Redlake Tramway

The track of the dismantled Redlake Tramway curving around the south-western slopes of Western Beacon

The Redlake Tramway was a railway built to carry supplies and workers between Bittaford and the clay workings at Redlake, near the centre of the southern part of Dartmoor, Devon, England. It was built in 1911 to a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge, and ran for a circuitous 8.3 miles (13.4 km).

Remnants

The track bed is all that remains today. It can easily be followed on foot or by mountain bike from Bittaford Moor Gate, where there are a few parking spaces. The route provides easy access to several tors and hills that would be much less accessible otherwise, such as Hangershell Rock, Sharp Tor, Piles Hill, Three Barrows, Eastern and Western White Barrows and Quickbeam Hill.

The trackbed is lined at various points with marker posts, disused quarries and earthworks, but the most interesting remnants are towards the top of the ascent at Leftlake and Redlake itself. Both abandoned pits have been flooded, creating picturesque lakes (the word "lake" in both names derives from the streams flowing through the areas, not the artificial lakes, which are recent features). There is a robust stone bridge at Leftlake, complete with a rudimentary name plaque engraved in mortar. At Redlake there are the remains of a demolished pumphouse, along with several other ruins.

Sources

• Harris, Helen (1992). The Industrial Archaeology of Dartmoor. Newton Abbot: Peninsula Press. ISBN 1-872640-21-4.
• Wade, E A. The Redlake Tramway & China Clay Works. Twelveheads Press. ISBN 0-906294-56-8.