A SPECIAL charter train ran through Okehampton to Meldon Viaduct on Sunday as part of the Newton Abbot Transport Festival.

This was the third charter train to visit the line this year and is an indication of the growing popularity of the Dartmoor Line with both rail enthusiasts and tourists alike.

Dartmoor Railway launched a subscription and discount scheme called the 'Friends of Dartmoor Railway' at the Newton Abbot Transport Festival which is aimed at regular users of the line and those interested in furthering its development.

More than 2,000 visited the Dartmoor Railway stand at the festival.

Preserved 'West Country' class pacific 'Bodmin' was due to haul a steam special into Okehampton and on to Meldon Quarry on June 10.

However, work has had to be carried out on the main-line certificated locomotive which has caused the trip to be cancelled.

Now the celebrated 'West Country' — which is based at the Watercress Line in Mid Herts — will be out on a loaded test run only as far as Salisbury instead.

However all is not lost. Railway enthusiasts and steam nostalgists should still be able to see 'Bodmin' west of Exeter — albeit later in the year.

A spokesman for the Watercress Line said its flagship locomotive is now due to make the run along the Okehampton line to Meldon on September 30.

The 'West Country' class was a popular type of locomotive named after towns in the West of England that saw regular service on the former Southern Railway Exeter-Plymouth line.