[1] It is situated East of Great Links Tor,[2] and rises by the Rattlebrook Peatworks on remote moorland in the western section of Dartmoor National Park.
[5] The Rattlebrook Peatworks was a railway established in the Rattle Brook valley for the Dutchy of Cornwall to facilitate the transportation of goods and trade.
[6][7] Constructed in 1879 in the era of horse-drawn carriage transportation, the line was operated for almost all of its life by horse.
[8] Only by the early 20th century did more modern railcars become adopted in the area, when the first petrol powered lorry was converted to run on rails in Okehampton.
[6] The line was discontinued in 1932, with its final job being to remove all the metal as scrap from Rattlebrook and lift the rails.