Rowtor Target Railway Explained

The Rowtor Target Railway was a military narrow gauge target railway south of Okehampton in Dartmoor, England, with a gauge of 610mm.

History

The Rowtor Target Railway was built 1959 as a target railway based on an older target railway.^[1] The 450m (1,480feet) long track consists of a long straight section and one curve, to which balloon loops were added each end as well as a double track siding into the locomotive shed, in which an old Wickham trolley was stored. There are four points, which are still in a working order, because the track and the trolley are maintained by a group of railway enthusiasts.^{[2] [3]}

By the dumbbell shaped design with turning loops at either end, it was possible to run the unmanned trolley, onto which a wooden target in the shape of a military tank was fixed, continuously back and forth along track.^{[1] [2] [4] [5]}

References

1. Guy Wareham: Military Target Railway. 10 November 2009.
2. Tom Moran: Explore Dartmoor’s Obscure Rowtor Target Railway. 17. November 2016.
3. https://books.google.com/books?id=ljhWAAAAMAAJ&q=Rowtor+Target+Railway The Railway Magazine, Band 151, IPC Business Press, 2005.
4. Timmy Raa: Derelict Places: Rowtor Target Railway. 29 November 2009.
5. https://zoom.earth/#50.702343,-3.992758,18z,sat Zoom Earth.