Churston railway station

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Churston railway station is on the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway, a heritage railway in Devon, United Kingdom. It is close to the village of Churston Ferrers.

[edit] History

The railway to Kingswear was built by the Dartmouth and Torbay Railway, the section from Paignton railway station to Churston opening on 14 March 1861. The station was known as Brixham Road until the line was extended to Kingswear railway station on 16 August 1864.

The Dartmouth and Torbay Railway was always operated by the South Devon Railway and was amalgamated with it on 1 January 1872. This was only short lived as the South Devon Railway was in turn amalgamated into the Great Western Railway on 1 February 1876

In the meantime, an independent branch line had been opened by the Torbay and Brixham Railway to serve the latter town on 28 February 1868. This was taken over by the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1883. A short bay platform was provided to cater for the Brixham trains. Sidings were added to allow for the goods traffic handled on the branch, including a busy trade in fish.

The main line platforms were extended to their present length in 1913.

The Great Western Railway was nationalised into British Railways in 1948. The Brixham branch closed on 13 May 1963, but the Kingswear service continued until it was sold to the Dart Valley Railway on 30 December 1972, which operated another nearby heritage railway at Buckfastleigh.

In 1981 the turntable from Goodrington was re-erected at Churston and workshop facilities have since been provided to allow restoration and maintenance of the trains needed for the railway.

[edit] Further reading

Potts, C.R., The Newton Abbot to Kingswear Railway (1844-1988), Oakwood Press 1988, ISBN 0-85361-387-7

Preceding station	Heritage railways	Next station
Goodrington Sands	Paington and Dartmouth Steam Railway	Kingswear

This station offers access to the South West Coast Path.
Distance to Coast Path	½ mile
Next station anticlockwise	Goodrington Sands 3 miles
Next station clockwise	Kingswear 12 miles