Why This British Station Never Saw a Train
ForSomeReason
12,449 views
Dartmouth railway station is a real railway station. It has never had a track, a platform or a train. The trains were across the River Dart, at Kingswear. So how did a Devon harbour town end up with a station and no railway?
A river too awkward to bridge, a railway company that ran out of money, a ferry that was part of the plan from 1857, a booking office that floated on a pontoon, and a stationmaster paid more than the one at the real railhead: this is the story of the station that has never seen a train.
Chapters
0:00 The missing railway
0:22 The river in the way
1:48 Your train journey starts on a boat
2:40 A station that rose with the tide
3:46 The station today
Sources
Wikipedia, "Dartmouth and Torbay Railway"
Wikipedia, "Dartmouth railway station"
Devon County Council, "Devon Historic Coastal and Market Towns Survey" (Dartmouth)
Dartmouth Chronicle, "New roof for the railway station that had no rails" (28 November 2014)
Embankment Bistro, history of the building
Dartmouth Steam Railway, steam train ticket information (checked 3 October 2026)
Footage from Pexels by Jack Todhunter, KoolShooters, Christopher More, Ash Haghighi, David Pickup and Doru Stoica.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons, cropped and animated:
"The Station Restaurant in Dartmouth" by Steve Daniels (CC BY-SA 2.0)
"Dartmouth Higher Ferry and 75014 (2026)" by Geof Sheppard (CC BY-SA 4.0)
"Dartmouth from Kingswear" by Derek Harper (CC BY-SA 2.0)
"Kingswear from Dartmouth (0535)" by Nilfanion (CC BY-SA 4.0)
"View across the River Dart from Greenway's boathouse" by Jason Ballard (CC BY 2.0)
"General view, Dartmouth, England-LCCN2002696637" by Photochrom Print Collection, Library of Congress (Public domain)
"Dartmouth - Platform 1" by Colin Smith (CC BY-SA 2.0)
"The pontoon at Dartmouth for the foot ferry" by David Smith (CC BY-SA 2.0)
"Kingswear 23rd July 2008" by Jamielw (CC BY 3.0)
"Dartmouth GWR Station, July 1978" by Barry Lewis (CC BY 2.0)
"Old Station Building at Dartmouth (21201574288)" by Andrew Bone (CC BY 2.0)
"Dartmouth waterfront, Devon, 2006 (01)" by Bahnfrend (CC BY-SA 4.0)
"Kingswear Station from the road to the Lower Ferry, Dartmouth" by Ruth Sharville (CC BY-SA 2.0)
"The Naval College from the river - 6th June 2012" by Forester2009 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
"Dartmouth station in 1970" by Rosser1954 (Roger Griffith) (Public domain)
"Dartmouth railway station (36970386223)" by Matt Buck (CC BY-SA 2.0)
"Dartmouth (2021-07-01) 87" by Simon Cobb (CC0)
"Dartmouth ferry 2018 1" by Smiley toerist (CC BY-SA 4.0)
"Steaming along the River Dart - June 2012" by Forester2009 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
"Passenger ferry linking Kingswear and Dartmouth" by Reading Tom (CC BY 2.0)
Maps contain OpenStreetMap data (OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL) and Natural Earth data (public domain). The maps, the river-valley drawing, the parcels scene, the pontoon side view and the stationmaster comparison are simplified illustrations, not surveyed plans; the Greenway route and any crossing of the river are shown as proposals only. The pier length of 83 feet is the published figure, with its metric conversion. Stock footage is illustrative: the steam trains and railway scenes were not necessarily filmed at Dartmouth or Kingswear. The photographs of the station building were taken at different dates and show different signs.
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5 Comments
So theres a story (and may not be any more than this) that as the railway was being extended beyond Churston, the plan was to go across the river approximately at the location of the upper ferry. Was "Bridge road" named for a bridge that never existed????. This plan showed the railway travelling into Dartmouth where the station would be approximately where it actually exists today. While the arguments raged about permissions on the west side and whether a bridge across the river would impede river traffic, a station was built by the upper ferry (now known as Britannia Cottage ) and this would be the terminus - with passengers taking the ferry across the river. However, this was found to be a rather cramped location for a railway terminus and when the bridge plan clearly wasnt going to happen, they extended the railway into Kingswear itself.
Too self-effacing in your eloquent description caveats, if this Dartmothian may say.
Yes, the Admiralty decreed that a bridge could in no way hinder the 'Tall Ships' of the Royal Navy.
But that famous engineering fella I.K. Brunel had already said that the station be there on the Embankment.
You could get a ticket from London Paddington to Dartmouth, just like the similar (if somewhat longer journey afloat) one from Paddington to New York.
And by the way, the Pilgrim Fathers made a repair stop about ¼ mile downstream from the station at Bayard's Cove.
The Speedwell, I think.
Why This British Station Never Saw a Train
ForSomeReason
12,449 views
Dartmouth railway station is a real railway station. It has never had a track, a platform or a train. The trains were across the River Dart, at Kingswear. So how did a Devon harbour town end up with a station and no railway?
A river too awkward to bridge, a railway company that ran out of money, a ferry that was part of the plan from 1857, a booking office that floated on a pontoon, and a stationmaster paid more than the one at the real railhead: this is the story of the station that has never seen a train.
Chapters
0:00 The missing railway
0:22 The river in the way
1:48 Your train journey starts on a boat
2:40 A station that rose with the tide
3:46 The station today
Sources
Wikipedia, "Dartmouth and Torbay Railway"
Wikipedia, "Dartmouth railway station"
Devon County Council, "Devon Historic Coastal and Market Towns Survey" (Dartmouth)
Dartmouth Chronicle, "New roof for the railway station that had no rails" (28 November 2014)
Embankment Bistro, history of the building
Dartmouth Steam Railway, steam train ticket information (checked 3 October 2026)
Footage from Pexels by Jack Todhunter, KoolShooters, Christopher More, Ash Haghighi, David Pickup and Doru Stoica.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons, cropped and animated:
"The Station Restaurant in Dartmouth" by Steve Daniels (CC BY-SA 2.0)
"Dartmouth Higher Ferry and 75014 (2026)" by Geof Sheppard (CC BY-SA 4.0)
"Dartmouth from Kingswear" by Derek Harper (CC BY-SA 2.0)
"Kingswear from Dartmouth (0535)" by Nilfanion (CC BY-SA 4.0)
"View across the River Dart from Greenway's boathouse" by Jason Ballard (CC BY 2.0)
"General view, Dartmouth, England-LCCN2002696637" by Photochrom Print Collection, Library of Congress (Public domain)
"Dartmouth - Platform 1" by Colin Smith (CC BY-SA 2.0)
"The pontoon at Dartmouth for the foot ferry" by David Smith (CC BY-SA 2.0)
"Kingswear 23rd July 2008" by Jamielw (CC BY 3.0)
"Dartmouth GWR Station, July 1978" by Barry Lewis (CC BY 2.0)
"Old Station Building at Dartmouth (21201574288)" by Andrew Bone (CC BY 2.0)
"Dartmouth waterfront, Devon, 2006 (01)" by Bahnfrend (CC BY-SA 4.0)
"Kingswear Station from the road to the Lower Ferry, Dartmouth" by Ruth Sharville (CC BY-SA 2.0)
"The Naval College from the river - 6th June 2012" by Forester2009 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
"Dartmouth station in 1970" by Rosser1954 (Roger Griffith) (Public domain)
"Dartmouth railway station (36970386223)" by Matt Buck (CC BY-SA 2.0)
"Dartmouth (2021-07-01) 87" by Simon Cobb (CC0)
"Dartmouth ferry 2018 1" by Smiley toerist (CC BY-SA 4.0)
"Steaming along the River Dart - June 2012" by Forester2009 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
"Passenger ferry linking Kingswear and Dartmouth" by Reading Tom (CC BY 2.0)
Maps contain OpenStreetMap data (OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL) and Natural Earth data (public domain). The maps, the river-valley drawing, the parcels scene, the pontoon side view and the stationmaster comparison are simplified illustrations, not surveyed plans; the Greenway route and any crossing of the river are shown as proposals only. The pier length of 83 feet is the published figure, with its metric conversion. Stock footage is illustrative: the steam trains and railway scenes were not necessarily filmed at Dartmouth or Kingswear. The photographs of the station building were taken at different dates and show different signs.
And if, for some reason, you enjoyed this, leave a like and subscribe.