a designated local nature reserve, and the railway runs through mature mixed woodland beside the river, entirely concealed from the urban area immediately to the south.
The adjacent Plym Valley Trail — a National Cycle Network route using the rest of the closed trackbed — brings considerable footfall past the railway, and combined cycling-and-steam visits are popular. The railway's long-term aspiration is to extend northward through the valley, deepening into the Dartmoor landscape as the original GWR branch once did.
History
The Plym Valley Railway Association was formed in 1980 to preserve a section of the closed GWR Tavistock branch. After many years of trackbed reclamation and station rebuilding, the line opened to passengers in 2008 to a temporary platform, and now runs from Marsh Mills as far as Plym Bridge.
Original line history
The GWR branch from Plymouth Friary to Tavistock and Launceston was opened in stages between 1859 and 1865, climbing from the Plym valley at Marsh Mills through Bickleigh, Yelverton, and across the western flank of Dartmoor to Tavistock and beyond. The route was notable for its engineering: the Shaugh Bridge viaduct and the dramatic descent from Yelverton to Marsh Mills through the wooded Plym valley gave the line a character disproportionate to its modest traffic levels. The GWR operated the branch throughout its independent existence; British Railways closed the line in stages from 1962, with the Marsh Mills–Tavistock section closing in December 1962.
Stations and infrastructure
Marsh Mills is the headquarters, with the locomotive shed and workshop. Plym Bridge is the present northern terminus, set in attractive National Trust woodland.
Route and stations
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Special events and operations
Steam galas, dining trains, photographic charters and Santa Specials form the operating calendar. The line is a popular stop for visitors using the Plym Valley Trail.
Visitor information
Marsh Mills is reached via junction with the A38 (Devon Expressway) at Marsh Mills roundabout. Free parking is available; the railway typically operates on selected weekends from Easter through autumn.
