What it Looks Like Today:Cove Halt
The signal box is now used as an office and spare room and Sarah told us that everyone who has ever slept in there has mentioned sensing a good feeling and having a very peaceful sleep.I can well understand this,as I have always had a peacful feeling whenever I am walking anywhere on the Exe Valley Line.
The interior of the signal box has mainly been refurbished,but the shutter for the vent is there.This would be operated by a rope on a pulley and you can easily imagine the Keeper sitting there on a hot summer's day,trying to get a bit of a breeze flowing by pulling the rope.
The signal box also used to contain a fireplace,but this has been removed and borded up.If you compare an old and a new picture,you will see that there used to be a chimney stack for this fireplace,but that has also been removed.
Very interestingly,whilst Sarah was having work done on the signal box,there was an opening to the underneath of the signal box.Sarah put a camera in and took these pictures which she has very kindly allowed me to use to show everyone.
As you can see,much of the old signals mechanism is still there and it seems to have been the place to dump old paint tins.
Looking around outside again,it is easy to see where the old meets the new in regards to the extensions.Not only is the standard Keeper's Cottage design easy to spot to those interested in such things,but the stonework of the extensions are of a lighter tone than the older stonework,something that Sarah was a little bit upset about.
Where the old siding was is now a lawned garden and it takes some imagination to see where these tracks once were and to imagine trains chugging past.At the front the old crossing post has rotted away,but Sarah saved the metal cover and at extra expense to herself,replaced the post so that the cover could remain in it's original place.Leaving the cottage,we then moved on to examine the platform.
Gallery of Old Pictures