What it Looks Like Today: Exeter St.David's Station
We next ventured outside,through the automatic ticket machine and to the front of the station.The front of the station has had many alterations over the years,as you can see if you look at old pictures of the station.
There used to be a line of ornate stone urns running along the top of the roof,but these were removed in 1938 when GWR carried out major alterations to the station.Office buildings were added to the station,which are easily identifiable,as they are made of a lighter stone,the grey stone being that of the original Brunel building.
Further down to the north,there still remains the old Goods Transfer Shed built in 1864.This is where goods were transferred between narrow and broad gauge trains.There were plans to renovate this listed building,but by looking at it's state of disrepair,obviously nothing came of this.
Believe it or not,at one time the station wasn't going to be called Exeter St.David's,but Red Cow Station due to it's proximity to Red Cow Village.
We decided to have a bit of a break,so sat down and had the cheese and pickle sandwiches that Christine had made for us,while watching the comings and goings of passengers.It's always interesting to observe the mannerisms of humans and a train station is a very good place to do it.
After our lunch I bought Christine an expensive cup of coffee,before going back onto the platforms to investigate further.
To the north of the platform is the stone towered foot bridge.This reminded me of the ones that used to be at Tiverton Station and Dulverton Station and it was a real pleasure to walk back and forth across it,although we did get in people's way occasionally,as we stopped to take pictures.From the bridge you really are right up almost inside the roof's old ironwork and you can really get a sense of the past.