Historical factfile:

Brent station

‘A Nod to Brent’ is set during the ‘Big Four’ era, a time when activity in and around Brent station was at its peak. The station served the Devonshire village of South Brent, situated at the southern perimeter of Dartmoor. It opened as part of the South Devon Railway in June 1848, despite the line itself opening around a month prior. On February 1 1876, the South Devon Railway became a constituent of the GWR. At the end of 1893 the Kingsbridge branch line opened, joining the South Devon Main Line via the introduction of a junction at Brent station. The Kingsbridge branch line lasted until September 1963, and Brent’s goods traffic ceased operation shortly after in April of 1964 – passenger services followed suit in October. Today, only the goods shed remains, following the demolition of the signal box on November 12 2014 (which had continued to operate until December 1973). Robin often runs visiting Southern Railway stock on ‘A Nod to Brent’, and there’s a practical reason why: SR traffic was often diverted onto the South Devon Main Line en route to or from Plymouth.