DARTMOOR Railway is on track to make Okehampton Station one of the major highlights on the tourism map of the West Country after being given the go-ahead to take over the lease.

The rail company now has the full package — Okehampton Station, Meldon Station and the railway line in between.

Commercial manager for Dartmoor Railway Ian Rudd said everyone was 'ecstatic' about it and wanted to build on the great strides made by former leaseholder Roy Gibbs, who died earlier this year.

Plans include expanding the buffet to a seven day a week cafe/bistro with a team of chefs, extending the model shop, bringing steam trains to the line and providing educational trips.

Mr Rudd paid tribute to the man who put an extraordinary amount of work into renovating the derelict station after falling in love with it four years ago.

'Roy and his wife Julie put a tremendous amount of work and heartache into the station and it is a great shame that he did not live long enough to see the fruits of his labour,' he said.

'He did something special and if it was not for his vision this place would have been bulldozed by now.'

The station was returned to working life thanks to partnership between Mr Gibbs, Dartmoor Railway, RMS Locotec, Devon County Council, which owns Okehampton Station and West Devon Borough Council.

Enquiries came flooding in when the leasehold went up for sale but Mr Rudd said it seemed the natural progression for Dartmoor Railway to take it on.

'We are going to take the station on to the next stage and Roy wanted us to have it. He thought with us having the railway line and Meldon Station it was the right way to go.'

The station's decor will remain in the Southern Railway colours of green and cream but the cafe is set to take on a new look.

'It is going to be a completely different style and more relaxed,' said the commercial manager. 'All the meals will be home-cooked and we plan to have a special evening menu and serve Devon cream teas.'

The model shop will be enlarged and be more railway-orientated rather than general transport, and the model railway display will be transferred to the visitors' centre at Meldon Station. A second gift shop with locally-made items is also planned.

Mr Rudd said the aim was to build the interest at both stations so people would be encouraged to use the 'Dartmoor Pony' train service from Okehampton to Meldon which was launched this summer.

'As well as encouraging the tourists we want more local people to come here midweek and we hope with the new cafe that will happen.'

Dartmoor Railway is looking at running Santa Specials and other linked projects during the winter. It also wants to move into the field of educational trips because it is felt with the geography and geology of the area it is an ideal tool for teachers and children.

Devon County Council's head of transport co-ordination services Tim Davies said it was a welcome development that Dartmoor Railway had secured the business.

'We are confident that the company will develop the station in a way the county council finds acceptable,' he said.

'We have a common interest in developing the site as a transport hub and gateway to Dartmoor and creating employment.'

The station at Meldon provides an excellent start for ramblers with access to Meldon Viaduct and the National Cycle Network.

Mr Davies said funding for rural transport and railways would be a bit easier from now on with the new Rail/Passenger Partnership Fund and with imminent changes in the franchising of railway networks Okehampton could well have a direct service to London Waterloo in the future.

'The next stage will be developing Okehampton as a weekend break destination if the link to London is established,' he said. 'This would be a major boost for the town.'