OKEHAMPTON'S railway station, which was restored to its former glory by rail enthusiasts Roy and Julie Gibbs, is up for sale.
The couple say it is with great regret that they are giving up their adored business but Mr Gibbs' ill-health has forced him to take the step.
He said: 'It is the last thing I honestly wanted to do.
'It's been such a wonderful time for us seeing the station come back to life.'
The station was purchased in 1996 by the Gibbs who had previously run model rail business in Cornwall for more than 20 years.
The site stood derelict for 25 years and Mr Gibbs admits they had a huge task in front of them.
'I think you have to be slightly mental to take something on like this anyway but it had always been a dream of mine to have my own station,' he said.
The 128-year-old station now looks like it did in the 1930s with the green and cream livery of the Southern Railway and it houses a gift shop, buffet, museum, a model railway and mail order model business.
Mr Gibbs said 11,000 hours had been spent refurbishing the station and developing it into one of the area's top tourist attractions and hundreds of thousands of pounds had been ploughed into it.
The station has also been returned to working life with the Sunday Dartmoor Rover train service to Exeter running during May to October, steam trains visiting the site after a break of 31 years on heritage days and ballast trains travelling to and from Meldon Quarry.
The couple have a good relationship with the other players involved in making the railway a success, such as Devon County Council, which owns the freehold, the train operating company which owns the track and Meldon Quarry.
'It has meant that we have been able to carry on enhancing things together,' he said.
On Sundays in the summer as many as 1,000 people a day come through the station doors.
The Dartmoor Pony shuttle service is the latest project which will transport people from the station to the restored Meldon Viaduct which now forms part of the National Cycle Network.
According to Mr Gibbs, a resident mischievous ghost, believed to be a former driver called Sam, is another reason why the station is so unique — just recently Sam has 'gone berserk'.
'Since we announced we were putting the station on the market he has been very active,' said Mr Gibbs. 'The old heavy doors to the model railway rattled like mad every day last week at precisely 4pm and no-one was near them.
'We have had boxes taking off from the shelves and cups flying through the air.
'This ghost has always been mischievous but I don't think he's too happy at the moment.'
Mr Gibbs said he has had people from as far as Australia contact him because of the ghostly goings on at the station which have been featured in newspapers and on TV.
Interest in purchasing the station, which is on the market for £315,000 leasehold from Miller and Son, Okehampton, has come from near and far but the owner is not going to rush into things.
'We have got to find someone who feels the same as we do about this place,' he said.
'The place is so unique and it would be a great shame if someone just bought it for business reasons.'
The owner said he would love to still be involved in the station in an advisory capacity.