Former Transit Shed, Exeter St Davids Station

The Former Transit Shed at Exeter St. David's Station is a goods trans-shipment shed built around 1860 for mixed gauge trains. It is constructed of brick with engineering brick dressings around the openings and features a limestone cornice and a corrugated sheet roof. The building has a rectangular plan with a central island platform and is a single storey with 13-bay sides.

The exterior presents a long, symmetrical shed with an entablature and cornice running around the eaves and across the coped gable ends. The sides feature a round-arched arcade with stone keys, alternating between blind sections and metal-paned round-arched windows. The gables contain two wide semi-circular arches, with the arch for the former broad gauge line being slightly wider than that for the standard gauge line. Above the cornice, there is a keyed gable oculus vent.

Inside, the arcades are repeated on the inner walls. The roof is supported by timber principals, wrought-iron ties, king rods, and decorated cast-iron braces. One side of the two lines has been filled in.

Historically, this shed was used for transferring goods between the Great Western Railway's broad gauge wagons and the standard gauge wagons of the London and South Western Railway. Its design reflects this function, as it lacks doorways typical of ordinary unloading sheds and features different sizes of end archways for the varying train sizes. Trans-shipment operations ceased in 1892 when the broad gauge was converted. This building is of significant historical interest as it represents a key moment in British transport history, marking the transition between the two railway systems. There is a corrugated iron extension that is not of special interest.