Posted on

SDR Sunday Lunch and Afternoon Tea

Join one of our popular Dining Trains from Buckfastleigh station and enjoy a traditional Sunday Lunch or Afternoon Tea.

Dining Trains are running on certain Sundays throughout the year – for more information, see our Dining Trains page.

You can enjoy a traditional three course Sunday Lunch aboard the 12.15 train from Buckfastleigh. Passengers will be served a traditional Soup, followed by a Roast Lunch with choice of meat (or Vegetarian option if booked in advance), and finished off with a choice of Dessert. Tea and Coffee will be served after the meal and an at-seat bar service will be in operation serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. View the full Sunday Lunch menu.

Or, you can join the Restaurant Car from Buckfastleigh at 15.45 for a traditional Afternoon Tea of Sandwiches, Savories, Cakes and a Cream Tea served to your seat. The Experience lasts for 1½ hours and is the ideal way to indulge in traditional West Country delicacies whilst enjoying the beautiful Devon scenery. View the full Afternoon Tea menu.

Posted on

Education Volunteers

Every year we welcome hundreds of school children to the SDR.

They come to find out about railway history in particular the role of the train in World War Two and the characters involved in building the tracks and bridges in Victorian times.

School visits are also an important part of our business as they bring revenue directly to the railway and the children are important ambassadors persuading parents, families and friends to come and see us in the future.

Typically children from Devon’s primary schools visit us for a day which includes talks and practical sessions along with a train ride. These visits take place mid-week in April, May, June, September and October.

We’are looking for other volunteers to join us to put the 2018 programme together and deliver it. Could you talk to a group of 7 year olds about Brunel? Could you help tell them what it was like to be an evacuee or how rationing worked? Have you got any wartime memorabilia you’d be prepared to demonstrate and let the children try out?

If you’d like to help please get in touch!

Thank you

Posted on

Snow Update

Please bear with us during this period of snow as many of our staff are unable to come to work.

We will answer outstanding messages, emails and answerphone messages when normal working resumes.

Our cafe staff are doing their best to open but may not be able to open every day.


Station Cat Oscar remains on duty throughout!

Posted on

2019 – Golden Anniversary Year

2019 is the 50th anniversary of the re-opening of the Ashburton Branch – and we are sure everyone would like to see a big celebration of that golden anniversary in 2019!

We are starting to plan the 2019 operating season now, and would be keen to hear views and ideas of how to celebrate the 50th anniversary year.

There are many ways in which the celebrations could take place – various galas, engines, timetables, methods of working, off-railway events, activities, etc.

So let us know your ideas by contacting us via any of the usual methods.

Although we can’t promise to do everything, we think everyone will share the SDR appetite and aspiration to do something really memorable.

Everything is ‘up for grabs’, so see what the most exciting thing you can come up with is to put the SDR’s 50th anniversary well-and-truly on the railway preservation calendar!