New heritage GWR sign at Torre to mark 175 years of trains to Torbay

A new heritage GWR sign, called a “running-in board”, has been installed at Torre station to mark 175 years of trains to Torbay.    

Torre was Torbay’s first station and opened, called Torquay, with the line from Newton Abbot on 18 December 1848.

The new sign has been installed on the original cast iron posts which have been refurbished. It was made by Steelway Fensure of Wolverhampton who specialise in recreating heritage railway features of the past. Installation was by Parc Signs of St Austell who have done a number of heritage railway projects in Devon & Cornwall over recent years, most notably all the signage, interpretation panels and historic posters at Okehampton station.

The project was led by the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership and was funded thanks to grants from GWR’s Customer & Community Improvement Fund, the Railway Heritage Trust and the Community Rail Development Fund, a joint initiative of the Department for Transport and the Community Rail Network.

A similar sign has been installed on the opposite platform. This was built in 2022 by the women of the “Women Build!” project, run by TouchWood SouthWest which is a South Devon based award-winning Female-led carpentry and joinery company helping clients to create inspiring spaces with bespoke carpentry and joinery. It works to empower women through practical skills courses.

An interpretation sign by the pedestrian entrance to the station outlines the station’s history and tells of the 175th anniversary and the two running-in boards.

Richard Burningham, Partnership Manager said “The running-in boards are fine additions to Torre station to mark its 175th year and the anniversary of the railway reaching Torbay. The railway created mass tourism which has transformed the area and indeed Devon and Cornwall since it arrived. Torbay’s railway and its stations still play a key role today, not just for tourists and day trippers, but also for local people travelling for work, shopping, education and many other reasons.”

More information about TouchWood SouthWest can be found at https://touchwoodsouthwest.com/