The Railway came to Budleigh Salterton in 1897, firstly via a branch line from Tipton St, John, off the main Waterloo-Exeter line. Although the first sod for the line through to Exmouth was cut by Lady Gertrude Rolle in 1895, it was not completed until 1903. The undertaking had proved expensive and complicated, owing to the erection of a viaduct across Dalditch Lane. The cost of the branch line from Tipton to Salterton alone was £80,000, and the whole expense of the enterprise was borne by the Rolle Estate.
