The Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) was an English railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter. It was built on the broad gauge and its engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It opened in stages between 1841 and 1844. It was allied with the Great Western Railway (GWR), which built its main line between London and Bristol, and in time formed part of a through route between London and Cornwall.
It became involved in the British Gauge War, a protracted and expensive attempt to secure territory against rival companies supported by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) which used the narrow gauge, later referred to as standard gauge.
At first it contracted with the GWR for that company to work the line, avoiding the expense of acquiring locomotives, but after that arrangement expired in 1849, the B&ER operated its own line. It opened a number of branches within the general area it served: to Clevedon, Cheddar, Wells, Weston-super-Mare, Chard, Yeovil and Tiverton.
The B&ER was financially successful but amalgamated with the GWR in 1876.
History Summary timeline: 1836 – incorporated by act of parliament 1841 – opened to and branch to 1842 – extended from Bridgwater to 1842 – extended from Taunton to a temporary terminus at 1844 – main line completed from Beam Bridge to 1846 – first section of the South Devon Railway opened from Exeter St Davids to 1847 – branch opened from to 1848 – branch opened from to 1849 – took over its operations (trains had been worked by the GWR up to now) and opened carriage workshops at Bridgwater 1851 – started working trains over the Exeter and Crediton Railway; locomotive workshops built at Bristol 1853 – branch opened from to (Yeovil) 1854 – headquarters building at Bristol completed; started working trains over the Somerset Central Railway from to 1857 – Yeovil branch extended to junction with the GWR at 1858 – Somerset Central Railway extended from Highbridge to 1859 – Somerset Central Railway extended from Glastonbury to Wells 1861 – Somerset Central Railway takes over its own operations 1862 – London and South Western Railway arrives at Exeter St Davids; B&ER branch opened from Taunton to 1866 – branch opens from Taunton to Chard 1867 – branch opens from Bristol to ; mixed gauge laid from Durston to Yeovil and Highbridge 1869 – branch opens from Yatton to 1870 – branch extended from Cheddar to 1871 – branch opened from Taunton to 1873 – branch extended from Wiveliscombe to Barnstaple 1874 – Watchet branch extended to 1875 – mixed gauge laid from Bristol to Taunton and on the Weston-super-Mare and Wells branches 1876 – amalgamated into the Great Western Railway
Formation and construction The Great Western Railway (GWR) obtained its authorising act of Parliament, the Great Western Railway Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will. 4. c. cvii) in 1835, to build its line between London and Bristol. The merchants of Bristol were anxious to secure a railway route to Exeter, an important commercial centre and a port on the English Channel, giving easier shipping connections to continental Europe. They promoted the Bristol and Exeter Railway, and when they issued a prospectus on 1 October 1835 they had little difficulty in securing subscriptions for the £1.5 million scheme.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel was appointed engineer (he was also engineer to the GWR) and his assistant William Gravatt surveyed the route, leading to presentation of a parliamentary bill for the 1836 session. The bill had an easy passage and was enacted as the (6 & 7 Will. 4. c. xxxvi) on 19 May 1836. The act did not specify the gauge of the track; branches at Bridgwater and to Tiverton were authorised. Notwithstanding the apparent family connection to the neighbouring GWR, none of the B&ER directors was also a GWR director at this time. This was more than two years before the first section of the GWR was opened in June 1838.
The early euphoria turned to great difficulty in raising finance for construction. 4,000 of the 15,000 subscribed shares were forfeited for non-payment of calls before the line was built. A contract was let for the first part of the line, from a temporary terminus at Pylle Hill, west of the New Cut (an arm of the River Avon). The position improved somewhat in 1838, and indeed the company obtained powers in the (1 & 2 Vict. c. xxvi) for four short branches but only the one to was actually built. The company only adopted the broad gauge at a meeting on 5 March 1839.
In the autumn of 1839, the directors informed the half-yearly meeting of shareholders that it was now planned to make a priority of forming the line from Temple Meads (connecting with the GWR there) to in order to generate some income. Five locomotives were ordered from Sharp, Roberts & Co but by the end of 1839 the directors had decided to avoid the cost of buying locomotives and rolling stock by arranging with the GWR to operate the line for them. By this time three directors were also directors of the GWR, and the alliance was beginning to strengthen. The proposal to lease the line to the GWR was ratified by shareholders at a special meeting in September 1841. The lease was to commence on the opening of a double line from Bristol to Bridgwater and Weston-super-Mare, at a rent of £30,000 annually and a toll of a farthing per passenger-mile and per ton-mile of goods and coal (but no toll for mails, parcels, horses, carriages or cattle). The rent was to increase proportionally with the completion of the system, and the lease was to remain in force for five years after completion of the line to Exeter.
Opening the main line The company intended to open to on 31 May 1841 but the Board of Trade inspecting officer found deficiencies in the permanent way and refused permission. The directors then planned a private train to take them and shareholders to Bridgwater for an opening ceremony on 31 May but this was put off until 1 June when the locomotive was damaged during a test run on May 30. The director's special was hauled by GWR Firefly Class Fire Ball.
The first section of the line eventually opened between Bristol and Bridgwater on 14 June 1841, a couple of weeks before the GWR completed its line from London to Bristol. It was in length and double track, with a single-track branch to . There was no B&ER station at Bristol but trains were to run through from London using the GWR's station which involved them reversing between Bristol Harbour Junction and the platform, however even this was not possible for the first few weeks. The only access between the two lines was by turning the stock one vehicle at a time on turntables until the junction was completed.
The stations on opening were Bristol, Nailsea, Clevedon Road, Banwell, , Highbridge and on the main line. Weston-super-Mare was the only station on its branch, which was operated by horse traction.Except for the first train from Weston to Bristol and last train from Bristol, horse traction continued at Weston-super-Mare until 1 April 1851.
Money was slightly easier to come by in 1841 and contracts were let for the completion of the line, which was opened onward from Bridgwater in stages: 1 July 1842: Bridgwater to , 1 May 1843: Taunton to a temporary terminus on the Exeter Turnpike at , 1 May 1844: Beam Bridge to Exeter,
A special train from London Paddington to Exeter to mark the opening of the line was driven by Daniel Gooch. Firefly Class Actaeon hauled six carriages, taking 5 hours for the journey down and 10 minutes less for the return. The goods shed at Exeter was used for the celebratory dinner. This completed the B&ER main line, and with the GWR formed a broad gauge railway from London to Exeter with a continuous line of almost 194 miles, far longer than any other line at the time. The directors were able to report that the whole construction had been carried out for the £2 million originally authorised, "a most unusual experience in those days".£1,500,000 in share capital and £500,000 in debenture loans. The low cost was because of the lease to the GWR the B&ER did not have to purchase locomotives and rolling stock, and the Tiverton branch and the independent station at Bristol had not yet been built.
The B&ER subscribed to other broad gauge railways that were projected west of Exeter. It bought £200,000 of shares in the South Devon Railway Company (SDR) in 1844 and provided 5 of the 21 directors. A subscription was offered to the Cornwall Railway jointly with the Great Western Railway, South Devon Railway and the Bristol and Gloucester Railway who together were known as the 'Associated Companies', and the B&ER eventually bought £112,000 of shares when they were made available in 1852. In 1861 the Associated Companies (now just the B&ER, GWR and SDR) leased the Cornwall Railway and in 1867 they took over the West Cornwall Railway. The first section of the SDR opened from the B&ER station at Exeter to on 30 May 1846 and was completed to in 1849. The Cornwall Railway opened from Plymouth to in 1859 where it made a connection with the West Cornwall Railway to , albeit with a break of gauge until 1866.
In the early part of 1844, with the main line nearly complete, the B&ER promoted a branch from near Taunton to Yeovil and Weymouth on the south coast. The B&ER obtained authorisation in the (8 & 9 Vict. c. clv) for three branches to Yeovil (not all the way to Weymouth), Clevedon, and Tiverton.The Tiverton branch proved especially contentious due to the determined opposition of the Grand Western Canal, which foresaw the end of any income; when the parliamentary opposition was overcome, the canal company offered every obstruction in the construction of the railway crossing. The B&ER leased the Grand Western Canal for £2,000 a year from 1852, and purchased it outright for £30,000 by the Bristol and Exeter Railway Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. lx). The same act authorised a new line at Bristol, continuing straight through the GWR's terminus, across the river and joining the existing B&ER line at Bedminster. This would have removed any need to shunt in and out of the GWR's terminal platforms and a direct junction line at Bristol connecting its line with the GWR but was never built as the GWR and Bristol and Gloucester Railway declined to contribute towards the costs. A wooden 'express platform' was built in 1845 alongside the curve that connected the two railways. Although it was alongside the London-bound track, it was also used by trains going towards Exeter. Work also started on the B&ER's independent station in 1845 which was at right angles to the GWR station. It was a simple wooden structure, very different to the GWR's grand terminus, and completed in just six months. It was sometimes referred to as 'The Cow Shed', possibly because of its proximity to the city's cattle market. Unlike the GWR station, it had a refreshment room for passengers.
The Clevedon branch line opened to traffic on 28 July 1847. It was ( long and ran Clevedon Road which was now renamed Yatton. The Tiverton branch, which had been authorised at the same time opened on 12 June 1848. It ran from Tiverton Road station which was renamed . The branch passed under the Grand Western Canal where Brunel constructed Halberton aqueduct to carry the canal over the railway.
LSWR encroaches on B&ER territory The rival London and South Western Railway (LSWR) had its main line from London to Southampton, and was planning to extend through Exeter and into Cornwall. The GWR wished to prevent this by promoting its own lines in the region. At this period Parliament considered that only one line was appropriate to serve any particular area, and naturally each company wished their own allies' lines to be authorised. The LSWR was a 'narrow gauge' railway (later referred to as 'standard gauge') and the GWR and B&ER were 'broad gauge' lines; the intense rivalry to secure territory was often referred to as a 'Gauge War'.