Dartmouth railway station was a booking office for train tickets located on the
quay
A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( mooring locatio ...
side of
Dartmouth in the
English
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* English people
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Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
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county of
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
. While there has never been a railway line at the site, it was possible to book through tickets to and from Dartmouth via the office, accessing trains by travelling on
Dartmouth Passenger Ferry
The Dartmouth Passenger Ferry, also known as the Dartmouth Steam Railway and Riverboat company, is a passenger ferry that crosses the River Dart in the English county of Devon. It is one of three ferries that cross the tidal river from Dartmout ...
to or from
Kingswear railway station on the opposite bank of the
River Dart
The River Dart is a river in Devon, England, that rises high on Dartmoor and flows for to the sea at Dartmouth.
Name
Most hydronyms in England derive from the Brythonic language (from which the river's subsequent names ultimately derive fr ...
. Accordingly, the office was classed as a "railway station" for ticketing purposes if purchasing an integrated ticket combining rail and ferry travel.
History
The
Dartmouth and Torbay Railway
The Dartmouth and Torbay Railway was a broad gauge railway linking the South Devon Railway branch at Torquay with Kingswear in Devon, England. It was operated from the outset by the South Devon Railway.
Most of the line is now operated as th ...
was frustrated in its efforts to build a line across the River Dart and so was forced to terminate its line on the east side of the river. A site near the
floating bridge (a chain ferry also known as the Higher Ferry) to Dartmouth was preferred but the site was too narrow and so it was extended into Kingswear.
A site on the quay in Dartmouth was obtained and an wide jetty provided to accommodate a ferry from Kingswear. An long pier was built out from the quay, and a jetty linked this with a pontoon to which the ferry could moor. The jetty was hinged to the pier and so could rise and fall with the jetty as the tide went in and out. The pontoon was long and up to wide, and a hut was situated on it as a ticket office. The station opened with the railway on 16 August 1864.
The railway was leased to the
South Devon Railway Company
The South Devon Railway Company built and operated the railway from Exeter to Plymouth and Torquay in Devon, England. It was a broad gauge railway built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
The line had to traverse difficult hilly terrain, and the compa ...
from 1 January 1866 and this in turn amalgamated with the
Great Western Railway on 1 February 1876.
The town of Dartmouth instigated improvements to the waterfront in 1884, which saw a new embankment built north and south of the railway jetty, but the railway and town failed to agree on who was to pay to complete the new embankment at the site of the jetty and so a gap was left for five years. Eventually an agreement was reached and a new jetty provided. This was wide and long, and connected to a new covered pontoon, by . A new station building was provided on the shore, on the north side of the jetty. This wooden structure, which had full booking office and waiting facilities, was partially jettied out over the river on oak piles.
The station master at Dartmouth was paid more than his colleague at Kingswear due to the important traffic to HMS ''Britannia'' (as it was known then), the
Royal Naval College, Dartmouth
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.
When the British Rail service from Paignton to Kingswear was withdrawn on 30 December 1972, the ferry to Dartmouth station was transferred to the Borough Council until 1974 when it was subsumed by
South Hams District Council
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
. The council subsequently sold the service to
Dart Pleasure Craft whilst retaining ownership of the pontoon. The railway itself was immediately conveyed to the Dart Valley Railway company which was already operating the railway from
Totnes
Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and abo ...
to
Buckfastleigh railway station
Buckfastleigh railway station is situated on the South Devon Railway, a heritage railway in Devon, England. It serves the town of Buckfastleigh.
History
The station was opened by the Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway on 1 May 1872 ...
, as a
heritage railway. The station building was sold separately and became a restaurant, undergoing considerable modification. In 1986, when the Embankment was reconstructed and extended outward as part of a flood prevention scheme, the covered wooden pontoon was removed and replaced by a larger open concrete and steel pontoon. These works also involved encasing and infilling the station building's pilings.
In 2004 the Dart Valley Railway company bought Dart Pleasure Craft, thus bringing the ferry back into railway ownership.
The site today
The
Dartmouth Steam Railway
The Dartmouth Steam Railway, formerly known as the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway, is a heritage railway on the former Great Western Railway branch line between and in Devon, England. Much of the railway's business is from summer tou ...
, a
heritage line, still run trains from Paignton to Kingswear and operates a ferry across the
River Dart
The River Dart is a river in Devon, England, that rises high on Dartmoor and flows for to the sea at Dartmouth.
Name
Most hydronyms in England derive from the Brythonic language (from which the river's subsequent names ultimately derive fr ...
, the combined Dart Valley Railway businesses trading as the Dartmouth Steam Railway and Riverboat Company. The ferry service uses the pontoon alongside the company's other boat services and those of the rival Greenway Ferry company. The station building is a restaurant, but railway and riverboat tickets are available from adjacent kiosks. The station environs also remain Dartmouth's bus terminus and taxi rank.
See also
*
Hull Victoria Pier railway station
References
External links
Disused Railway Stations - Dartmouth
{{coord, 50.3513, -3.5773, type:railwaystation_region:GB, display=title
Disused railway stations in Devon
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1864
Former Great Western Railway stations
Dartmouth, Devon