Great Western Coffee Shop

Front the GWR franchise consultation

"During the consultation events, some stakeholders suggested that there could be
more integration and marketing of through bus/rail links to tourist attractions not
served by rail, e.g. Blenheim Palace or Stonehenge, as many tourists staying in
London may use organised coach trips to visit these attractions. A small number of
respondents raised the possibility of using national rail services to operate over
existing heritage railways to improve links to places not served by national rail, e.g. to
Minehead via the West Somerset Railway or to Goodrington via the South Devon
Railway."

Since when did the Buckfastleigh to Totnes line serve Goodrington in Paignton? :D

There was a SDR opened in 1846, taken over by GWR in c1876.

Perhaps the DfT library needs a new atlas.

OTC

I can certainly recommend one to the DfT: see https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=25806.0  ;)

The SDR South Devon Railway is not to be confused with the SDR Stockton & Darlington Railway, even in the minds of the DfT, hopefully.  ;D

DaFT as per usual.

And those SDRs are not to be confused with the SDR. The combined company when the Somerset Central Railway and Dorset Central Railway joined together - The Somerset & Dorset Railway.

Later known as the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway when the SDR was taken over jointly by the Midland Railway and the London & South Western Railway.

Ironic given that the DfT rail mandarin par excellence was (the late) Stuart Baker, guiding spirit behind the IET but also creator of Baker's Rail Atlas*.

* other rail atlases are available

Someone at the Department for Transport will have completely lost the plot by now.  ;D

How does the South Devon Railway relate to the Devon Valley Railway  ;D

 ;D

Very distantly. About 400 miles. one in England, the other in Scotland

... but, to someone at the Department for Transport, that could all make perfect sense.  Hence this entire topic.  ;)