Exeter St Thomas railway station

Railway station in Devon, England

This article is about one of the stations in Exeter, England. For other similarly named stations, see Exeter railway station (disambiguation).

Exeter St Thomas

General information
Location| St Thomas, Exeter
England
Coordinates| 50°43′02″N 3°32′19″W﻿ / ﻿50.71713°N 3.53858°W﻿ / 50.71713; -3.53858
Grid reference| SX914919
Managed by| Great Western Railway
Platforms| 2
Other information
Station code| EXT
Classification| DfT category F1
History
Original company| South Devon Railway
Pre-grouping| Great Western Railway
Post-grouping| Great Western Railway
Key dates
Opened| 1846
Passengers
2018/19|  0.243 million
2019/20|  0.224 million
2020/21|  0.122 million
2021/22|  0.205 million
2022/23|  0.264 million

Listed Building – Grade II

Feature| Exeter St Thomas railway station
Designated| 18 June 1974
Reference no.| 1333347[1]
Notes

Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Exeter St Thomas railway station is a suburban railway station in Exeter, England, serving the suburb of St Thomas and the riverside area. The station is elevated on a low viaduct with entrances on Cowick Street[2]and is the only station in Exeter which is listed (Grade II).[1] It is 74 chains (0.93 mi; 1.5 km) south of Exeter St Davids railway station and 194 miles 66 chains (194.83 mi; 313.5 km) from the zero point at London Paddington, via Box Tunnel.[3]

The station is unstaffed, the former station building now being used as a bar and nightclub. It is served mostly by local trains operated by Great Western Railway.

## History[edit]

The station was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel[1] and opened on 30 May 1846 by the South Devon Railway.[4] The company had joint use of the Bristol and Exeter Railway station at St Davids but St Thomas was its own station. Although built on a 501 yards (458 m) stone viaduct, the railway was nearer to the city centre and the quays on the Exeter Canal. Until 1862 tickets were only sold between St Thomas and stations west of Exeter, not to St Davids and the north.[5]

The railway was worked by atmospheric trains from 13 September 1847 until 9 September 1848. Unique in all the South Devon Railway stations, there was no engine house, so the driver had to hold the train on its brakes against the pressure in the pipes while it was stopped here.[6]

The original station featured just a single track with a 175 feet (53 m) platform on the city side of the line. A small booking office was built at road level at the north end of the station and steps led up to the platform. The viaduct was widened at this point by five feet to accommodate the platform.

In 1847 some improvements were completed including a larger office, a train shed over the platform, and an extension to bring the platform to a length of 260 feet.

In 1851 George Hennet was given permission to build a coal depot at St Thomas from where he could distribute coal, brought by train from his quay at Teignmouth. This was built on the city side of the line, north of the station. Hennet died in 1857 and the depot was eventually taken over by Robert Ward. It was closed in 1884 but Ward continued to use the land as premises until c. 1930. The site is now occupied by the Great Western Railway Staff Association staff club.

In 1861 the viaduct was widened on the west side (away from the city), and a second track brought into use which necessitated a second platform be built. Elegant new two-storey buildings were built on the city side of the viaduct, and a new train shed built across both platforms.

The train shed was demolished in the 1960s and the station is now unstaffed. The 1861 building was previously used as a Chinese restaurant and a nightclub. Since 2015 the building stands derelict and has fallen into disrepair with the doors and windows boarded up.

The station was proposed for closure in Dr. Beeching's The Reshaping of Britain's Railways report but has remained open.[7]

## Services[edit]

A Great Western Railway Class 150 going to Exmouth

* v
* t
* e

Exeter railway stations

Legend

|  |  |

|  |

| Avocet Line

to Exmouth

|  |

|  | Topsham
|  |

|  | Newcourt
|  |

|  | Digby and Sowton
|  |

|  | Polsloe Bridge
|  |

|  |

| West of England line

to London Waterloo via Salisbury

|  |

|  | Pinhoe
|  |

|  | St James Park
|  |

|  | Exeter Central
|  |

|  |

| Bristol–Exeter line

to Bristol and London Paddington

|  |

|  | Exeter St Davids
|  |

|  |

| Tarka Line

to Barnstaple

|  |

|  | Exeter St Thomas
|  |

|  | Marsh Barton
|  |

|  |

| Riviera Line

to Paignton
& Exeter–Plymouth line

to Plymouth and Penzance

|  |  |  |  |  |

Most trains are operated by Great Western Railway on the Riviera Line to and from Paignton which then generally continue east of Exeter St Davids to and from Exmouth along the Avocet Line. A few other services operate to destinations further afield such as Bristol Temple Meads.

Preceding station  |  National Rail | Following station

|
|

Exeter St Davids |  | Great Western Railway
Riviera Line |  | Marsh Barton

## References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Exeter St Thomas railway station.

1. ^ a b c Historic England. "St Thomas Railway Station (1333347)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
2. ^ Oakley, Mike (2007). Devon Railway Stations. Wimbourne: The Dovecote Press. ISBN 978-1-904349-55-6.
3. ^ Padgett, David (June 2018) [1989]. Munsey, Myles (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 3: Western & Wales (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. map 8B. ISBN 978-1-9996271-0-2.
4. ^ MacDermot, E T (1931). History of the Great Western Railway, volume II 1863-1921. London: Great Western Railway.
5. ^ Kay, Peter (1993). "The First St Thomas". British Railway Journal. Wild Swan Publications (45): 244–254. ISSN 0265-4105.
6. ^ Kay, Peter (1991). Exeter - Newton Abbot: A Railway History. Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing. ISBN 1-872524-42-7.
7. ^ The Reshaping of British Railways (PDF). London: British Railways Board. 1963. p. 113.

## Further reading[edit]

* Beck, Keith; Copsey, John (1990). The Great Western in South Devon. Didcot: Wild Swan Publication. ISBN 0-906867-90-8.
* Cooke, RA (1984). Track Layout Diagrams of the GWR and BR WR, Section 14: South Devon. Harwell: RA Cooke.

* v
* t
* e

Railway stations in Devon

Penzance–London Paddington
and the North|

* St Budeaux Ferry Road
* Keyham
* Dockyard
* Devonport
* Plymouth
* Ivybridge
* Totnes
* Newton Abbot
* Teignmouth
* Dawlish
* Dawlish Warren
* Starcross
* Exeter St Thomas
* Exeter St Davids
* Tiverton Parkway

Gunnislake–Plymouth
Tamar Valley Line|

* Bere Alston
* Bere Ferrers
* St Budeaux Victoria Road
* Keyham
* Dockyard
* Devonport
* Plymouth

Paignton–Exeter
Riviera Line|

* Paignton
* Torquay
* Torre
* Newton Abbot
* Teignmouth
* Dawlish
* Dawlish Warren
* Starcross
* Exeter St Thomas
* Exeter St Davids

Exeter–Barnstaple
Tarka Line|

* Exeter Central
* Exeter St Davids
* Newton St Cyres
* Crediton
* Yeoford
* Copplestone
* Morchard Road
* Lapford
* Eggesford
* Kings Nympton
* Portsmouth Arms
* Umberleigh
* Chapelton
* Barnstaple

Exeter–Okehampton
Dartmoor Line|

* Exeter Central
* Exeter St Davids
* Newton St Cyres
* Crediton
* Okehampton

Exmouth–Exeter
Avocet Line|

* Exeter St Davids
* Exeter Central
* St James Park
* Polsloe Bridge
* Digby and Sowton
* Newcourt
* Topsham
* Exton
* Lympstone Commando
* Lympstone Village
* Exmouth

Exeter–London Waterloo
West of England Line|

* Exeter St Davids
* Exeter Central
* St James Park
* Pinhoe
* Cranbrook
* Whimple
* Feniton
* Honiton
* Axminster

Heritage railways

Dartmouth Steam Railway|

* Kingswear
* Greenway Halt
* Churston
* Goodrington Sands
* Paignton

Plym Valley Railway|

* Marsh Mills
* Plym Bridge

South Devon Railway|

* Totnes (Riverside) (adjacent to Totnes)
* Nappers Halt
* Staverton
* Buckfastleigh

* v
* t
* e

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Railways|

* Great Western
* Bristol and Exeter
* Bristol and Gloucester
* Bristol and South Wales Union
* Cheltenham and Great Western Union
* Cornwall
* Dartmouth and Torbay
* East Somerset
* Great Western and Brentford
* Llynvi Valley
* Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton
* South Devon
* South Devon and Tavistock
* South Wales
* South Wales Mineral
* Taff Vale
* Vale of Neath
* West Cornwall
* West Somerset
* Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth

Railway stations|

* Bath Spa
* Bradford-on-Avon
* Bridgend
* Bridgwater
* Bristol Temple Meads
* Charfield
* Charlbury
* Chippenham
* Cirencester Town
* Crediton
* Culham
* Exeter St Davids
* Exeter St Thomas
* Liskeard
* Mortimer
* Paddington
* The Railway Station
* Hilton Hotel, Paddington
* St Germans
* Salisbury
* Stroud
* Weston Junction
* Yatton

Bridges and viaducts|

* Angarrack viaduct
* Avon Bridge
* Bath:St James's Bridge; Skew Bridge; St James' Viaduct
* Bishop's Bridge
* Chepstow Bridge
* Chippenham viaduct
* Clifton Suspension Bridge
* Cornwall Railway viaducts
* Carnon
* St Pinnock
* Cumberland Basin swing bridges
* "Devil's Bridge", Uphill
* Gatehampton Railway Bridge
* Hungerford Bridge
* Landore Viaduct
* Loughor Viaduct
* Maidenhead Bridge
* Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway
* Moulsford Railway Bridge
* Royal Albert Bridge
* Somerset Bridge
* Three Bridges, London
* Usk Bridge
* Wharncliffe Viaduct
* Windsor Bridge

Tunnels and earthworks|

* Box Tunnel
* Cockett Tunnel
* Great Western Main Line
* Llansamlet arches
* Sapperton Tunnel
* Sonning Cutting
* South Devon Banks
* South Devon Railway sea wall
* Thames Tunnel
* Wellington Bank, Somerset

Ships, harbours and waterways|

* Great Western Steamship Company
* SS Great Western
* SS Great Britain
* Balanced rudder
* SS Great Eastern
* Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern (1857 photograph)
* SS Archimedes borrowed by Brunel, used for propeller tests
* Brentford Dock
* Bristol Harbour
* Cumberland Basin
* Underfall Yard
* Millbay Docks
* Westport Canal

Other engineering and building|

* Atmospheric railway
* Balloon flange girder
* Baulk road
* Broad gauge
* Brook House, Steventon
* Crew's Hole tar works
* Crystal Palace water towers
* Great Exhibition (Brunel on committee)
* Malmaison Hotel, Reading
* Renkioi Hospital
* Fellow of the Royal Society
* Institution of Civil Engineers (VP from 1850)
* Abraham-Louis Breguet (trained Brunel)
* Robert Pearson Brereton (Chief assistant)

Personal|

* Marc Isambard Brunel (father)
* Sophia Kingdom (mother)
* Lindsey House (childhood home)
* University of Caen Normandy
* Lycée Henri-IV
* Henry Marc Brunel (second son)
* Scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream (picture commissioned by Brunel)
* Brunel Manor (commissioned by Brunel for his retirement)
* Sarah Guppy, whose portrait was painted by Brunel
* Kensal Green Cemetery

Legacy and commemoration|

* Statues of Brunel
* Victoria Embankment
* Paddington Station
* Bristol Temple Meads Station
* Brunel Museum
* Being Brunel
* Blue plaque, 98 Cheyne Walk
* List of Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks (SS Great Britain #97)
* Brunel University London
* NR Brunel (Network Rail typeface)
* Brunel Award
* 100 Greatest Britons (Brunel #2)
* Two Brunel £2 coins in 2006
* 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony featured Brunel
* Brunel (opera project)

• Other works of Brunel
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template