DOZENS of railway enthusiasts gathered at Bere Alston station last Friday to nibble a slice of birthday cake and raise a toast to 110 years of the railway.

On June 2 1890 the old London and South Western Railway main line to Exeter was extended from Lydford, through Brentor, Tavistock, Bere Alston, Bere Ferrers and Tamerton Foliot to St Budeaux in Plymouth.

Previously LSWR had been running express trains on one of its competitors' — Great Western Railway — branch lines which ran through Tavistock and on to Plymouth through Horrabridge and Yelverton. That closed in 1962.

In 1908 Bere Alston became a junction station when the line to Gunnislake and Callington opened.

Nowadays it is only the Gunnislake line that still exists, although attempts are being made to reinstate the line between Tavistock and Plymouth to ease congestion on the roads into the city.

Rubbing shoulders with local dignitaries, including Bere Ferrers parish council chairman Phil Archer and Richard Burningham of the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, which promotes the line and others like it on the peninsula, was John Snell.

John, who still lives in Bere Alston, was the booking clerk at the village station until 1963 and worked on the railways for a total of 46 years.

l A new documentary film has been released to celebrate the anniversary. AArchive Film Productions of Plymouth has included recently discovered footage of steams trains at kelly Bray and the old Gunnislake station in its last days.

Film-maker Phillip Lilley said: 'There's also a wonderful bit of nostalgia as an engine driver stops his train just outside Bere Alston to pick daffodils for his mother on Mothering Sunday.'

The film — 'Last Train to Kelly Bray' — includes 40 minutes of archive material, plus aerial views of the line today.