The Torrington and Marland Railway was a narrow gauge 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 stub and the internal quarry lines. These continued in use until 1971 when the line finally closed.
Locomotives NumberNameBuilderTypeDateWorks numberNotes1MaryBlack, Hawthorn & Co1880576Scrapped 19252MarlandW.G. Bagnall18833PeterStephen Lewinc. 1870Scrapped 19254MertonFletcher Jennings1880Constructed from pieces of three Fletcher Jennings locomotives.11Avonside19011428Scrapped 1925
See also British narrow gauge railways Tarka Trail
References
The Torrington & Marland Light Railway - Rod Garner (Kestrel Railway Books)