Torrington and Marland Railway

Torrington and Marland Railway
Locale	England
Dates of operation	1880 – 1971
Track gauge	3 ft (914 mm)
Length	6¼ miles
Headquarters	Marland

The Torrington and Marland Railway was a narrow gauge railway built to carry clay from the quarries at Clay Moor to Torrington in north Devon.

History

The line was surveyed in 1879 by John Barraclough Fell who was also the consulting engineer to the nearby Pentewan Railway. Fell's survey was notable for its use of ten wooden viaducts, which were an unusual feature for a British railway.

The railway was a private line, built to serve clay traffic, but part of the agreement with the landowners over whose land it passed was that it would carry local passengers. Steam locomotives were used on both the main railway and the internal lines in the clay pits.

In 1925 the main line was replaced with a standard gauge branch of the North Devon and Cornwall Junction Light Railway. The Torrington and Marland was cut back to a 1½ mile stub and the internal quarry lines. These continued in use until 1971 when the line finally closed.

Locomotives

Number	Name	Builder	Type	Date	Works number	Notes
1	Mary	Black, Hawthornes	0-6-0ST	1880	576	Scrapped 1925
2	Marland	W.G. Bagnall	0-6-0T	1910
3	Peter	Stephen Lewin	0-4-0ST	c. 1870		Scrapped 1925
4	Merton		0-4-0 tender			Constructed from pieces of three Fletcher Jennings locomotives.
11		Avonside	0-6-0ST	1901		Scrapped 1925

References

• North Devon clay railways.

See also

• British narrow gauge railways