The Brixham Railway Story (1868 – 1963)
The Brixham Railway, originally called the Torbay and Brixham Railway connected the town of Brixham in Devon to Churston Railway Station, just 2.2 miles away.
It was affectionately named The Brixham Whippet, running back and forth between Brixham and Churston stations
Remarkably, the railway was almost entirely funded by one man – Richard Walter Wolston, a solicitor and businessman based in Brixham. Sadly, Mr Wolston ended up financially ruined in his determined effort to connect Brixham to the growing rail network.
Brixham Railway ran for 95 years, opening in 1868 and closing in 1963 with the help of the infamous Dr Beeching’s Axe!
The following year, the railway track was pulled up and subsequently the station building was demolished to make way for residential housing.
Brixham Train at Churston Station platform, leaving for Brixham on
Photo courtesy of Ben Brooksbank, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Today, of the original 2.2 miles, there is approximately 1 mile of overgrown railway track bed remaining which is contained within private land owned by the Churston Barony.
The remaining track bed runs from Bridge Road in Churston, alongside Bascombe Road, over the bridge at Churston village, under a road bridge on Copythorne Road, and though fields to the edge of North Boundary Road in Brixham.
If you use the satellite view of Google maps, you can still see the route the line took, even through the housing estate to the location of the Brixham Railway Station.
The Very Last Train Service for the Brixham Railway
Last train service day, 11 May 1963 of the Brixham Branch Line, Churston Station end.
Image copyright of Mike Roach
DMU at Brixham Railway Station on 11 May 1963.
Photo courtesy of G V Lendon.
The route that the Brixham Railway Line took, as shown on Google Maps
GWR Brixham Branch Line Survey Drawing
The Great Western Railway (GWR) officially bought the line on 1 January 1883 and conducted a survey of the Brixham Branch Line in 1900. You can see a copy of the survey drawing below.
GWR Brixham Branch Line Survey Drawing, kindly donated by D Lemar.
In this drawing, the entire railway line is split into 3, stacked sections as follows:
- Churston Railway Station to past Copythorne Road bridge
- The Prarie section
- Brixham Railway Station and approach
Brixham Station in the film “The System” (1964)
The System (released in the USA as “The Girl-Getters”) is a 1964 British drama film directed by Michael Winner and starring Oliver Reed, Jane Merrow and Barbara Ferris.
Immediately after the line was closed in 1963, film director Michael Winner used Brixham station as the fictional Roxham station in the the film.
The short clip of the film below, gives you an excellent trip down memory lane of how the station looked in the year it was closed.
If you know the Torbay area well, you will recognise many of the locations including Brixham quayside/town, Elberry Cove, Paignton harbour, seafront and pier, Torquay seafront. There’s also a beach scene shot in Beesands.
The first part of the clip shows Churston station, then sections of the line from Teignmouth, arriving finally at Brixham station.
Watch the full film (1:26) on YouTube.
In November 2025, we were lucky enough to make contact with actor Jane Merrow to ask her about her memories in making “The System”. See her reply below…
I have very good memories of making “The System”. It was an excellent film and a wonderful part and experience. I enjoyed working in your part of the world very much.
The scenes at the Railway Station were shot on my first day on the film. I did not take any pictures of the day…no mobile phones then! We had a on set photographer who may have taken some…here is a picture of me with Oliver during filming.
Brixham Branch Line Simulations
We found a couple of videos of Brixham Branch line train journey simulations on YouTube. They are included here so that you can get a simulated experience of the journey between Churston and Brixham stations. These have been carefully created by train simulator enthusiasts using information from old photographs and other available data.
Inevitably there are a few scenery inaccuracies, but on the whole these are still lovely tributes to this wonderful branch line.
These have been created by users of a Train Simulator, created by Dovetail Games. This is called Train Simulator Classic , and it allows the user to take to the controls of an authentic engine, drive real-world routes and customise them.
Brixham Railway Books
If you are interested in more detail on the history of the Brixham Railway Line, these 2 books come to mind and are thoroughly recommended: “The Brixham Branch” by Chris Potts and “Mr Wolston’s Little Line” by John Dilley.
The Brixham Branch by C R Potts
This book contains an incredible amount of detailed information on the history of the Brixham Branch line.
168 pages.
Copies available for purchase at:
Mr Wolston's Little Line by John Dilley
This is a great introduction to the Brixham Railway story and well worth a read.
42 pages.
Out of print, but you may be able to view a copy at The Brixham Heritage Museum, but check with them first.