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Bristol And Exeter Railway
All photographs of this railway in date order.
![Exeter St Davids north end level crossing and keeper.<br><br>[Ewan Crawford //]](/images/7000/7312.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![Central Trains service waits at Exeter St Davids.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore //]](/images/12000/12070.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![Signalman Mike Hayman on the steps of Cowley Bridge Junction box, Exeter.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore //]](/images/18000/18940.jpg "Cowley Bridge Junction")
![A BR InterCity 125 HST leaving Exeter St Davids for London Paddington in the 1980s.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore //]](/images/43000/43419.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![An InterCity 125 HST fire at Exeter - in the 1990s. [Ref query 10048]<br><br>[Ian Dinmore //]](/images/56000/56969.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![Ex-GWR 4985 <I>Allesley Hall</I> heads a Bristol-bound train through Bleadon and Uphill in 1960.<br><br>[John Thorn //1960]](/images/26000/26236.jpg "Bleadon and Uphill")
![Worle Junction is at the Bristol end of the Weston-super-Mare loop. Looking west in 1960, the Taunton line bears left and the Weston loop right. At the end of the lane, centre right, is the site of Worle station. The Weston loop is now single (plans to re-double it have recently been abandoned) and there is a new Worle station a mile nearer Bristol.<br><br>[John Thorn //1960]](/images/26000/26258.jpg "Worle Junction")
![Ex-GWR Hall class 4-6-0 no 4993 <I>Dalton Hall</I> waits with a train at Exeter St Davids in August 1961.<br><br>[K A Gray 17/08/1961]](/images/35000/35816.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![Rebuilt Bulleid 'West Country' Pacific no 34036 <I>Westward Ho!</I> with an up express waiting to leave Exeter St Davids on 5 October 1961.<br><br>[K A Gray 05/10/1961]](/images/41000/41013.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![An unidentified 'Western' locomotive approaching Worle Junction from the Bristol direction in 1962. The train is signalled for the main line rather than the Weston-super-Mare loop.<br><br>[John Thorn //1962]](/images/38000/38534.jpg "Worle Junction")
![The Bristol and Exeter Railway cuts through the end of the Mendips in a deep cutting crossed by a brick arch known locally as Devil's Bridge. A Hymek is hauling a train north towards the junction of the Weston loop at Uphill Junction. Sources differ as to whether a station was built here but never used.<br><br>[John Thorn /09/1962]](/images/26000/26183.jpg "Uphill Junction")
!['Western' diesel hydraulic No. D1070 <I>Western Gauntlet</I> seen shortly after departure from Exeter St. Davids with a Paddington express in 1971. The train is approaching Cowley Bridge Junction, where the Barnstaple branch leaves the West of England main line.<br><br>[Bill Jamieson 23/07/1971]](/images/41000/41518.jpg "Cowley Bridge Junction")
![Class 43 'Warship' diesel hydraulic no 858 <i>Valorous</i> leaving Bristol westbound with a parcels train in July 1971, seen here at Parson Street. The fine display of lower quadrant semaphore signals obviously had only a short time left.<br><br>[Bill Jamieson 24/07/1971]](/images/31000/31460.jpg "Parson Street")
![The <I>Western China Clay Railtour</I> at Exeter St Davids on 4 September 1976 behind D1023 <I>Western Fusilier</I>. <br><br>[Ian Dinmore 04/09/1976]](/images/18000/18619.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![A pair of Class 52 <I>'Western'</I> diesel-hydraulic locomotives double heading a train at Exeter St Davids in 1977.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore //1977]](/images/37000/37424.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![The 20.10 stopping train to Basingstoke about to leave Exeter St Davids on a November evening in 1983.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore 13/11/1983]](/images/34000/34787.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![View of Exeter Riverside yard in 1984.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore //1984]](/images/43000/43286.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![A class 50 brings a London bound service from Paignton past Exeter Riverside box on the approach to Exeter St Davids station in the summer of 1984.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore //1984]](/images/43000/43872.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![The signal box at Stoke Canon Crossing, north east of Exeter, photographed in July 1984. Closed the following year, the listed structure still stands. [With thanks to Prestonian, Kenneth Leiper and Eric Gains]<br><br>[Ian Dinmore /07/1984]](/images/45000/45204.jpg "Stoke Canon")
![Main platforms at Exeter St Davids in 1985.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore //1985]](/images/13000/13039.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![A 'Peak' rumbles over the bridge on the approach to Exeter St Davids station, coming out of the sun with a Paignton - Leeds train in the summer of 1985.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore //1985]](/images/35000/35234.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![50023 <I>'Howe'</I> brings a train into Exeter St Davids in 1985.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore //1985]](/images/35000/35262.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![Mike Hayman, the signalman at Cowley Bridge Junction, takes the token from a passing train in the summer of 1985.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore //1985]](/images/44000/44313.jpg "Cowley Bridge Junction")
![North end of Exeter St Davids station in March 1985.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore /03/1985]](/images/43000/43701.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![The 07.10 DMU from Barnstaple arrives at Exeter St Davids on 9 May 1985 complete with attached GUV.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore 09/05/1985]](/images/35000/35757.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![The single car diesel unit for Barnstaple waits at Exeter St Davids in May 1985. Note the BRUTEs and mail bags on the platform alongside.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore 15/05/1985]](/images/36000/36865.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![Signalman Mike Hayman at work in Cowley Bridge Junction signal box in June 1985 [see image 44796].<br><br>[Ian Dinmore /06/1985]](/images/45000/45478.jpg "Cowley Bridge Junction")
![An HST leaving Taunton in the summer of 1985.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore /07/1985]](/images/37000/37171.jpg "Taunton")
![The PW team seems to be looking on a little pensively (as do one or two of the passengers) as 50003 <I>Temeraire</I> slowly rumbles over new track and pointwork into Exter St Davids station in 1986 with a Paddington bound train.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore //1986]](/images/44000/44652.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![Resignalling work underway at Taunton in April 1986.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore /04/1986]](/images/33000/33033.jpg "Taunton")
![Last days at Tiverton Junction in April 1986. The station, opened by the Bristol and Exeter Railway in 1844, finally closed to passengers the following month, coincident with the opening of Tiverton Parkway. [See image 35390]<br><br>[Ian Dinmore /04/1986]](/images/35000/35388.jpg "Tiverton Junction")
![The waiting room and booking office at Tiverton Junction in April 1986, a month before closure [see image 35390].<br><br>[Ian Dinmore /04/1986]](/images/37000/37113.jpg "Tiverton Junction")
![An unusual view of the now demolished station at Tiverton Junction showing the old bay platform for the Exe Valley branch. Scene in April 1986, a month before the station was closed to be replaced by Tiverton Parkway [see image 35388].<br><br>[Ian Dinmore /04/1986]](/images/44000/44327.jpg "Tiverton Junction")
![50046 <I>Ajax</I> preparing to leave Exeter St David's with a Waterloo train in the summer of 1987.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore //1987]](/images/43000/43384.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![50025 <I>Invincible</I> passing Cowley Bridge Junction with a Paddington - Plymouth service in July 1987.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore /07/1987]](/images/44000/44664.jpg "Cowley Bridge Junction")
![A Plymouth bound HST about to run through Cowley Bridge Junction in the summer of 1987.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore /07/1987]](/images/44000/44796.jpg "Cowley Bridge Junction")
![Network SouthEast liveried 50024 <I>Vanguard</I> looks in a bit of a state at Exeter St Davids in 1991 having recently come off a train from Waterloo.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore //1991]](/images/38000/38386.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![Class 50 no 50002 <I>Superb</I> at Exeter St Davids on 20 January 1991 in Network SouthEast livery.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore 20/01/1991]](/images/37000/37366.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![LMS 6233 <I>Duchess of Sutherland</I> southbound at Nailsea and Backwell station, 10 miles south of Bristol, on 27 October 2001.<br>
<br><br>[Peter Todd 27/10/2001]](/images/32000/32766.jpg "Nailsea and Blackwell")
![The West of England TPO at Exeter St Davids on the evening of 28 May 2002, with EWS 67015 in charge. <br><br>[Ian Dinmore 28/05/2002]](/images/62000/62427.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![47767 brings a westbound train into Exeter St Davids platform 4 in May 2002.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore 31/05/2002]](/images/60000/60620.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![47847 calls at Exeter St Davids platform 5 on 31 May 2002 with the 0941 Plymouth - Edinburgh. The locomotive is carrying dual nameplates - on this side <I>'Brian Morrison'</I> with <I>'Railway World Magazine'</I> on the other. In 2017 this loco is still main line registered, with the Rail Operations Group. <br><br>[Ian Dinmore 31/05/2002]](/images/62000/62020.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![47847 at Exeter St Davids on 31 May 2002 with the 0941 Plymouth - Edinburgh Virgin CrossCountry service.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore 31/05/2002]](/images/63000/63218.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![Platform view north at Exeter St Davids on a fine May morning in 2002 as the First Great Western 0647 ex-Penzance HST prepares to continue on its journey to London Paddington. <br><br>[Ian Dinmore 31/05/2002]](/images/63000/63251.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![The Virgin CrossCountry 0941 Plymouth - Edinburgh calls at Exeter St Davids on 31 May 2002 behind 47847.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore 31/05/2002]](/images/63000/63515.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![Unit 153305 in Wessex regional livery preparing to leave Exter St Davids on 4 June 2002 with a service to Exmouth.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore 04/06/2002]](/images/53000/53244.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![A Virgin CrossCountry service bound for Bristol, recently arrived at Exeter St Davids platform 5 on 4 June 2002. Locomotive in charge is 47741 <I>Resilient</I>. <br><br>[Ian Dinmore 04/06/2002]](/images/60000/60853.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![47741 <I>Resilient</I> standing alongside platform 5 at Exeter St Davids on 4 June 2002 with a Virgin CrossCountry service, while in the background a westbound Voyager is running into platform 4. <br><br>[Ian Dinmore 04/06/2002]](/images/63000/63477.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![153373 in <I>Heart of Wessex</I> livery boarding at Exeter St Davids in June 2002. [See image 61958]<br><br>[Ian Dinmore 05/06/2002]](/images/63000/63057.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![A terminating Virgin Cross Country service from Manchester Piccadilly runs into platform 4 at Exeter St Davids during the afternoon of 6 June 2002.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore 06/06/2002]](/images/59000/59952.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![Night scene at Exeter St Davids, looking north towards Taunton on 28 June 2002. EWS 67015 is awaiting the right away from platform 1 with the West of England TPO. [Ref query 1656]<br><br>[Ian Dinmore 28/06/2002]](/images/60000/60091.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![Looking north along platform 6 on the west side of Exeter St Davids station on on the morning of 30 June 2002. DMU 150267 is stabled alongside awaiting its next duty. <br><br>[Ian Dinmore 30/06/2002]](/images/61000/61579.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![153373 in <I>Heart of Wessex</I> livery stands in the sidings alongside Exeter St Davids in June 2002. <br><br>[Ian Dinmore 30/06/2002]](/images/61000/61958.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![A Virgin Cross Country service about to pass below Bath Road bridge shortly after leaving Bristol Temple Meads on 2 August 2002. The train is hauled by XP64-liveried Brush Type 4 D1733/47853 <I>Rail Express</I>.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore 02/08/2002]](/images/60000/60508.jpg "Bristol Temple Meads")
![DMU 143263 awaiting its departure time at Bristol Temple Meads station on 14 August 2002 with a mid morning service to Severn Beach.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore 02/08/2002]](/images/61000/61146.jpg "Bristol Temple Meads")
![Consolation photograph of a Voyager Cross Country service passing through Parson Street station, Bristol on 4 May 2008. (The expected star of the show, 71000 <I>Duke of Gloucester</I>, failed to arrive with a scheduled Bristol - Plymouth excursion following a mechanical problem.) <br><br>[Peter Todd 04/05/2008]](/images/18000/18932.jpg "Parson Street")
![Looking north along the Up platform at Tiverton Parkway on 28 June as an Edinburgh bound Cross Country Voyager, with 435 miles still to go, sets off on the next leg of its journey.<br><br>[John McIntyre 28/06/2008]](/images/19000/19720.jpg "Tiverton Parkway")
![First Great Western HSTs destined for Paddington (left) and Plymouth meet at Tiverton Parkway on 28 June 2008.<br><br>[John McIntyre 28/06/2008]](/images/19000/19790.jpg "Tiverton Parkway")
![A northbound Cross Country Voyager arrives at Tiverton Parkway station on 28 June 2008.<br>
<br><br>[John McIntyre 28/06/2008]](/images/19000/19848.jpg "Tiverton Parkway")
![Freightliner 66507 takes loaded coal wagons from Portbury docks through Parson Street station, Bristol, towards Temple Meads on 26 November, probable final destination Fiddlers Ferry power station.<br><br>[Peter Todd 26/11/2008]](/images/21000/21597.jpg "Parson Street")
![A CrossCountry Voyager southbound through Parson Street station, Bristol, on 5 December 2008.<br><br>[Peter Todd 05/12/2008]](/images/21000/21688.jpg "Parson Street")
![First Great Western 143621 with a service from Weston-super-Mare to Bristol Parkway via Temple Meads calls at Nailsea and Blackwell on 22 December on its journey north.<br><br>[Peter Todd 22/12/2008]](/images/21000/21860.jpg "Nailsea and Blackwell")
![Heading south west from Bristol for Weston-super-Mare is First Great Western 158767, photographed at Nailsea and Blackwell on 22 December 2008. <br><br>[Peter Todd 22/12/2008]](/images/21000/21878.jpg "Nailsea and Blackwell")
![150266 on a Bristol Temple Meads - Taunton service on 22 December, photographed heading south between Nailsea & Blackwell and Yatton.<br>
<br><br>[Peter Todd 22/12/2008]](/images/21000/21916.jpg "Nailsea and Blackwell")
![EWS 66079 <I>James Nightall GC</I> takes a loaded coal train through Parson Street station in the Bristol suburbs on 30 January heading in the direction of Temple Meads.<br><br>[Peter Todd 30/01/2009]](/images/22000/22306.jpg "Parson Street")
![HST 43128 arrives at Temple Meads from the south in November 2009.<br><br>[Peter Todd 11/11/2009]](/images/26000/26489.jpg "Bristol Temple Meads")
![Located 7 miles east of the town of Tiverton, near the Junction of the M5 and the North Devon Link Road, is Tiverton Parkway station. The station opened on 12 May 1986, the day after closure of Tiverton Junction [see image 35388] and is built on the site of the former Sampford Peverell Halt [closed in October 1964]. A westbound service calls at the station in June 2010.<br><br>[Ewan Crawford 11/06/2010]](/images/35000/35390.jpg "Tiverton Parkway")
![Running approximately an hour late D1015 <I>Western Champion</I> leads 6024 <I>King Edward I</I> into Exeter with the 'Steam Dreams' <I> Cornish Riviera Express</I> special. The train then reversed into Riverside Yard where D1015 came off and 5029 <I>Nunney Castle</I> joined 6024 for the run to Cornwall.<br>
<br><br>[Mark Poustie 26/06/2010]](/images/29000/29558.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![6024 <I>King Edward I</I> stands at the platform at Exeter St Davids on 26 June with the 'Steam Dreams' <I>Cornish Riviera Express</I>. Sadly 6024 did not lead the train into Exeter but was piloted by D1015 <I>Western Champion</I>.<br>
<br><br>[Mark Poustie 26/06/2010]](/images/29000/29562.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![The Network Rail Measurement Train takes shelter at Exeter St Davids on 17 December 2010.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore 17/12/2010]](/images/32000/32375.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![A defective 143617 heads out of Exeter TMD onto the up line to move across the depot site on 13 September, while 153305 waits at platform 6a to form the 16.25 to Plymouth. 143617 subsequently failed and blocked the up line for some 20 minutes, due to a brake release fault, and delayed 153305's departure before it could be got back onto the depot. <br><br>[David Pesterfield 13/09/2012]](/images/40000/40485.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![A former GWR water tower still extant on down side north of Taunton Station seen from the window of a passing train in October 2012. The legend 'British Railways Taunton Freight Concentration Depot' is still visible on the tank side.<br><br>[David Pesterfield 17/10/2012]](/images/40000/40790.jpg "Taunton")
![During severe flooding blocking the line at Cowley Bridge Junction north of Exeter a CrossCountry HST from York lays over on the right in Taunton's platform 2. Routing from Cheltenham had been via Chepstow with reversal at Severn Tunnel Junction due to a landslip near Westerleigh. The class 150 DMUs are operating shuttle services from Taunton to Bristol and Cardiff.<br><br>[David Pesterfield 28/11/2012]](/images/41000/41240.jpg "Taunton")
![A small piece of infrastructure, but nonetheless important. A water cart, used for topping up HST coolant, stands on the platform at Exeter St Davids in February 2013.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/02/2013]](/images/42000/42179.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![An HST heading for Penzance, seen at Exeter; where in the 1950's, passenger expresses passed through every 2 to 3 minutes at peak times.<br>
Notice how the cloud has obligingly 'framed' the cab.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/02/2013]](/images/42000/42185.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![Rebuilt Bulleid West Country Pacific no 34046 <I>Braunton</I> heading south-west out of Bristol on 18 August 2013. The recently restored locomotive is about to pass through Parson Street Station with the 09.15 Bristol Temple Meads - Kingswear <I>Torbay Express</I>. [See image 43812]<br>
<br>
<br><br>[Peter Todd 18/08/2013]](/images/44000/44247.jpg "Parson Street")
![Highbridge was formerly the point where the Somerset and Dorset's Burnham-on-Sea branch intersected the Great Western main line on a flat crossing. The S&D branch closed in 1966 and modern housing now occupies that part of the station but two sets of rail wheels on a short section of track commemorate the old railway. The surviving platforms enjoy a regular service of stopping trains between Taunton and Bristol. <br><br>[Mark Bartlett 17/05/2014]](/images/47000/47872.jpg "Highbridge and Burnham")
![A Taunton to Bristol local service swings left onto the Weston-super-Mare loop at Uphill Junction. 150121 is one of two three-car sets operated by First Great Western in 2014.<br><br>[Mark Bartlett 18/05/2014]](/images/47000/47426.jpg "Uphill Junction")
![Loooking west at Uphill Junction, towards Brunel's magnificent bridge spanning the cutting on 18 May, as 43304 leads a CrossCountry HST on a Newquay to Edinburgh service. The crossover in the foreground is used by westbound trains from the Weston-Super-Mare loop to regain the Down Main line. [See image 26183] <br><br>[Mark Bartlett 18/05/2014]](/images/47000/47551.jpg "Uphill Junction")
![FGW 43020 speeds past Uphill Junction leading a Sunday Paddington to Plymouth HST service on 18th May 2014. The Weston-super-Mare loop line can be seen trailing in on the left. <br><br>[Mark Bartlett 18/05/2014]](/images/48000/48047.jpg "Uphill Junction")
![CrossCountry Voyager 221131 stables in Platform 6 at Exeter St Davids after arriving on 4 June with the 12.07 ex Manchester Piccadilly. Forward of the unit looks like a prospective Britain in Bloom garden being nurtured at the northern end of the platform. <br><br>[David Pesterfield 04/06/2014]](/images/47000/47629.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![The crosscountry logo and the repositioned unit number, following fitting of new design front end valances, on a Voyager at Exeter St David station on 4 June 2014.<br><br>[David Pesterfield 04/06/2014]](/images/47000/47636.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![A long barrel roofed full width canopy stands to the south of the main upside building at Yatton station, as seen in this view from the opposite platform on 9 May. It previously also served the in-filled south facing Clevedon Branch bay, where cars can now be seen parked, upto closure of the branch to passengers on 3 October 1966.<br><br>[David Pesterfield 09/05/2015]](/images/51000/51843.jpg "Yatton")
![Looking north through Yatton station from the downside platform in May 2015, showing the barrel roofed canopy that previously served both the main line up side platform and the Clevedon branch bay to the left. Note also the now roofless footbridge [see image 51822].<br><br>[David Pesterfield 09/05/2015]](/images/51000/51929.jpg "Yatton")
![The up side building at Yatton Station, between Bristol Temple Meads and Bridgwater, looking approx. south west on a Sunday afternoon in May. A near identical building exists on the down side platform. West of Yatton were the junctions for the Cheddar Valley line, which turned south from a bay platform on the down side, and for the Clevedon branch which turned north from a bay platform on this side. Part of the canopy for the latter platform can be seen on the extreme right. [See image 51843]<br><br>[David Pesterfield 10/05/2015]](/images/51000/51458.jpg "Yatton")
![The now roofless footbridge at the north end of Yatton Station seen from the upside approach road on 10 May 2015. Note the half landings incorporated on each side of the bridge.<br><br>[David Pesterfield 10/05/2015]](/images/51000/51822.jpg "Yatton")
![FGW Pacer 143611 approaches Exeter St Davids from Paignton and crosses over to Platform 1. From here the unit will reverse and take the left hand tracks up the steep incline to Exeter Central before continuing down the branch to Exmouth. <br><br>[Mark Bartlett 29/07/2015]](/images/53000/53128.jpg "Exeter St Davids")
![133 Peak on a stone train at Cowley Bridge Junction.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore 22/09/2016]](/images/57000/57002.jpg "Cowley Bridge Junction")
![The former goods yard at Taunton has been significantly redeveloped lately. I remember a large shed latterly used for storing road vehicle parts and a much clearer view of this water tower emblazoned with the text: <I>British Railways Taunton Freight Concentration Depot</I>. [see image 40790]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 13/05/2017]](/images/59000/59592.jpg "Taunton")
