News that a preserved railway has bought its independence for just £1 could bring extra revenue worth millions of pounds steaming into the area.An eight-year slog by Buckfastleigh's South Devon Railway (SDR) finally reached its destination on Monday when the former owner, Dart Valley Railway (DVR), handed over the freehold to the seven-mile track and its stations.Complicated railway operating rules required years of talks with the Department of Transport to allow the Paignton-based DVR to sell the Buckfastleigh-to-Totnes line, to permit the use of recently-built track and grant permission for SDR's expansion plans.

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