OKEHAMPTON REOPENS:

The West Devon town of Okehampton rejoined the national network on November 20 when GWR introduced a daily service to Exeter via Crediton. Okehampton, formerly a stop on the now closed LSWR route to Plymouth via Tavistock, lost its passenger service in 1972, but the line from Crediton was retained as far as nearby Meldon Quarry for freight traffic. This also allowed railtours and occasional seasonal trains to run, but now the line has been upgraded to allow eight trains to run on Monday-Saturdays and seven on Sundays. No. 150233 is pictured below at Okehampton on November 19, for the official opening of the ‘Dartmoor Line’ by the Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps and Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy.