I WAS interested to see a picture of the railway gun (Those Were The Days, October 14).
I have read somewhere that it was brought to Ashbury Station, where the alignment of the track (or a siding) was suitable for firing into the moor. This was necessary because of the recoil. It only fired one shell (which hit the target) before being retrieved.
The gun had to travel via Barnstaple Junction, Torrington and Halwill Junction as it was too heavy for Meldon Viaduct.
Hugh Pratt
Honeycombe, Lydford