Was there a report in the local press recently about some chap in the area who is fighting a proposal to block up one of the tunnels on this line with a million tons of concrete,or was that somewhere else? About 2 months ago,i think.
I didn't see the report in the paper, but the chap you speak of is probably Colin Burges, creator of teignrail.co.uk
I've been down to Christow station to chat to Colin, and what he had to say was very interesting indeed!
I actually live in Alphington where the line used to run through and then out of Exeter on towards Ide. I've spent the last 6 months collecting as much info as possible on the line, trauling the internet, reading books, visiting the remains of the infrastructure along the line, taking photos and documenting it. It's such a beautiful route and it would be fantastic to see it up and running again!