Everything about The South Devon Railway Sea Wall totally explained
The
South Devon Railway sea wall is situated on the south coast of
Devon in
England. It is probably the most photographed section of railway in the
United Kingdom as a footpath runs alongside the railway between
Dawlish Warren and
Dawlish, and another footpath forms a continuation to the sea front
promenade at
Teignmouth. Both these form part of the
South West Coast Path.
The
South Devon Railway was built by
Isambard Kingdom Brunel and takes a route from
Exeter which follows the
River Exe to Dawlish Warren, runs beneath the sea cliffs to Teignmouth, and then follows the
River Teign to
Newton Abbot. It follows tidal waters for about 13 miles, 4 of which are open sea.
History
The
South Devon Railway was opened from
Exeter St Davids railway station to
Teignmouth railway station on
30 May 1846 and extended to
Newton railway station on
31 December 1846. It was a
broad gauge railway of 7 feet ¼ inch gauge and intended to be worked by
atmospheric power, although atmospheric trains only ran from
13 September 1847 until
9 September 1848.
The South Devon Railway was amalgamated into the
Great Western Railway on
1 February 1876 and the gauge converted to the standard 4 feet 8½ inches after
20 May 1892. A station was opened to serve Dawlish Warren in
1905, all the other stations on the Sea Wall having opened with the line in
1846.
The Great Western Railway was
nationalised into
British Railways on
1 January 1948. The line is now owned by
Network Rail and the stations and majority of trains operated by
First Great Western.
The route
River Exe
The river comes into view at Turf. The square pond and disturbed ground between the railway and river are the remains of
Turf engine house, one of the engine houses used for powering the atmospheric trains. After a short distance the river wall comes alongside the railway at
Powderham. After passing the railway then runs between the river and the deer park of
Powderham Castle, to
Starcross railway station, situated in the middle of
Starcross village. Opposite the pier for the ferry to
Exmouth is the
Starcross engine house.
A little further along the river, the railway crosses the mouth of
Cockwood harbour. Near here was the 1,285 feet long Exe Bight Pier, in use from
1869 for about ten years. On the opposite side of the river trains can sometimes be seen near
Lympstone Commando railway station.
The river enters the sea at Exmouth while the railway runs behind the sand dunes of Dawlish Warren to reach
Dawlish Warren railway station.
Sea Wall
On leaving Dawlish Warren the railway comes onto the Sea Wall proper with the walkway alongside, although it quickly enters the short and deep cutting at Langstone Rock. Emerging above the beach, views can be had towards
Torbay.
The footpath is level with the railway except for a short section at Sea Lawn where it drops down almost to beach level. this section is impassable on foot at high tide and so walkers need to cross the line on Rockstone Footbridge and return to the sea wall using another footbridge at Coastguard's Cottage. Now a cafe, this building was used by the railway during its construction and then sold to the coastguard. Their boat house is below the footbridge.
Immediately beyond the Coastguard Footbridge are the long platforms of
Dawlish railway station with the town seen off to the right from Colonnade Viaduct at the other end of the station.
The line now enters its first tunnel, Kennaway, beneath Lea Mount, beyond which is Coryton beach, the furthest point accessible by the sea wall footpath from Dawlish. The Coryton tunnel leads to the next beach, Shell Cove, accessible by foot only via the shore at very low tide or by a private path from the clifftop. The railway then passes through Phillot Tunnel and Clerk's Tunnel, emerging onto a section of sea wall at Breeches Rock before diving into Parson's Tunnel beneath Hole Head. The last two tunnels are named after the Parson and Clerk Rocks, two
stacks in the sea off Hole Head.
Beyond Parson's Tunnel is a short viaduct across Smugglers Lane and then the footpath resumes for the final stretch past Sprey Point to the cutting at Teignmouth Eastcliff. On the landward side of the railway near Sprey Point can be seen the remains of a
lime kiln used during the construction of the line.
River Teign
After passing through
Teignmouth railway station the line continues through a cutting to emerge behind the busy Teignmouth Harbour, after which the railway resumes its course alongside the water, the
River Teign. The cuttings on both sides of the station were originally tunnels and were opened out between
1879 and
1884.
After going under the
Shaldon Bridge and passing a boat yard on the site of Teignmouth
gas works, the line follows the river past the small
promontories at Flow Point, Red Rock, and Summer House, before passing though two small cuttings and crossing Hackney Marshes near the race course to reach
Newton Abbot railway station.
Across the river opposite Summer House can be seen the waterside inn at
Coombe Cellars.
Further Information
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