In Pictures: Archive photos show Dawlish railway's stormy past

  • 11 February 2014

As rail engineers work to fix the Dawlish line, archive photos show it is not the first time stormy weather has beaten the railway.

  • Engineers inspect the line in 1869

    As Network Rail engineers work on the line at Dawlish, photos from the Dartmoor Trust and Archive show it is not the first time the weather has caused damage to the Devon line.

  • Holcombe near Dawlish in 1853

    In 1853, just seven years after the line opened, the bridge at Holcombe near Dawlish was washed away.

  • Railway workers clear rubble on the line at Dawlish

    Railway workers clear rubble on the line at Dawlish after another storm

  • Dawlish in 1913

    Part of the sea wall was again washed away in 1908, which attracted holidaymakers wanting to view the damage

  • Train battles against the tide

    Photos from the Dartmoor Trust and Archive also capture stormy conditions from the last century.

  • Waves crash over another train travelling through Dawlish

    Designed and built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the Dawlish Sea Wall stretch of railway is one of the best-known sections of the UK rail network

  • Train travelling along the Dawlish line

    In this photograph, a train travels near to a wall, which was a victim of one of many storms which has battered the Dawlish line through the years

  • Railway workers inspect the main Exeter to Plymouth railway line that has been closed due to parts of it being washed away by the sea at Dawlish

    The most recent damage to the Dawlish line happened in storms last week. On Monday Network Rail revealed it had chosen an alternative route, from Okehampton to Plymouth via Tavistock.

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