Saturday 14 March 2015

The Great Western Railway

The stretch of the Great Western Railway from Powderham, through Starcross and on to Newton Abbot, is the most scenic on what railway enthusiasts dub  'God's Wonderful Railway'.

In 1846, when it was extended from Exeter, the first trains were steam trains. Isambard Kingdom Brunel oversaw the project to propel the trains from Exeter to Totnes with an innovative atmospheric system, invented by the Samuda brothers. There were 14 engine houses. Only the Starcross engine house has been preserved.

The Brunel Tower from the estuary. 2014 Steve Nosworthy


Until the First World War, a forest of oak  stretched from Starcross to Haldon. The oak was cut down to make props for the trenches. A branch line brought the oak from Haldon.




Starcross railway station used to have a roof across the tracks, and buildings on both sides of the track.



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