Everything about South Devon Railway 1846-1876 totally explained
The
South Devon Railway Company built and operated the
railway from
Exeter to
Plymouth and
Torquay in
Devon,
England. It was a 7 feet 0¼ inch
broad gauge railway built by
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Chronology
- 1844 South Devon Railway Act passed by parliament
- 1846 opened to Newton Abbot
- 1847 opened to Totnes, atmospheric trains start running
- 1848 atmospheric trains withdrawn, Torquay branch opened
- 1849 line completed to Plymouth
- 1876 amalgamated with the Great Western Railway
History
Openings
The South Devon Railway was a 7 feet 0¼ inch
broad gauge railway engineered by
Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
The first section of the line to be opened was from
Exeter to
Teignmouth on
30 May 1846. The line was extended to
Newton Abbot on
30 December 1846 and reached
Totnes on
20 June 1847. It reached a temporary station at
Laira on the outskirts of
Plymouth on
5 May 1848 and finally reached the permanent terminus at Plymouth on
2 April 1849. The company built its offices outside this station.
The line was extended the short distance into the new
Plymouth Great Western Docks in
1850 and in
1853 opened a branch to the older Plymouth harbour at Sutton Pool by converting a part of the
Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway to broad gauge.
Atmospheric trains
The railway was designed to be worked by
atmospheric power which enabled a cheaper route to be taken, making use of steeper gradients and smaller curves than was considered practical with steam locomotives at that time.
Atmospheric trains started carrying passengers on
13 September 1847 but the service was withdrawn on
9 September 1848. The failure of the system resulted in financial difficulties for the company for many years, although arrangements with local businessmen such as
George Hennet allowed the provision of additional stations and rolling stock.
The remains of several
engine houses can still be seen alongside the line.
Branches and extensions
A branch was opened from Newton Abbot to
Torquay on
18 December 1848. This line was extended as the independent
Dartmouth and Torbay Railway on
2 August 1859, finally reaching
Kingswear on
16 August 1864.
In the meantime, Plymouth had become a joint station with the opening of the
Cornwall Railway on
4 May 1859, and the
South Devon and Tavistock Railway on
22 June 1859. This latter line was extended by the
Launceston and South Devon Railway on
1 July 1865.
Other independent branches were the
Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway from Newton Abbot on
4 July 1866 and the
Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway which opened to
Ashburton on
1 May 1871 and added a branch to Totnes Quay on
10 November 1872. The South Devon Railway had also added a quayside branch, to the
Exeter Canal at City Basin on
17 July 1867.
Subsequent history
The company was
amalgamated with the
Great Western Railway on
1 February 1876, shortly after which the
London and South Western Railway arrived in Plymouth and a joint station was opened at
North Road.
The gauge was converted to standard gauge on (officially)
21 May 1892. Previous to this, the line from Tavistock Junction to North Road in Plymouth had been mixed gauge to allow the London and South Western trains to travel over the broad gauge tracks. Similarly, one of the two tracks from Exeter as far as City Basin had been mixed. It is interesting to note that the conversion to standard gauge for the entire Exeter to Plymouth section was carried out after the last broad gauge train that ran to Plymouth on Friday
20 May had returned empty to Swindon depot (where it was immediately scrapped). The work was complete ready for the first standard gauge train to run on Monday
23 May.
The Great Western Railway was nationalised on
1 January 1948. It completed the doubling of the line and introduced a more intensive suburban service in Plymouth in
1904, along with several small new stations.
Route
After leaving the
Bristol and Exeter Railway station at Exeter, the line crosses the
River Exe and then passes through the suburbs of
Exeter along a stone
viaduct. Once out in the countryside it follows the river down to
Dawlish Warren where it turns along the
sea wall to
Teignmouth and then follows the
River Teign to
Newton Abbot, where the company's workshops were located.
Beyond Newton the line climbs up a steep gradient to
Dainton Tunnel, then drops down to cross the
River Dart at
Totnes. It then climbs steeply up to
Rattery and then skirts the southern edge of
Dartmoor before dropping down a steep gradient at
Hemerdon to terminate nearly back at sea level in
Plymouth.
Stations
Exeter to Plymouth (including those opened by the Great Western Railway after 1876)
Torquay branch
Locomotives
Main article South Devon Railway locomotives
The company hired locomotives from the Great Western Railway to haul their trains until the atmospheric system was ready for operation. In the event, locomotives were needed on a more permanent basis and so a series of contracts were entered into with contractors to provide the power for the trains. From 1867 the company bought the locomotives and operated them.
The South Devon Railway also operated all the connecting branches in Devon and so their locomotives operated on these. The Cornwall Railway also contracted their motive power from the same company as the South Devon Railway. From 1867 the South Devon Railway also bought the Cornwall Railway locomotives and operated them as a single fleet with their own, and also the ones now purchased for the West Cornwall Railway.
Most of the locomotives were 4-4-0 tank engines for passenger trains and 0-6-0 tank engines for goods trains. Later some smaller locomotives were purchased for branch lines and the dock branches.
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