SOUTH Devon Railway has extended its online ticket discounts until the end of April, and is also running some special trains along it’s Dart Valley line from Buckfastleigh this month.

Dick Wood, of the railway, said: ‘We’ve found that more and more visitors now also want to book online, so we’re offering reduced ordinary fares on round trip tickets booked online during April when the line is less busy than in the summer months.’

Under the ’spring steam sale’ a limited number of reduced price adult, senior and child round trip tickets are available by booking on the SDR website and entering the discount code ‘Spring’.

On two weekend dates this month (April) the railway is running some special trains, which will interest enthusiasts and visitors.

On April 21 there’s an opportunity to take a typical former GWR branch line trip aboard one of the railway’s ‘auto trains’.

Dick said: ‘These specially built carriages have extra windows and have almost all round vision, plus an interesting driving compartment at one end where the driver operates the controls of the steam engine.

‘These trains give great views of the delightful Dart Valley, and visitors can relive train travel from the 1950s and see how trains were operated on branch lines back then, when the steam engine driver operated his locomotive remotely using specially designed controls fitted in the passenger carriages.’

For enthusiasts of heritage diesel locomotives one of the railway’s classic collection will be hauling trains on April 28 alongside a traditional GWR steam engine.

Dick added: ‘Visitors can enjoy the roar and power of a typical mainline diesel locomotive brought in to replace steam in the early 1960s, and then take a more traditional trip back along the Dart Valley by steam later in the day.’