Lympstone Commando railway station is a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
situated on the
Avocet Line
The Avocet Line is the railway line in Devon, England connecting Exeter with Exmouth. It was originally built by the London and South Western Railway, and was historically known as the Exmouth branch railway. The line follows the Exe Estuary ...
, a branch line from
Exeter to
Exmouth
Exmouth is a port town, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter.
In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the 5th most populous settlement in Devon.
Histo ...
in
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 ...
, England.
The station is for the exclusive use of visitors to the
Royal Marine
The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
Commando Training Centre at
Lympstone
Lympstone is a village and civil parish in East Devon in the English county of Devon. It has a population of 1,754. There is a harbour on the estuary of the River Exe, lying at the outlet of Wotton Brook between cliffs of red breccia. . Access is through a locked gate although there is a public foot and cycle path alongside the station which separates it from the commando base.
History
The station was opened on 3 May 1976 by
British Rail. This caused some confusion with the older
Lympstone railway station, but this has since been renamed "Lympstone Village". It was built using cast platform sections recovered from
Weston Milton railway station
Weston Milton railway station serves the Milton and Locking Castle areas of Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England. It is situated on a loop off the Bristol to Taunton Line, from the zero point at via Box.
History
The station was op ...
where the track had been singled and so one platform was no longer needed.
For many years troop trains were a feature of its operation about three times each year. The trains were operated with a locomotive at each end as there is no way to run around a train south of Topsham; the leading locomotive on arrival was dragged back to
Exeter Central where it was detached. The trains were considerably longer than the platform and loading the passengers was a slow operation as they had to make their way through the train from the centre coaches. A similar operation today is difficult to arrange as the regular timetabled passenger service is much more intensive than in the 1980s.
During November 2020 the platform was extended by to make it long.
Description
The station is situated on the banks of the estuary of the
River Exe
The River Exe ( ) in England rises at Exe Head, near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, from the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lies in Devon. It flows for 60 mile ...
. It consists of a single platform, which is on the left of trains arriving from Exeter.
On 28 May 2010 a section of the Exe Estuary Trail opened between
Lympstone village and Exton. This runs between the platform and the entrance to the camp
[Se]
Geograph photograph
/ref> so the public can now access the station, although the sign on the platform still remains stating “persons alighting here must have business with the camp”. The Ministry of Defence have accepted that the station is the property of Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
and as such they cannot prohibit members of the public from using the station - however, persons wishing to take photographs from the platform should inform the Guard Room at the Commando Training Centre beforehand.[
]
Services
About half the trains on the Avocet Line
The Avocet Line is the railway line in Devon, England connecting Exeter with Exmouth. It was originally built by the London and South Western Railway, and was historically known as the Exmouth branch railway. The line follows the Exe Estuary ...
between and call at Lympstone Commando. It is a request stop, meaning that passengers alighting here must tell the conductor that they wish to do so, and those waiting to join must signal clearly to the driver as the train approaches.
References
External links
Photographs of Lympstone Commando by Owen Dunn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lympstone Commando Railway Station
Railway stations in Devon
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1976
Railway stations opened by British Rail
Private railway stations
Railway stations served by Great Western Railway
Railway request stops in Great Britain
Woodbury, East Devon
DfT Category F2 stations