Exeter St. David’s goods yard was a reasonable size when it was first established back in the 1840s. But then it soon started to be nibbled away. By 1864, additional platforms were constructed for the adjacent station, as a result of the arrival of three more railway companies.
Nothing much changed until the early part of the 20th Century, when further platform alterations took another chunk out of the southern end of the yard.
With the River Exe all along the western side, the engine sheds to the south west and the running lines on the east, there really wasn’t much room left, apart from a narrow sliver of land.