(Image from gwra.co.uk)
The Halwill to Torrington railway line was mainly single track with some double track sections such as at Hatherleigh Station to allow trains to pass one another. In order to operate safely the single line sections were controlled by signals and the driver carried a token coded, by cut-out position and shape, to that section of track. The stations at either end of a section had ‘Tyer’ instruments paired together electrically and only when the driver placed the token in the instrument at one end would the signals allow another train into that section. Each line would have had multiple tokens, allowing several trains to go in the same direction if need be, before a ‘down’ train returned. This is a Tyer No. 6 Single Line Token (about 4 1/2 inches in diameter) and is the 2nd token for the Hatherleigh to Hole section.
There is a lot of interest in railway memorabilia and this token was sold at auction in 2015 for £240.