Ingra Tor Halt on Dartmoor was located on the 10.5 mile long single track of the Princetown Railway in Devon. Originally it was opened with a basic wood platform and shelter. It was adjacent to the short lived quarry, where the halt also served for freight traffic of granite.
Above is the map of the Yelverton to Princetown railway.
Alone on the Moor
A mixed ‘down’ train headed be a ‘3101’ class, 2-6-2T climbing its way to Ingra Tor during the summer of 1910. Although it’s 0.5 of a mile from the camera, it will have to travel over 2 miles to the line in the foreground. Image by Chapman & Son
The passengers coaches of the same train come into view, but several minutes later. Image by Chapman & Son
The loneliness of the moor is clearly shown in the fine view of Ingra Tor Halt on the 5th of July 1926. A mixed train can be seen descending from Princetown in the centre distance. Image by R. C. Riley
The line was opened on the 11 August 1883 and Yelverton was the junction for the line. Later in life, there were two more station added in the 1920s, Burrator Halt and King Tor Halt. Ingra Tor Halt was opened in 1936.
At the time, the price was: to Princetown, 111⁄2d First Class or 7d Second Class; to Burrator Halt, 9d and 51⁄2d; to King Tor Halt, 71⁄2d and 41⁄2d; to Dousland, 1s 1d and 71⁄2d; to Yelverton, 1s 5d and 10d; and to Plymouth, Millbay, 3s 8d and 2s 3d. A Cheap Day Return ticket to Plymouth cost 2s 3d Third Class; or to Princetown and back for 7d.
A mixed train negotiating the severe curve at M.P.6., just prior to entering Ingra Tor Halt. This photo was taken from the single coach on the 15th of June 1926. Image by H. C. Casserley
No 4410 leaves Ingra Tor Halt (pictured just to the east) and heads to Princetown, in the summer of 1955. Image by R. C. Riley
This time looking west, as the same train heads to Princetown. Image by R. C. Riley
A Walk Along the Track
During the harsh winters, the Ingra Tor was very difficult to get to, as this video of historical movie footage shows. Joan French had to walk, from their farmhouse, along the track, to the halt.
There is more about the history of the entire journey from Yelverton to Princetown in our video Rails Across the Moor, which you can watch for free on our YouTube Channel.
Thank you to Anthony Kingdom for the use of these images, which are taken from his book The Princetown Branch. Some of the information was taken from Wikipedia.
