Two years ago, as most of Dawlish slept, something extraordinary happened under the cover of darkness.
The Dawlish Railway Station Bridge was lifted into place over one of Britain’s most scenic stretches of railway. We were there to witness it all — filming, photographing, and live streaming every moment.
In February 2014, a powerful storm tore through the South Devon coastline, causing the dramatic collapse of the Dawlish sea wall and severing the only rail link to the South West for eight weeks. It was a wake-up call for the region — and the nation — highlighting the vulnerability of this vital stretch of railway.
On a summer's night of the 17th of June 2023, we captured the moment a brand-new Dawlish Railway station bridge deck was lifted into place — and what a night it was!
Armed with cameras, hard hats, and more high-visibility gear than you could shake a signal stick at, we live-streamed the entire process to thousands of viewers across the world.
Now, two years on, we’re looking back at that unforgettable night, the incredible team behind it, and the massive kit it took to make it happen.
This wasn’t just another construction job. It was the culmination of months of planning, weeks of logistics, and one intense night of civil engineering at its finest.
Setting the Scene: A Saturday Night with the “Big Guns”
Saturday night. Floodlights beam through the mist. The orange glow of high-vis jackets contrasts against the darkened skies. Towering over it all: a 750-tonne self-rigging crane, rebuilt earlier that day in Dawlish Warren car park.
“We’ve got the big guns out tonight.” And I wasn’t joking. The crane — a nine-axle behemoth — had to be stripped of its outriggers and superlift assembly to make it light enough to travel down the A38.
Once it arrived at Dawlish Warren, it was meticulously rebuilt before trundling into position at the station.
This was precision engineering under pressure. One slip, one mistimed move, and the operation would grind to a halt. But failure wasn’t on the schedule.
Live from the Tracks: Possession Begins
By the time we began filming, possession of the line had officially started. That meant the station was closed to the public, and no trains would pass through overnight — a tight window where everything had to run like clockwork.
Across two locations — Dawlish Station and down the line toward Holcombe — crews were hard at work. On one end, the Dawlish Railway Station bridge was being installed. On the other hand, Road Rail Vehicles (RRVs) were completing vegetation clearance and preparing the cliffs for further resilience work.
Everywhere you looked, there was movement. Paperwork is being signed. Briefings are being held. Teams are getting inducted. Jack, who was juggling both projects, described it as “a bit of a wild start.”
“You're trying to get everyone in the right place at the right time — and also, we're recording the whole thing live.” said Jack Brookes from Bam Nuttall.
No pressure, then.
Dawlish Railway Station Bridge Deck from Ireland, Timing from the Gods
The star of the show — the bridge deck units — had made an epic journey from Shay Murtagh Precast in Ireland. After crossing the Irish Sea and travelling for three days, they were held at Exeter Services until the call came through.
Why the delay? Because these enormous structures were so wide, they couldn’t fit through the narrow roads of Dawlish. They had to arrive at just the right moment, escorted in carefully, with no margin for miscalculation.
The bridge deck alone was a beast — over 70 tonnes of precision-precast concrete, designed to slot into place on top of a tower bristling with steel couplers.
Lifting Under the Lights - Dawlish Railway Station Bridge
With the crane rigged and ready, the first major lift began: the cantilever section of the lift tower. This had to be landed on the seaward side, but it didn’t go entirely to plan.
“It wasn’t lifting level,” Jack explained. “It was catching on the wall, just slightly skewed.”
So down it came, adjustments made, and then back up it went — threading through lighting columns, scaffolding tubes, and rebars sticking out from below. The margin for error was razor-thin. But this was a team that knew their stuff. They got it done.
While this was happening, shutters were being stripped from around the future lift control room. Scaffolders worked alongside concrete specialists and engineers, all working in synchrony like a well-oiled machine.
Behind the Scenes: Dawlish to Holcombe and Coryton Cove
While the main action was at the station, crews were also working further down the line, completing de-vegetation near Holcombe and starting preparation work at Coryton Cove.
Tree climbers suspended from rope systems cleared vegetation to stabilise the cliffs — all part of the ongoing sea wall and railway resilience work.
It was a huge effort from multiple subcontractors, including scaffolders, lift supervisors, engineers, and arborists, as well as the late-night coordination and paperwork that made it all happen safely and efficiently.
Coordinating Precision: More Than Just a Lift
Behind the scenes, the operation was a masterclass in coordination. At least 80 workers were on site, including subcontractors from Notus (specialists in contract lifting), arborists working on the cliffs, and engineers like Jack, who took on multiple roles.
“The engineering team let me down again — no one wanted to come in for the bridge install,” Jack joked.
“So yeah, I’m doing a bit of engineering tonight as well.”
Using a total station surveying system, Jack set exact grid references to ensure the bridge deck would be placed in precisely the right spot. This involved working with technical drawings from Tony Gee, plotting easterly and northerly coordinates down to the millimetre.
When the final lift began — the massive bridge deck itself — the sun was beginning to rise over the horizon. It cast a golden light across the sea wall, illuminating the final moments of an unforgettable night.
The Sunrise, the Dawlish Railway Station Bridge… and a Lot of Coffee
With the deck safely in place, Jack turned to the camera with a smile that said it all:
“We’ve got a bridge. A really proud moment for myself, and for all the team.”
Despite the fatigue, despite the last-minute changes and technical complications, the bridge installation had gone ahead almost perfectly.
The cantilever slab and the deck were seated precisely, ready for the next phase: staircases, casting, and finishing works.
Photos were already winging their way to Fergal at Shay Murtagh, and hundreds of viewers were still watching the live broadcast even at 5:30 am on our website and YouTube Channel.
And the new footbridge at Dawlish Station was standing proudly above the rails — a symbol of progress, connectivity, and world-class engineering on the South Devon coast.
🎥 Watch the Full Video from the Night
We filmed the entire bridge install from start to finish. You can watch the video and see just how much effort, machinery, and teamwork went into one night that changed the station forever.
Why This Project Matters
The new bridge was more than a structural upgrade — it was part of a larger vision to future-proof Dawlish’s railway line. Since the devastating storms of 2014, resilience work in Dawlish has taken centre stage.
Projects like this ensure that trains continue to run, tourists continue to visit, and our coastline remains connected for generations to come.
So next time you walk over the bridge at Dawlish Station, take a moment to think of the night it was lifted — of the giant crane, the quiet heroes in high-vis, and the sunrise that greeted a brand-new chapter in local history.
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