Paignton to Kingswear
“The railway is a standard gauge line running between Paignton and Kingswear” (Dartmouth Steam Railway, read 23 October 2026). The trains leave Paignton’s Queens Park station and pass Goodrington and Churston, both non-stopping at present, before running through the wooded slopes of Long Wood beside the Dart estuary into Kingswear. The journey takes about 30 minutes each way, and the ferry to Dartmouth about 5 (steam train tickets).
Brunel’s branch, opened in 1864
The first section of the Torquay line opened in 1848, as far as Torre. The branch from Newton Abbot was engineered by Brunel for the South Devon Railway, and the line finally opened to traffic on 16 August 1864. In 1876 the South Devon Railway was absorbed into the Great Western (history). When British Railways threatened to close it, the Dart Valley Railway took this section on too and began running trains in 1973.
The station that never saw a train
Dartmouth has a railway station, and it never had a train. Historic England lists the Former Dartmouth Station on South Embankment as a “Former landing stage for ferry from the Kingswear railway terminus. c1864-70” (Historic England, list entry 1297055). It was listed Grade II on 19 August 1974, and today it is a bistro. A local history site says it was built complete with a booking office and platform, though no train ever reached it (Explore Dartmouth). The trains stop across the river at Kingswear, and the railway’s company runs the passenger ferry over.
The engines
Four engines were listed in service for 2026 (trains). 7827 Lydham Manor is a Great Western Manor class built in 1950. 5239 Goliath, a heavy 2-8-0 tank, dates from 1924. 4247 was built at Swindon in 1916 and arrived in mid June 2025 on a 20-year hire. 75014 Braveheart, a BR Standard Class 4 built in 1951, is due to come out of service at the end of 2026 for its second major overhaul.
Planning the day
The 2026 season opened on Saturday 14 February; at Christmas the line runs a Train of Lights with Santa, listed in our Santa trains guide. The railway has no parking at its stations; in Paignton it recommends the Victoria Centre car park, with 200 spaces, and in Kingswear there is just the small, private Darthaven Marina car park (parking). Queens Park station is in Paignton town centre, about 400 yards from the seafront, with its entrance next to the main line level crossing (how to find us). Look out for the Devon Belle observation carriage, a 1917 ambulance coach refitted at Paignton.
Photographing the line
The run into Kingswear, with Dartmouth across the water, is the picture people come for, and we print it as taken. A coastal view like that, with plenty of sky and sea, suits a large print on metal.
Sources: Dartmouth Steam Railway history; Historic England list entry 1297055 (both read 23 October 2026).
