PRINCETOWN BRANCH

Built for: Princetown Railway Company Terminus: Princetown Main line connection: Yelverton (Plymouth-launceston branch) Opened: August 11 1883 Length of line: 10¼ miles Intermediate stations: 4 Closed: March 3 1956 Key locomotives you’ll need? GWR ‘44XX’ and ‘45XX’ 2-6-2Ts Why’s Princetown special? It may have all the hallmarks of a classic GWR branch line terminus with station, goods shed, locomotive shed with raised watertank and turntable, but you could never accuse it of being a ‘chocolate box’! The line was steeply graded through beautifully bleak Dartmoor scenery. Apparently, the offer to construct part of the line using convict labour from the prison was not accepted. What’s left at Princetown? The trackbed is a footpath, and only the goods shed survives. Where can I find out more? The Launceston Branch by G.H. Anthony (Oakwood Press).