Ex-Great Western Railway Collett 'Hall' class 4-6-0 No. 4971 'Stanway Hall'. Built at Swindon in January 1930 and withdrawn in August 1962. On an idyllic July day in 1957, 4971 sweeps past Dawlish Warren. The locomotive had temporarily been re-numbered 3901 from May 1947 to April 1949 during its time as an oil burner.

Peter Kerslake adds "Recorded from Langstone Rock, a favourite location for cameramen for years past and at the point where the original Langstone Point headland had been opened out by Brunel into the form that it is today with Dawlish Warren station and the Exe estuary in the distance and the rocks safeguarding the line from the sea during stormy sessions very much in evidence.
The single line here was originally located close to the footway wall but was slewed inland firstly in 1873 when the single line was doubled and again in 1911 when the cliffs on the left were cut back, the excavated rock being used for the new Dawlish Warren station".


© Ken Widd-SA Collection