South Devon Railway Company facts for kids

The South Devon Railway Company was a railway company in England that built and ran train lines from Exeter to Plymouth and Torquay in Devon. It used a special wide track called a 7 ft ¹⁄₄ in (2,140 mm) broad gauge railway. This amazing railway was designed by the famous engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

The railway had to go through very hilly areas. At first, the company tried a new system called the atmospheric system. This system used a tube between the rails and special engines to pull trains by creating a vacuum. However, this new system had many problems and didn't work out. So, the railway switched back to using regular steam locomotives. The company also helped build many smaller branch lines through other companies.

Today, the main line built by the South Devon Railway between Exeter and Plymouth is still used. It's a very important part of the main railway line connecting London and Plymouth.

Key Dates in South Devon Railway History

A map showing the South Devon Railway lines in 1876.

• 1844: Parliament passed the law allowing the South Devon Railway to be built.
• 1846: The first part of the line opened to Newton Abbot.
• 1847: The line reached Totnes, and the special atmospheric trains started running.
• 1848: The atmospheric trains stopped running. The branch line to Torquay opened.
• 1849: The main line was finished all the way to Plymouth.
• 1876: The South Devon Railway joined with the Great Western Railway.

How the Railway Started

Early Ideas for a Railway

People first talked about building a railway from Plymouth to Exeter way back in 1826. But the first real plan came in 1840. Supporters wanted a direct route, about 37 miles (60 km) long, that would climb very high. This plan was very ambitious and expensive, so it didn't get approved by Parliament.

However, people in Plymouth still really wanted a railway. They saw that the Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) was building its wide-track line. The B&ER and the Great Western Railway (GWR) worked closely together and were known as the Associated Companies. They were a powerful group interested in broad gauge railways.

Choosing the Route and Station Locations

The people behind the new railway, which was first called the Plymouth, Devonport and Exeter Railway Company, hoped the Associated Companies would help pay for it. They did, but only if a lot of money (£500,000) was raised locally. Also, the Plymouth station had to be in a good spot for future lines into Cornwall.

Plymouth, Devonport, and Stonehouse were three separate towns back then, and they were very competitive. Brunel, the engineer, suggested a neutral spot for the main station called Eldad. People joked that it was "No Place" because it wasn't in the center of any town.

The company changed its name to the South Devon Railway. Their plan was to use the B&ER station in Exeter (St Davids) and have their main station at Millbay in Plymouth, with a branch to the harbor. Parliament approved this plan on July 4, 1844. The company was allowed to raise £1,100,000. The Great Western Railway, Bristol and Exeter Railway, and Bristol and Gloucester Railway all invested money.

Why the Atmospheric System Was Chosen

The railway route from Exeter to Newton (now Newton Abbot) followed the coast. But from Newton to Plymouth, the land was very hilly. Brunel had planned for a regular double-track railway with locomotives. However, he was worried about how well steam locomotives worked on steep hills.

He had seen a demonstration of the atmospheric system in 1840. This system used a pipe laid between the rails. Stationary steam engines along the line would suck air out of the pipe, creating a vacuum. A special carriage with a piston inside the tube would be attached to the front of the train. The air pressure behind the piston would push the train forward. A leather seal on top of the pipe would open for the piston to pass and then close again.

The atmospheric system seemed like a good solution for the hilly terrain. It could pull trains better without relying on the wheels gripping the rails. It also meant trains wouldn't need to carry heavy locomotives and fuel up steep hills. Supporters thought it would save money on building costs because only a single track would be needed instead of two. They also believed it would be cheaper to run each year.

The company's directors visited a working atmospheric railway in Dalkey, Ireland, in August 1844. They were impressed and decided to use the system. Brunel took full responsibility for this decision, even though his own locomotive engineer, Daniel Gooch, had doubts. Brunel believed he could make it work, even on long, hilly sections.

Building the Railway Begins

Once the atmospheric system was approved, construction started quickly. The line was built as a single track with a wide gauge. They made some changes to save money, like making bridges slightly smaller and using lighter rails.

Building large projects like this was still new. They started with the section from Exeter to Newton, which was easier to build. This part of the line ran along the coast near Teignmouth, which involved a lot of rock blasting, six tunnels, and two covered sections. They also had to build a long timber bridge over the River Exe and a viaduct (a long bridge with arches) at St Thomas.

First Trains Run with Locomotives

By March 1846, the line between Exeter and Teignmouth was almost ready, but the special atmospheric pipe wasn't installed yet. To start earning money, the company decided to open this section using hired locomotives from the GWR.

The first passenger trains ran on May 30, 1846. Many people rode the trains, with 1,500 passengers on one train on Whit Monday! The trains stopped at St Thomas, Starcross, and Dawlish. The line was extended to Newton Abbot, and passenger service began there on December 31, 1846, with trains pulled by locomotives. The atmospheric pipes were still not ready.

The Atmospheric System in Action

The first test run of the atmospheric system on the South Devon line happened on February 25, 1847. A special piston carriage went from Exeter to Turf to clear the pipe. Brunel was very happy with it.

The first time the atmospheric system was used for a train carrying goods was on August 18, 1847. An 11-wagon goods train weighing 120 tons traveled from Exeter to Starcross in 15 minutes. The first passenger train using the atmospheric system ran on September 13, 1847, between Exeter and Teignmouth. More and more trains switched to the atmospheric system, and by February 23, 1848, all trains were running this way.

The trains ran well, and people liked that there was no noise or smoke from locomotives. Most trains ran on time. However, on January 18, 1848, a severe frost caused the sealing valve on the pipe to leak, and no trains could run until the afternoon.

Tests showed that a light train (28 tons) could go very fast, averaging 64 mph over a 3-mile section. But a heavier train (100 tons) could only reach 35 mph.

Brunel had originally planned for a 13-inch diameter pipe, but he later decided to use a 15-inch pipe, and even a 22-inch pipe for the steepest hills west of Newton. He wanted to learn as much as possible before committing to the larger pipes.

The atmospheric system was extended to Newton on January 10, 1848. However, the operating costs were much higher than expected, especially for fuel for the stationary engines and maintaining the pipes. The company was losing money.

Problems and Giving Up the Atmospheric System

From the beginning, some people doubted the atmospheric system. Their concerns grew when the London and Croydon Railway decided to stop using the system in May 1847 because of too many technical problems.

At a shareholders' meeting in August 1847, doubts became very strong. By August 1848, Brunel himself suggested that the company that supplied the system couldn't fix the problems. On August 29, 1848, the shareholders voted to stop using the atmospheric system.

The last atmospheric train arrived in Exeter early on Sunday, September 10, 1848. The atmospheric system was finished on the South Devon Railway. The engine houses were closed forever. The company had spent a lot of money (£433,991) on the system. Now they had no locomotives and couldn't afford to buy any. They had built a single line, thinking the atmospheric system would make a double track unnecessary. They still had to finish building to Torquay and Plymouth.

Finishing the Line to Plymouth

Building from Newton to Laira

The line from Newton to Totnes opened for passengers on July 20, 1847, and for goods on December 6, 1847. The atmospheric system was still used up to Newton, but locomotives were used beyond that. Brunel pushed ahead with the section from Totnes to Plymouth, which had even more bridges and tunnels.

A test train ran to a temporary station called Laira (on the edge of Plymouth) on April 27, 1848. The line officially opened to Laira on May 5, 1848. Goods traffic started on September 13, 1848.

Laira was still quite a distance from Plymouth. The Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway (P&DR), a horse-drawn tramway, crossed the SDR's path there. The SDR had permission to buy this part of the P&DR, but negotiations were slow. The SDR started building across the P&DR's line without agreement, and the P&DR owners blocked them with large granite blocks!

The only station between Totnes and Laira was Wrangaton (later renamed Kingsbridge Road). Other stations at Brent, Ivybridge, and Plympton opened soon after, and Cornwood got a station in 1852. Parts of the line were also made into double track.

Reaching Plymouth and Devonport

The disagreements with the P&DR were finally sorted out, and the line could open to Plymouth. The original plan for the Eldad station was changed, and a station at Millbay in Plymouth was chosen instead. This caused some upset among the different towns. To make Devonport happy, a branch line to New Passage (on the River Tamar) was proposed, with a station in Devonport. This branch was built as far as the Devonport station but not extended to New Passage. It later became part of the Cornwall Railway's main line.

The extension to "Plymouth" (the station later called Millbay) opened to the public on April 2, 1849. Goods trains started running on May 1, 1849.

Branch Lines Built by the South Devon Railway

Torquay and Kingswear Branch

The company wanted to build a branch line to Torquay. In 1846, they got permission to build to a field near Torquay. This line opened from Newton (Abbot) to a Torquay station on December 18, 1848.

An independent company, the Dartmouth and Torbay Railway, extended the line further. It opened from the SDR Torquay station to Paignton on August 2, 1859. On the same day, the SDR Torquay station was renamed Torre. The SDR operated this new line. The line was extended to Brixham Road (later Churston) on March 14, 1861. Both openings were for passengers only, with goods traffic starting later.

The Dartmouth and Torbay Railway then extended its line to Kingswear on August 16, 1864. A ferry service connected Kingswear station to Dartmouth. The SDR operated the entire line and eventually took it over completely in 1866.

Docks at Plymouth

In 1850, the South Devon Railway connected its line at Millbay to the Millbay Pier, which was part of the Plymouth Great Western Dock Company.

The SDR also built a branch line from Laira to Sutton Harbour, which opened in May 1853. At first, only horses were allowed to pull trains on this line. It was closed for a while to make the curves less sharp and reopened in October 1857. From April 1869, locomotives were allowed.

Cornwall Railway Connection

The Cornwall Railway opened its broad gauge line on May 4, 1859. It connected just north of the South Devon's Plymouth station. Cornwall Railway trains used the Plymouth station, which was made bigger to handle the extra trains.

Tavistock and Launceston Lines

Tavistock was an important town north of Plymouth. After some arguments in Parliament, the South Devon and Tavistock Railway was allowed to build its broad gauge line from Laira to Tavistock in 1854. It opened on June 22, 1859. The South Devon Railway leased and operated this line, eventually buying it in 1865.

To stop other railway companies using a narrower track width from entering the area, the SDR supported an extension of the Tavistock line to Launceston. This was done by a separate company, the South Devon and Launceston Railway, which opened in 1865. The SDR operated this line and absorbed it in 1873.

Parliament made a rule that if another company with narrow gauge tracks asked, the South Devon Railway had to lay narrow gauge rails too. This later allowed trains from the London and South Western Railway to reach Plymouth using the South Devon lines.

Moretonhampstead Branch

Another line built to stop narrow gauge railways from coming into the area was the Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway. The South Devon Railway invested in this line. It opened on July 4, 1866. It was 12 miles (19 km) long and climbed steadily from Newton (Abbot) to Moretonhampstead.

Brixham Branch

The Torbay and Brixham Railway was built by a local harbor owner. It opened on February 28, 1868, connecting Brixham Road station (on the Dartmouth and Torbay Railway line) to Brixham. Brixham Road station was renamed Churston on the same day. The SDR operated this line until 1876. Later, in 1883, the line was sold to the Great Western Railway.

Buckfastleigh Branch

The Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway was formed in 1863. It opened between Totnes and Ashburton on May 1, 1872. It also added a branch to Totnes Quay in 1873. At first, horses pulled trains on the Totnes Quay branch, but later locomotives were allowed.

Exeter City Basin Branch

The South Devon Railway added a branch line to the Exeter Canal at City Basin on July 17, 1867.

Railway Progress: 1849 to 1876

Increasing Line Capacity

By 1849, the South Devon Railway had finished its main line to Plymouth and the Torquay branch. It was part of a large broad gauge railway network connecting Devon and Cornwall with Bristol and London. However, the main line was only single track and had difficult hills. The company had spent a lot of money on the failed atmospheric system. Soon, the biggest problem was that too many trains wanted to use the line.

In the summer of 1850, the line was so busy that some trains took six hours to go from Plymouth to Exeter! This was likely due to how the passing places were set up. To fix this, they started adding a second track (doubling the line) from Aller to Totnes, which included the tough climbs to Dainton. The double track opened on January 29, 1855. They also improved the layouts at stations like Dawlish, Teignmouth, and Totnes. By August 1856, the chairman said they didn't plan to double any more sections.

However, the company later sought permission to widen more sections in 1859. Between then and 1865, the line was doubled from Exeter to Starcross, and from Teignmouth to Newton.

More improvements happened from 1874 to 1875. A third track was added from Newton to Aller, making it easier for trains to get to the Torquay branch. The section from Starcross to Dawlish was also doubled.

Station Improvements

After the main line was finished, new stations opened at Exminster and Cornwood in 1852.

The Plymouth station at Millbay was first designed as a simple end-of-the-line station for the SDR. When the Cornwall Railway was almost finished, the Plymouth station was made bigger to handle trains from both companies. This expansion was ready by May 4, 1859. Even more improvements were made by 1863 to handle traffic from the Tavistock and South Devon line.

Joining the Great Western Railway

The South Devon Railway officially joined the Great Western Railway (GWR) on February 1, 1876. Here's what happened to the South Devon Railway lines after that.

Soon after the merger, the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) reached Plymouth, and a shared station was opened at North Road. The LSWR had wanted to reach Devon and Cornwall for a long time. By 1874, it reached Lidford. The South Devon Railway had to lay narrow gauge rails from Lidford to Plymouth, creating mixed gauge track, so LSWR trains could use the line. However, the SDR delayed this, and LSWR trains didn't start running to Plymouth until May 17, 1876.

The track width on all remaining lines was changed to 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) standard gauge (standard gauge) on May 21, 1892. Before this, the line from Tavistock Junction to North Road in Plymouth had mixed gauge tracks for LSWR trains. The conversion to standard gauge for the entire Exeter to Plymouth section was done very quickly. The last broad gauge train ran on Friday, May 20. The work was finished by Monday, May 23, for the first standard gauge train.

The GWR now owned a busy main line that still had single-track sections. They worked to double these remaining sections. By July 1884, the section near Teignmouth was doubled, which involved opening up a tunnel. The challenging section from Rattery to Hemerdon was doubled in stages, finishing in November 1893. This involved building five new bridges and a tunnel. The last short section through five tunnels west of Dawlish was doubled between 1902 and 1905.

The Great Western Railway became part of British Railways on January 1, 1948. From that date, the former South Devon Railway lines were managed by British Railways, Western Region.

The Railway Route Today

Starting from the former Bristol and Exeter Railway station at Exeter St Davids, the line crosses the River Exe. It then goes through the southern part of Exeter on a stone viaduct (a long bridge). After leaving the city, it follows the Exe River south to Dawlish Warren. Here, it runs along rocky cliffs, going through short tunnels and the longer Parson's Tunnel to Teignmouth.

At Teignmouth, the line turns west and follows the north bank of the River Teign to Newton Abbot, where the company's workshops used to be.

Beyond Newton Abbot, the main line climbs steadily up a steep hill (1 in 36 at its steepest) for about 2 miles to the top at Dainton Tunnel. Then it goes downhill for about 4 miles, almost as steeply, to cross the River Dart at Totnes. It climbs steeply again for about 3 miles to a high point at Rattery, then eases a bit for 6 miles of moderately steep climbing to Wrangaton. From there, it goes downhill for about 6 miles to Hemerdon, then drops steeply (1 in 42) for 2 miles to Plympton. From Plympton, the line follows the north bank of the River Plym, goes through a tunnel near Mutley, and reaches the current Plymouth station. A short part of the main line to Cornwall is still the original line. The line then turned south to the original station at Millbay, which no longer exists.

The Torquay branch line leaves the main line a little southwest of Newton Abbot at Aller Junction. It climbs to Torre station, which is high up on the northwest edge of Torquay.

Passenger Stations on the South Devon Railway

Stations that opened after the SDR joined the GWR in 1876 are shown in italic.

Exeter to Plymouth

• Exeter St Davids - This was the Bristol and Exeter Railway station, used by agreement.
• St Thomas (Exeter) - Renamed St Thomas in April 1853; renamed Exeter St Thomas in May 1897.
• Exminster - Opened in late August 1852; closed March 30, 1964.
• Starcross
• Warren Halt; opened July 1, 1905; renamed Warren Platform on July 1, 1907, and Dawlish Warren on October 1, 1911; moved a short distance north on September 23, 1912.
• Dawlish
• Teignmouth
• Newton - Renamed Newton Abbot March 1, 1897.
• Totnes
• Brent - Opened June 15, 1848; closed October 5, 1964.
• Wrangaton - Renamed Kingsbridge Road in May 1849 and changed back to Wrangaton July 1, 1895.
• Bittaford Platform; opened November 18, 1907, closed March 2, 1959.
• Ivybridge - Opened June 15, 1848, closed March 2, 1959; a new station opened about one mile east on July 15, 1994.
• Cornwood Road - Opened late August 1852, renamed Cornwood April 1864.
• Plympton - Opened June 15, 1848, closed to passengers March 2, 1959, and to goods June 1, 1964.
• Laira - Temporary station at Laira Green closed April 2, 1849, to passengers and May 1, 1849, to goods.
• Laira Halt; opened June 1, 1904, closed July 7, 1930.
• Lipson Vale Halt - Opened June 1, 1904, closed March 22, 1942.
• Mutley - Opened August 1, 1871; closed July 3, 1939.
• Plymouth North Road - Opened March 28, 1877, renamed Plymouth September 16, 1958.
• Plymouth - Shared with the Cornwall Railway; renamed Plymouth Millbay from May 1, 1877, closed to passengers April 24, 1941, and to goods June 20, 1966.

Torquay Branch

• Kingskerswell - Opened July 1, 1853; closed October 5, 1964.
• Torquay - Renamed Torre August 2, 1859.

Locomotives (Trains)

The South Devon Railway first rented locomotives from the Great Western Railway until their atmospheric system was ready. When they realized they needed locomotives permanently, they made deals with companies to provide the power for their trains. From 1867, the South Devon Railway started buying and operating their own locomotives.

The South Devon Railway also ran all the connecting branch lines in Devon, so their locomotives worked on those too. The Cornwall Railway also got its locomotives from the same company as the South Devon Railway. From 1867, the South Devon Railway bought the Cornwall Railway's locomotives and operated them as one big group, along with those from the West Cornwall Railway.

Most of their locomotives were 4-4-0 tank engines for passenger trains and 0-6-0 tank engines for goods trains. Later, they bought smaller locomotives for the branch lines and dock areas.

Accidents and Incidents

• On June 27, 1849, the boiler of a Great Western Railway Hercules class locomotive named Goliah exploded while pulling a freight train at Plympton. One person was sadly killed.

See Also

• South Devon Railway (heritage railway) - A modern heritage railway that uses part of the old line.
• Exeter–Plymouth line - The main railway line that still uses much of the original SDR route.
• South Devon Banks - The steep hills on the railway line.
• South Devon Railway sea wall - The famous sea wall protecting the railway line near Dawlish.