Hundreds of people turned out to pay tribute to steam engine driver Dave Knowling as he made his final journey along the steam rail line he loved.
The 78-year-old, believed to be the longest serving steam engine driver in the country, died at his Buckfastleigh home just before Christmas.
Dave worked as a driver for British Railways’ Western Region before working on the Totnes to Buckfastleigh steam line for the last 50 years.
On Monday Dave was taken for a last trip along the South Devon Railway line before a funeral service was held at the ruined Holy Trinity Church at Buckfastleigh and the burial took place at the church cemetery.
More than 200 friends, relatives, railway staff and volunteers turned up to say good bye or join Dave on his last steam rail ride.
South Devon Railway’s business development manager Dick Wood said: “Dave had been a constant friendly face and proverbial rock of the Dart Valley and South Devon Railways for the last 50 years, from before the line re-opened in 1969 right up to the present day.
“His last driving turn was in October 2017 in his 63rd consecutive year working on steam engines.
“His trademark dress feature on a steam loco was always a spotted red handkerchief worn around his neck, and his family, and many fellow footplatemen, wore spotted handkerchiefs too as a mark of their love and respect.
“Dave was transported up and down the line he loved for one last time in a first class coach right next to engine No. 6412, fittingly the same loco he worked on for the re-opening day trains in 1969 and crewed by driver Colin Harmes, another stalwart of the first-day trains of ‘69, and his close friend of over 40 years driver Rodney Cox.
“The train guard was another veteran with 50 years’ SDR service, Alan Taylor, and loco No. 6412 bore a special headboard bearing the legend ‘Dave Knowling 1939-2017’ made by fellow SDR driver Chris Bowden. And loco No. 5786/L92 was in steam too as the standby engine with a spare crew.
“At the family’s request, the train stopped en route at Pixie Falls – a feature which Dave created by hand on a steep bankside close by the river Dart near Woodville, opposite Dartington Hall.
“The SDR’s red Routemaster London double-decker bus, which bore a special destination board ‘Dave Knowling Farewell’, ran shuttles to and from the Church for mourners, including Dave’s family who travelled there last in convoy, with the hearse arriving at 1pm, bang on time as Dave would have wished.
“Some 250 mourners at his packed funeral at Holy Trinity Church in Buckfastleigh on Dartmoor.”
Dave was one of the original members of staff to join the embryonic Dart Valley Railway after leaving British Railways in 1967.
Mr Wood: “When he married Sue in 1970, they even had their wedding reception on a Dart Valley train with “The Wedding Belle” as a headboard.
“Our thoughts and condolences are with Dave’s wife Sue and their family and friends. The SDR really won’t be the same without him.”