Dartmouth Steam Railway celebrates 50th anniversary

The Dartmouth steam train is often photographed as it passes through Goodrington Sands, in Paignton

Dartmouth Steam Railway is marking its 50th anniversary with a celebration along the line and the River Dart.

The train runs from Paignton along the English Riviera coastline to Kingswear.

Managing director of Dartmouth Steam Railway & Riverboat Company John Jones said the anniversary was "a lovely opportunity" to thank everyone involved in the business over the years.

He said the journey was "the most picturesque" in the country.

For the celebrations, people who worked for the business when it first opened under the Dart Valley Railway in 1973 will be onboard a "special" private charter of the train from Paignton to Kingswear.

There will be about 95 guests onboard the locomotive for the celebration, the company said. There will also be a steam train whistle salute, with five short whistles, one for every 10 years.

The railway line opened under the Dart Valley Railway control in 1969, however, within a few years, the Paignton to Kingswear line was threatened with closure by British Railways, according to Dartmouth Steam Railway & Riverboat Company.

It was then the Dart Valley Railway, which would in 2010 become the Dartmouth Steam Railway & River Boat Company, acquired the section of railway line, with train services beginning in 1973.

The Goliath steam train passing through Goodrington Sands in Paignton

'Slightly bonkers attitude'

Mr Jones said: "This was a generation who were very much a post-war generation, who just said 'Well, OK British Rail, if you don't want to run that railway, we'll do it", and that's a really dopey idea to be honest, because it's hugely complicated, it's hugely difficult, and if you sat and thought about it properly, you wouldn't do it.

"They did do it and thank goodness they did do it, and they did a really good job of it, and we kind of sometimes take for granted that fact that we have this lovely steam train running up and down the coast every day all summer."

Mr Jones said it was "important for everybody to appreciate" the hard work that goes into keeping the railway going.

He said: "Even I fall foul to that occasionally, you know you look around the business and you forget what an amazing impact of, you know, we would say the most picturesque steam railway journey in the country, with the shots of our train going across the beach huts at Goodrington and down the river and across those lovely viaducts.

"We all really love those views and everybody smiles when they see it, and you often don't realise what a huge amount of work it is to keep that going, but also to recognise the slightly bonkers attitude of that group 50 years ago."