BERE Ferrers station will be going back to the future and its Southern Railway past this Saturday (September 20) as the Tamar Valley Line takes centre stage in the National Community Rail Festival.
As part of the festivities, the station is being re-signed in the green and white colours of the Southern Railway and British Railways Southern Region.
At midday on Saturday, First Great Western chairman Charles Howeson will unveil one of the new 'old' signs with Chris Grove, owner of the Tamar Belle Heritage Centre at Bere Ferrers Station and Clive Charlton, chairman of the Tamar Valley Line Forum.
The Tamar Belle Heritage Centre will be holding an open day on Saturday as part of the festival.
There will be the chance to ride on a pump trolley, ride in a coal truck and visit the station's signalbox. The heritage centre will be open between 11am and 5pm. There will be no admission fee.
Other festival events include guided walks from Bere Alston and Calstock stations and a jazz train. John Shillito's Select Four will play on the 11.30am train from Plymouth to Gunnislake and the 12.19pm train from Gunnislake to Plymouth.
There will also be a free vintage bus link between Gunnislake Station and Morwellham Quay.
The Tamar Valley Line events tie in with others on the Looe Valley Line and in Plymouth. That morning at 10.30am a plaque will be unveiled at Plymouth Station, twinning the Tamar Valley Line with the Bittern Line, which runs between Norwich and Sheringham in Norfolk.
Plymouth Station will play host to Paddington Bear, a Lego competition and station fete. There will be the opportunity to sit in the driver's seat of a First Great Western High Speed Train, plus vintage open top bus tours of the city.
Half price Devon and Cornish Day Ranger tickets will be on sale on the line and in Plymouth on both Saturday September 20 and Sunday 21. These will allow a day's unlimited travel in either county for £5 (£2.50 child). Both tickets include the Tamar Valley Line.
The festival events have been organised by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, which works to promote the Tamar Valley Line and other rural railways in the two counties.
A leaflet giving full details of the events is available from a number of shops and post offices close to the Tamar Valley Line, Tavistock Tourist Information Centre, Plymouth Station or online at http://www.greatscenicrailways.com">www.greatscenicrailways.com