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Tarka Valley Railway has acquired a Class 143, and will be having a naming ceremony and other fun on Saturday 8 April 2023, from 1100 to 1700. This will feature the first passenger train to grace Torrington Station for over 40 years.

More information on  Tarka Valley Railway's website (https://www.tarkavalleyrailway.org/events/naming-ceremony-%26-open-day), where this picture and others can be found.

(https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c2415a_053d3836e7ad453d801cacfa0d63bf04~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_680,h_385,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Image-empty-state.jpg)

Good news, and as someone said in another thread "WSR take note"
I do not much like 143s but they are far preferable to nothing, which is what was previously available.
In the longer term, a battery powered train would be better in order to reduce carbon emissions, and noise. But again, a DMU is far better than no train.

"What-if"s are wonderful.  What if someone wanted to run a low-cost commuter service over a heritage line into a main Network Rail connection - would a handful of no-longer-needed trains cover the first few years?   The question here (or rather going off topic) is 143s, but there are now also 153 and some 156 units in storage.  For a service that's only the length of a heritage railway, on board loos would be nice rather than mandatory, and a fleet of these deposed units might help overcome spare part issues that put now-unique and life-expired stock out of commission for extended periods.

Sorry - going off topic ...

While it would be lovely to see the line reinstated back to Barnstaple and/or Halwill Junction for Meldon etc, at present there isn't really that much track laid. It's going be a very short ride. There is a campaign to get the railway back to Bideford, just up the road in Devon terms, although it has so far only got to where the Portishead campaign was in about 1980.

They are a very enthusiastic bunch at the TVR, and seemingly very capable. So who can say?

First train out of Great Torrington for umpteen years.... okay so it was only 300 metres but you have to start somewhere.  See the Beeb article on link below for a few more details.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-66416776