Granitechops

And I remember, about mid 1980s after a storm a small boat ended up in the middle of the tracks right in the centre of Starcross Station, having being flung over the station railings by the storm. but I do not have a photo of it.

Had a reply from Brunel Holiday park, Quote " Just to clarify for the 'Stationmaster', we have applied for a continuation of use, and have to prove use for the last 10 years. Have managed to get sworn affidavits from some wonderful past guests, but the council say we need more evidence re 2014. Hence the Facebook plea, which seems to have come good . It's all so nonsensical to use, we just want to save the trains and bring them back to life - might have been easier to apply for a lap dancing club and a block of flats Thanks for your help, Abby and all at Brunel Chat conversation end Type a message...

The camping coaches at Dawlish Warren have been renovated, upgraded etc. but the owners are having problems proving that the site has been in operation for years. they are appealing for anyone who stayed there especially in 2014 to contact them with proof of holiday there, see their page https://www.facebook.com/brunelholidaypark/?hc_ref=ARSXYMTAkPGpIupFBPuQPIsVNXY4qz9J-LYWUM3BY6L9kGEYqh-mepTaJefdQ3fbjWg remember a member of this forum staying there as I visited him there while he was on Holiday, but I cant remember when, It was while I was contributing photos of the seawall washout on this thread

Brian asked "What's beneath the surface?" Fact. from personal observation of the sea bed from Boat cove to the old Life Boat station, when storms scour the beach at spring tides there is a bedrock about 25 to 30 foot below rail height. that of course appears to be similar rock to the cliffs. NWR, or its contractors, should already have some data on this as extensive rock sampling was carried out before the outer seawall path was raised. What is beneath the sand between the Old Boat house and Red Rock, cant be seen as sand drifts that way, & rarely gets lowered. Access to view the beaches from Coryton Cove to Teignmouth is limited for those in wheelchairs Conjecture possibly any solid wall structure, not bridge, would in time get a build up of beach against it by longshore drift. which might help Exmouth's problem of too much sand! or not

Alan, just found this topic, talk about trip down memory lane, I think, in my case, caused by the scenery, you have caught the essence of the South Hams evocatively. I used to be a lorry driver in Kingsbridge in the1960s, The mate/cutter on with me one Sid, was working at Kingsbridge Station after it closed, cutting up the Station railings. He recounted tails of being a conductor on the GWR buses that connected Kingsbridge to Salcombe. In summer there could be 3 buses in convoy & his job was to check tickets on route. changing bus in turn, sometimes hanging on the outside. From your map the railway would have come down Bowcombe creek, & may have necessitated a steep climb up over into town, so, yes suitable engine power needed Good one!!

Damage to stonework this is the small stone enclosure where the brook runs under the viaduct at Dawlish Station from other side Damage to Station roof, gutter & down pipe & edge of roofing structure

A couple of weeks ago the broken railings were REMOVED, then a wave surge damaged the station roof ripping some of the new guttering put up last year in the last few days the corner of the small stone enclosure around the outfall of Dawlish Brook has been undermined affecting about 20 ft of stonework, as its highish tide cant see how far its undermined will put up photos later

Very true Jonathan, great care was exercised, extreme crawl, was the speed used. definately storm damage the base supports are rock anchored into the wall, but the construction of the joints is hex, allen key grubs, which are prone to loosening with vibration Oh yes life is precious, no unneccessary risks are knowingly taken new video on my youtube channel Be aware that perspective can make thinks look dangerous, the young lady standing on the break water photographing is actually in a safe place in the circumstances on that day, tide, wind direction, shelter afforded by the old cafe block. etc.

Fleeting shot of NWR "stone blower" taken yesterday and condition of hand rail/ chicane at Dawlish viaduct

I havent been down there today, but it appears that overnight, part of the chicane by the Dawish viaduct was ripped off the seawall by the waves see If I can get a photo soon

Derelict house, where concrete pipes were run through the garden to deliver to seawall seen in august and seen in December somebody got moving, notice red pantiles replaced with new slate roof, glazing fixed, garage built just above railway & new paint job, garden tidied, wonder if it will soon be on the market? down at Coryton Cove Replacement beach huts being painted ready for placement over new pavement of 50 mm slabs damaged in fire. BEWARE new steps by washout are heavily coated with seaweed /algae especially on the outside where there are NO handrails Wed 23rd Dec Groyne 1 leaning over due to under scouring so much so that the top one of these 2 boards, is normally just at sand level, the beach goer here has to just duck a bit to pass under looks like pin failure in the support fitted in spring this year EDIT, last year photo March 2014 Photo Dec 2015 because the boards are now not stopping northward drift of sands, the beach level has dropped so that there is a drop of 15 ins at the end of the slipway but now today Friday 25th Dec the groyne has collapsed further EDIT;- so as to make life more interesting to disabled in wheel chairs, mobility scooters, mothers with buggys & TWIN buggys, there has recently appeared four chicanes, to supposedly deter cyclists, which it doesnt as I witnessed one cycle through without stopping, mind you he also had ridden along the wall from the direction of the Warren through wave spray 20ft high, so maybe if he ignored the waves, maybe he did not even see the chicanes either

Hi, I have been through both barriers at the Viaduct in Dawlish, not much room for error with the big scooter, so have to maneuver carefully & very slowly, should be able to also get through with the tandem behind. Hav'nt tried that yet, as my wife has not long got over spinal surgery, but will shortly be trying that out. Dont see any problem though, the tandem tracks very closely the scooter

Didnt get one drop on me actually. I was watching the waves for a least 30 mins before I took that Video, to see how it was. still made me jump though. where I was sitting, there is a stone wall enclosure around the mouth of the Dawlish Brook that empties out under the viaduct, it breaks up the waves somewhat before they hit that bit of the walkway you might be able to see what I mean from this photo taken from the opposite way to the video (taken last year) what I did though was to spin round to catch the run off that had run along the back wall & drained into the brook drain strangely there was no wind, just rough seas I do try to be out of reach of sea water as it would probably cut my electrics dead the tide was only a 3.8m ,, higher tides like 4.3m, with an easterly behind them roar right up through under the Viaduct & across the main road several people did get a good soaking because they did not appreciate that every 5th or 6th or 7th wave can be much higher than the rest

Bit rough down at Dawlish this morning, no wind, no storm, just rough waves, Video taken just after high tide at 10.45 https://youtu.be/PrmUgk5UB7M

Absolutely John, & yet recently someone was claiming to have been wave dodging with someone in a hand wheelchair!!!

Someone suggested to me today that maybe the person was on the actual seawall path, and maybe a wave threw them over the parapet onto the track if they were unconscious........? it was wild enough for that to happen have actually seen a rowing boat picked up by the waves & deposited on the track at Starcross, and that is on the estuary not even on the sea front we may never know!

Sad fatality near new seawall walkway http://www.torquayheraldexpress.co.uk/UPDATE-Person-dies-hit-train-near-Dawlish/story-28084623-detail/story.html What a sad loss of life. so many people will be affected. Did notice on the Dawlish Beach Cam video yesterday at 9.31 that the seas were tremendous, and my tide table for yesterday states a fairly high tide of 4.3m at 9.15. I wonder if it was avoiding the waves on the seawall in desperation. Do Network Rail instruct drivers to slow down when waves are high & be vigilant for people escaping waves? No criticism implied, just like to know as a regular user of the wall, so the unsuspecting can be warned in desparation if caught out, I dont suppose the fine or the danger of being on the trackside would be upermost in ones mind? A whole lot more factors are obviously involved. BUT it is quite likely that in rough weather the choice of waves or train will have to be made by people caught out for WHATEVER reason

These look like Granite sets, roughly the size of a normal house brick, but more resilient to frost damage due to spalling and more resilient to crush damage due to force of the waves they look similar to those used to form the integral seats in the higher seawall along the front from the Old Lifeboat House towards Dawlish Warren, before you get to the new raised section

Sad to report that the breakwater down by the tunnel at boat cove that was repaired & given a protective layer of spraycrete, has started to "delaminate" The next bit of damage could be down on the walkway on the way to the tunnel, where the pathway bulges out ( where the old subway used to be ) looks like cracks opening up due to very slight subsidence/movement ( the capn's last batch of photos show how much the foundations under that bit have been uncovered at the end of Sept work was in progress repointing etc on the main breakwater by Dawlish Station viaduct Earlier on in Sept repair work finally got underway on the small breakwater further down at Coryton Cove The food bar/burger van at Coryton is now closed for the winter

possibly, but it was not unknown, previously to the fence, for people to take a short cut along the railway instead of walking around the harbour

No probs ducky, when the vulcan came over, same with the Tornado, traffic virtually came to a standstill, as people rubber necked piccys to follow

Who could miss that the air show is sheduled to be on! The seawall will be nigh on impassible if its dry Any one in Dawlish today should be prepared to be patient Last year late afternoonish it took us 2 hours to get 1 mile home

UOSA at Buckfastleigh yesterday Tuesday middle nearside driver removed for access to bearings I did hear someone comment sorry for quality, angle of vision from viewing gallery was difficult plenty of wheel sets on view word on the platform was that she will be leaving Buckfast this Friday so maybe she will be seen going north along Dawlish seawall !!!! finally shot of rear of UOSA's tender

NOT a lonely member of the Orange army left on duty all night by him/her self But a new lifesaving Buoyancy aid on a pole!! Looks like a good start to the day for the holiday makers sunrise over a flatish sea

From Dawlish beach cams contribution to http://www.newsflare.com/video/51128/weather-nature/dawlish-sea-wall-footpath-reopens orange army posing for Dawlish beach cam slogan reads 'Job done part 2' then the crowds streaming along the wall First Mobility scooter along along new wall ( yours truly) talking to enthusiast/photographer