The Beer Heights Light Railway operates of minimum-gauge track at

Beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is part of Pecorama, an exhibition owned by Peco.

Overview

The official opening was by Rev.

W.V. Awdry Wilbert Vere Awdry (15 June 1911 – 21 March 1997), often credited as Rev. W. Awdry, was an English Anglican minister, railway enthusiast, and children's author. He is best remembered as the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine and several othe ...

on 14 July 1975, at which time it offered a return ride from "Much Natter" station via a

balloon loop A balloon loop, turning loop, or reversing loop ( North American Terminology) allows a rail vehicle or train to reverse direction without having to shunt or stop. Balloon loops can be useful for passenger trains and unit freight trains. Bal ...

. Subsequently, it was almost doubled in length by construction of the "Devil's Gorge" extension which involved a very considerable

cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the sca ...

and tunnel, and the complex track layout also includes a more recent steeply-graded branch line to "Wildway Down". The station at Deepwater was revamped in late 2014 and reopened in July 2015 as 'Deepwater Halt'. The line is notable for its high standard of presentation to the public and for the fine views obtainable from it. It is home to eight live

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s designed on narrow gauge principles.

Locomotives

The railway currently has eight steam locomotives, two diesel and one electric. A locomotive called 'Finn MacCool' also visits every summer (usually July – September) from the Belfast and County Down Miniature Railway Society,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, to help out in the peak season. Other locomotives also visit during the 'Loco Week' and 'Bank Holiday Weekend Gala' in August. A list of locomotives currently in use is below:

References

External links

Beer Heights Light Railway website
1975 establishments in England Railway lines opened in 1975 Heritage railways in Devon Miniature railways in the United Kingdom 7¼ in gauge railways in England {{England-rail-transport-stub