Listen to the track:
🎵 The Train That Never Came
In the 1930s, a narrow-gauge railway was proposed to link Wembury with Plymstock.The line would have followed the valley inland, possibly carrying light freight and weekend visitors to the beach. Plans were drawn up but the scheme was abandoned before any track was laid.
(Verse 1)
They marked the maps, they drew the line
Across the fields, through oak and pine
A ribbon dreamed of smoke and steel
But never laid, and never real
(Verse 2)
Surveyors came with careful tread
Their boots where fox and badger fed
They said a train would ease the load
From Plymstock down the valley road
(Chorus)
The train never came, though they promised it would
No rails in the grass, no smoke in the wood
No whistle blew, no sleepers laid
Just ghosts of steam in the evening shade
(Verse 3)
The council minutes yellow now
They spoke of progress, spoke of how
Weekenders would flock and stay
But war and worry turned away
(Bridge)
I walk the path they might have carved
Past rusted gate and fallow yard
I hear it still in wind and rain
The rumble of a phantom train
(Final Chorus)
The train never came, though they promised it would
No rails in the grass, no smoke in the wood
No whistle blew, no fares were paid
Just ghosts of steam in the evening shade