It was built in 1911 to a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge, and ran for a circuitous 8.3 miles (13.4 km).
At the southern end of the line remains the old bridge abutments of the track going over the incline which lowered wagons to give access to the standard gauge mainline, the trackbed of the incline, the base of the winding house, and at the line's extremities the locomotive and carriage shed remains.
It was of standard Tattoo design, so no drawings exist of this exact loco, except for the cab which was different to offer greater protection considering Dartmoor's harsh climate.
Built by Atkinson Walker's, it was the sister of the AW tractor provided to the Clogher Valley Railway, which was reputed to be unsuccessful, thus being converted to diesel.
Unlike the CVR tractor, the Redlake one was deemed highly successful and was the preferred loco at the time (C.A.