0:00:32 > 0:00:36TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS
0:00:39 > 0:00:43The smoke in your eyes, the smell of the steam.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47This must be one of the most glorious railways journeys in the world.
0:00:47 > 0:00:54It was the first glimpse holidaymakers have of the sea as they go to the West Country.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57This wonderful view of the south coast.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01The genius behind this route was Isambard Kingdom Brunel
0:01:01 > 0:01:07who, in 1843, was commissioned to build an extension to the Great Western Railway,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10down along the South Devon coast to Plymouth.
0:01:13 > 0:01:18On the face of it, this is a ridiculous place to build a railway line.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20Even on a calm day like today,
0:01:20 > 0:01:26passing trains are at risk of a soaking from waves, crashing onto the sea wall.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29So, what made Brunel build his line here?
0:01:29 > 0:01:34To find out, I'm meeting railway historian Peter Kay.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37It's impossible to have a direct route because of the range of hills.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41He had to choose between either coming right along the coast
0:01:41 > 0:01:46as he did or having a route right behind Dawlish and Tynmouth through very long tunnels.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50Surely, to build a railway here was an incredibly risky operation.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54The storms would have come in and smashed over his railway.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57I think the local people tried to point that out to him.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59There were several petitions to Parliament
0:01:59 > 0:02:03and the Exeter Corporation said the line would be a danger
0:02:03 > 0:02:08to Her Majesty's subjects, because of the risk from sudden storms.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11Brunel was convinced there would be no problems caused
0:02:11 > 0:02:16by the sea to his railway, because he was such a confident engineer.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Brunel's original route was several yards further out.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26He wanted to go round this headland on the outside without a tunnel here.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28Of course, had the line been built further out,
0:02:28 > 0:02:32it would have been even more exposed to the ravages of the sea.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Fortunately, he was opposed by the local people who did not want to lose their beach.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39This was the gentlemen's bathing beach
0:02:39 > 0:02:42and would have been lost entirely had Brunel got his original route.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45So, he had to build a system of tunnels through the cliffs.
0:02:45 > 0:02:50Yes, there was only one tunnel intended originally and he ended up with five.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52It wasn't just the tunnels.
0:02:52 > 0:02:57We seem to have this huge sea wall for about four miles, from one headland to the other.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00That was quite a substantial construction job.
0:03:00 > 0:03:05The stone came from Torbay by ship, was landed on the beaches.
0:03:05 > 0:03:11When the line opened in 1847, Brunel had taken the bold decision
0:03:11 > 0:03:15to use a new means of propulsion called the "atmospheric system".
0:03:15 > 0:03:20Huge pumping houses like this one at Starcross were constructed to create
0:03:20 > 0:03:27a vacuum in a pipe laid between the rails which sucked the trains along.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31Although the system worked, it was too expensive to maintain
0:03:31 > 0:03:36so steam locomotives took over after just 12 months.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39So, how has the railway fared since Brunel's time?
0:03:39 > 0:03:43Well, I'm afraid the pessimists were quickly proved right.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47This section we're walking on now was rebuilt totally in the 1860s.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51The real ongoing problem was that the sea wall often got undermined by the weight.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54So, it's not just the storm smashing against the wall,
0:03:54 > 0:03:58but the continual erosion at the base that's the problem.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00The base of the wall is the normal problem.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04The bedrock underneath the foundations is very poor stuff.
0:04:04 > 0:04:09The waves break it up and suck out the infill behind,
0:04:09 > 0:04:13make a hole in the bottom of the wall and then the line collapses.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17Now we've got global warming and sea level rises,
0:04:17 > 0:04:20are we going to lose the line for good in the next 50 years?
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Well, who knows?
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Who knows indeed?!
0:04:24 > 0:04:26When Brunel built this line, he insisted that it would be
0:04:26 > 0:04:32no more expensive to maintain than any other stretch of railway.
0:04:32 > 0:04:39£9 million has been spent since 2004 trying to shore up the line,
0:04:39 > 0:04:43prompting calls for a replacement to be built inland.
0:04:43 > 0:04:49But such a line could never compete with the amazing coastal scenery
0:04:49 > 0:04:54that makes this one of Britain's most stunning railway journeys.