page_title: Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway
section_title: Closure
hierarchical_section_title: Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway / History / Closure
caption_attribution_description: English: Bovey Tracey station on the Moretonhampstead branchline in Devon.
context_page_description: The Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway was a 7 ft ¹⁄₄ in broad gauge railway which linked the South Devon Railway at Newton Abbot railway station with Bovey in the town of Bovey Tracey, Lustleigh and Moretonhampstead, Devon, England.
context_section_description: In 1957, the possibility of closure was reported in the Mid Devon Advertiser and on 28 February 1959 the last passenger service ran down the line, although a freight operation still ran.  The line closed on 6 April 1964.
  The last special passenger train ran as far as Bovey Tracey on 5 July 1970; by 8 September the lifting of the track north of Heathfield had been completed. The section of line around the town was converted to use as a road bypass on the A382 road, opening in 1987. The former Bovey railway station was retained at the side of the road and is now a heritage centre.
  Oil and china clay trains continued to operate occasionally on the south section of the line below Heathfield for several years, but the remaining section of the branch was taken out of use in 2009 when 'temporary stop blocks' were placed on the line 53 chains (1.1 km) from the junction at Newton Abbot.
  However, in December 2011 it was announced that this section of the line would be re-opened to facilitate the transport of timber from Heathfield to North Wales. In the same month a timber siding was opened at Teigngrace, just before the level crossing at Exeter Road, to allow the timber to be loaded onto the freight trains. Due to the lack of a passing loop at Teigngrace, the train and its empty wagons continues up the line to Heathfield where the engine can run around the carriages using the loop in the disused station. The empty freight train then drives back to the timber sidings at Teigngrace to be loaded. Loading of the timber is carried out by the lorries that bring the timber to the sidings.
  Several miles of the line between Bovey and Lustleigh, some of which is now a path open to the public, are being developed by the council to become a cycle track known as the Wray Valley Trail. As part of this the previously demolished bridge deck over the A382 road was replaced in March 2011 by a new lattice girder structure. The old Lustleigh station house is visible from the old railway bridge at Brookfield, as are the Brookfield, Caseley and Knowle bridges.
  These pictures show the journey of the last special passenger train to Bovey Tracey on 5 July 1970.
caption: Bovey Tracey station in 1970
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