Chudleigh Flood Platform railway station

Chudleigh Flood Platform railway station was a railway station near Chudleigh, a small town in South Devon, England located between Newton Abbot and Exeter. Opened in 1920, it saw only occasional use each year as it was constructed as an alternative station for use when Chudleigh was flooded by the River Teign, this being a recurring seasonal problem.

Chudleigh Flood Platform
General information
Location	Chudleigh, Teignbridge England
Grid reference	SX857785
Platforms	1
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Great Western Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Key dates
1920	Opened
9 June 1958	Closed to passengers

Teign Valley Line
GWML to London Exeter St Thomas GWML to Penzance Alphington Halt Ide Halt Perridge tunnel Longdown Culver tunnel Dunsford Halt Christow Ashton Trusham Chudleigh Flood Platform Chudleigh Chudleigh Knighton Halt to Moretonhampstead Heathfield (Devon) to Newton Abbot

History

Heathfield, junction for the Teign Valley line.

The station was built on higher ground, circa 100 yards from Chudleigh railway station on the line towards Trusham railway station. This very unusual station had a short wooden platform, long enough for one door on a carriage. It was on the north side of the single track line and was connected to nearby Pottery Lane by a raised wooden gangway with white painted hand rails. Passengers unable to alight at Chudleigh railway station were able to disembark and walk to the lane where a bus would take them to Heathfield railway station so that they could continue their rail journey. Passengers were also able to board the train here.

Film of the Teign Valley line dating from 1958 shows the Chudleigh Flood Platform station still present with the hand rails painted white.

The station was closed by British Railways (Western Region) to passengers on 9 June 1958 when passenger trains were withdrawn from the Teign Valley Line.

Operation

It was the responsibility of the Chudleigh stationmaster to contact the Engineering Department, as well as the persons in charge at Heathfield and Trusham and the Exeter stationmaster as soon as flooding took place at Chudleigh. In later years the porter-in-charge was responsible for making the necessary arrangements. Trains from Exeter terminated at the short platform and passengers, as previously stated, were transferred to Heathfield Station by bus. In Great Western Railway days an ongoing arrangement with the Devon General Omnibus Company was in place to transport the passengers.

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Chudleigh		Heathfield to Exeter St Davids Great Western Railway		Trusham

References

Notes

Sources

• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.
• McRae, Andrew (1998). British Railways Camping Coach Holidays: A Tour of Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part Two). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-53-3.
• Oakley, Mike (2007). Devon Railway Stations. Wimbourne: The Dovecote Press. ISBN 978-1-904349-55-6.

Further reading

• Chudleigh now and then (1996)
• The Teign Valley Line (1984)

External links

• The History of Chudleigh Station