The South Devon Railway Company built and operated the railway from Exeter to Plymouth and Torquay in Devon, England. It was a broad gauge railway built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
The line had to traverse difficult hilly terrain, and the company adopted the atmospheric system in which trains were drawn by a piston in a tube laid between the rails, a vacuum being created by stationary engines. The revolutionary system proved to have insuperable technical difficulties and was abandoned. The line continued as a conventional locomotive railway. The company promoted a number of branches, through the medium of nominally independent companies.
Its original main line between Exeter and Plymouth remains in use today as an important part of the main line between London and Plymouth.
Chronology
1844 South Devon Railway Act 1844 (7 & 8 Vict. c. lxviii) passed by Parliament 1846 opened from Exeter to Teignmouth (May) and subsequently to Newton Abbot (December) 1847 opened to Totnes (July); atmospheric trains start running between Exeter and Teignmouth (September) 1848 atmospheric trains extended to Newton Abbot (January); main line extended from Totnes to Laira (May); atmospheric services withdrawn (September); Torquay branch opened as far as Torre (December) 1849 line completed to Plymouth 1853 Sutton Harbour branch opened 1859 South Devon and Tavistock Railway opened to Tavistock (June); Dartmouth and Torbay Railway opened from Torre to Paignton (August) 1861 Dartmouth and Torbay Railway extended to Churston 1864 Dartmouth and Torbay Railway extended to Kingswear 1865 South Devon and Tavistock Railway absorbed by SDR; Launceston and South Devon Railway opened from Tavistock to Launceston 1866 Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway opened 1867 Exeter City Basin branch opened, for goods only 1872 Dartmouth and Torbay Railway absorbed by SDR; Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway absorbed by SDR; Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway opened from Totnes to Ashburton 1873 Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway opened to Totnes Quay, for goods only (November); Launceston and South Devon Railway absorbed by SDR (December) 1876 SDR amalgamated with the Great Western Railway 1897 Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway absorbed by GWR
Origins First proposals First thoughts of a railway connecting Plymouth to Exeter were discussed from 1826, but the first definite proposal came when a meeting of potential promoters in 1840 resolved to build a direct route between the cities. They chose the direct route over two suggested longer routes, which were similar to the Teignmouth and Okehampton routes that were actually built later. Their preferred line was to be 37 miles (60 km) long, climbing to 1,190 feet (363 m) and would pass through very sparsely inhabited terrain; there were to be three rope-worked inclines and two long tunnels, and the construction cost was to be £770,781. This ambitious scheme was presented to Parliament as a bill on 29 February 1840, but got no further there. Its supporters continued to argue in its favour, but the more practical scheme via Newton soon gained favour.Gregory, R H, The South Devon Railway, Oakwood Press, Salisbury, 1982,
The failure of this scheme did not suppress the enthusiasm in Plymouth for a railway, and this was heightened as the Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) was constructing its broad gauge line. The Great Western Railway (GWR) and the B&ER were working in close harmony, and were known as the Associated Companies, forming a powerful broad gauge interest in railways. Supporters of what soon became the Plymouth, Devonport and Exeter Railway Company saw that financial support might be available from the Associated Companies, and so it proved, subject to substantial capital (£500,000) being raised locally as well, and that any chosen alignment in Plymouth would be suitable for later extension into Cornwall.
The choice of terminal in Plymouth was a fine point, for the "Three Towns" of Plymouth, Devonport and Stonehouse were independent and fiercely jealous of one another. With Isambard Kingdom Brunel now advising the promoters, a terminal at a neutral location at Eldad was selected. Located away from the centre of any of the Three Towns, it was mocked as being "No Place"; a public house of that name at 353 North Road West on Eldad Hill was extant until 2010, and Gregory speculates that it was built in anticipation of the South Devon's Eldad terminus.It was converted in 2010 to student accommodation; a letting agency advertisement at http://www.studylets.co.uk/property.jsp?h=357&y=7 in January 2014 claimed: "The No Place Inn: The third oldest pub in Plymouth it was converted to high quality student accommodation in 2010. The building is not one of those cookie cutter student houses but has a unique character and was awarded Grade A by the University."
A prospectus was issued proposing the line, which with some detail changes, was similar to that actually operating today; the B&ER station at Exeter (St Davids) would be used, and the western terminal would be Eldad, with a branch to the harbour at Millbay. The company's name was changed to the South Devon Railway and a parliamentary bill was submitted in the 1844 session; with little opposition, it obtained its authorising act of Parliament, the (7 & 8 Vict. c. lxviii), on 4 July 1844. Share capital was to be £1,100,000 and the associated companies agree to subscribe, in the sums of:
Great Western Railway: £150,000 Bristol and Exeter Railway: £200,000 Bristol and Gloucester Railway: £50,000.
The atmospheric system adopted Although the route was to follow the coast from Exeter to Newton (later called Newton Abbot), from there to Plymouth it would need to run over difficult hilly terrain, and gradients and curvature were challenging. Brunel had planned the route as a double-track locomotive railway, and as late as May 1844 he stated, in reference to the atmospheric system, "I have not been called upon to recommend it or not".Paul Garnsworthy, Brunel's Atmospheric Railway, published by the Broad Gauge Society, 2013,
However, Brunel was concerned about the efficiency of available steam locomotives, and he had been interested in the 1840 demonstration of the atmospheric system at Wormwood Scrubs. The system atmospheric railway briefly involves a pipe laid between the running rails, and stationary steam engines located at engine houses at intervals of a few miles along the line; they exhaust air from the pipe, forming a partial vacuum. A piston carriage is placed at the head of each train, and it carries a piston which travels in the tube. The tube is slotted at the top to enable the piston bracket to pass, and a continuous leather seal prevents unwanted admission of air. With a partial vacuum in the pipe ahead of the piston, the pressure of the atmosphere behind it drives it forward, drawing the train. The leather seal is opened by rollers immediately ahead of the bracket carrying the piston, and closed immediately behind it.Howard Clayton, The Atmospheric Railways, self-published by Howard Clayton, Lichfield, 1966
Jacob and Joseph Samuda had taken out a patent for the use of the atmospheric system on railways and operated the Wormwood Scrubbs demonstration; and from August 1843 trial runs had operated on the Dalkey Atmospheric Railway. The system appeared to be a solution to the difficulties: greater traction was possible, not relying on steel wheel adhesion, and avoiding the necessity to carry the weight of a locomotive and its fuel over the steep gradients. It was asserted that only a single line (instead of double track) would be needed to work the traffic by the atmospheric system, and that steeper gradients and sharper curves were feasible compared with locomotive operation, saving construction costs.Peter Kay, Exeter – Newton Abbot: A Railway History, Platform 5 Publishing, 1991, Sheffield, In fact the capital outlay would be reduced by £67,000, allowing for the cost of construction of the pumping stations, and annual operating costs would be £8,000 cheaper.
The system was considered at a board meeting on 5 August 1844, and a few days later some of the directors visited Dalkey to assess the system in operation there. On 19 August the board resolved to adopt the system. Gregory records that:
The directors' decision was put to the first shareholders' meeting on 28 August 1844. A shareholder pointed out that the Dalkey line was less than in length whereas the South Devon was 50 miles:
Questions were raised about crossing trains (i.e. passing opposing trains on the single line at crossing points) and speed:
The atmospheric system was adopted by the meeting without opposition.
Brunel had emphasised the lower capital and working costs of the system, the latter being £8,000 per annum cheaper, he said, than locomotive operation.
Daniel Gooch, Brunel's locomotive engineer, said:
Brunel said:
And in evidence to the select committee on 4 April 1845, when asked about the ability of the system to bring trains over the steep gradients west of Newton:
Construction begins Authority having been given and the atmospheric system endorsed, construction was soon started: the line would be a broad gauge single track. Brick arch underbridges were reduced by one ring; overbridges were reduced in headroom by , and the rails were to be instead of the planned 70 ().
These were still early days for contracting large construction projects, and probably for this reason the length from Exeter to Newton was first to be started. At something less than half the full length of the line, and generally close to sea level, this was certainly where the easier engineering lay; nonetheless some engineering challenges presented themselves: chief among these was forming a line at the foot of the steep cliffs around Teignmouth. This alone involved a vast rock cutting operation by blasting, as well as six tunnels and two "covered ways",Some of these were opened out when the line was later doubled. and extensive sea wall protection. In addition an eight-span timber bridge over the River Exe immediately south of St Davids station,Alan Hayward, The Construction of Railway Bridges Then and Now, in The International Journal for the History of Engineering and Technology, volume 84 number 1, Maney Publishing, 2014, ISSN 1758-1206 and a 62 arch viaduct at St Thomas were required.
First opening—using locomotives By March 1846 the line between Exeter and Teignmouth was substantially complete except for the laying of the pipe for the atmospheric traction. In order to generate some income the directors decided to open this section using locomotives. Two 2-2-2 locomotives were hired in from the GWR at a hire charge of 1s 4d per train mile; the locomotives were named Exe and Teign. The passenger service started on the Saturday of Whitsun weekend, 30 May 1846,MacDermot, volume II, page 208Sekon says 3 May 1846. and huge numbers of people travelled. On Whit Monday 1500 passengers were conveyed in the morning train, in 21 carriages.It is remarkable that the company possessed this number of carriages at such an early date. Intermediate stations were at St Thomas, Starcross and Dawlish.
There had been delay in extending to NewtonAs well as Newton Abbot there was a community called Newton Bushel, a short distance to the west; in early days the station was called simply Newton, to serve both communities. Twentieth century development has long since engulfed both the original settlements. However a test train was able to run there on 22 December 1846 and on 31 December 1846Gregory, page 15; MacDermot says 30 December in volume II, page 210 the passenger service to Newton started; the first train was hauled by the Sun Class locomotive Antelope. The normal service was six trains each way daily, with three on Sundays, all locomotive hauled: the atmospheric pipes were still unavailable.