Former railway property sold for £404,000 at auction

Train enthusiasts steamed in with bids before a historic railway house and ticket office sold for £404,000 at auction.

The character property in Holman Way at Topsham, near Exeter was designed by famous railway architect Sir William Tite and opened on May 1 1861.

It was among the lots in the latest sale by land and property auctioneers Clive Emson and was sold to a local buyer who has no firm plans for the property yet.

Auctioneer Graham Barton said: “This was an incredibly rare opportunity to acquire a piece of railway history which attracted a great deal of interest.

“It eventually sold for more than £50,000 above the lower range of its freehold guide price.

“With existing planning consent, the new owner has potential to create a stunning home out of the station house with the adjoining ticket office converted as an annexe or second dwelling.

“Given its wonderful heritage, they may even have some other commercial or tourism plans subject to the necessary consents.”

The station house has planning consent for conversion into a three bedroom home while the ticket office was most recently used by the Devon In Sight eye-health charity.

It has an entrance hall, staff room, kitchen, inner lobby, offices, reception suite, consultation room and doors to the ticket office.