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The Budleigh Salterton Railway was a single track branch railway line that ran from a junction on the Sidmouth Railway at Tipton St Johns to Exmouth via four intermediate stations: Newton Poppleford, East Budleigh, Budleigh Salterton, and Littleham. [1] There were passing loops at Littleham and Budleigh Salterton.
From the beginning of the proposals for the Sidmouth Railway, promoters in the town of Budleigh Salterton had been putting forward schemes for an extension to their town from Tipton or from Sidmouth itself, and also from Exmouth. Exmouth had gained its own railway, the Exmouth Branch railway, direct from Exeter in 1861. One such scheme was put forward to extend from a junction at Tipton to Budleigh Salterton and through to Exmouth, getting an Act of Parliament in 1863, although Sidmouth itself had not got a railway at that date. The scheme came to nothing, and a number of abortive schemes followed. In one case in 1893 the Exmouth Dock Company opposed the bill on the basis that they derived £500 annual income from the conveyance of goods (by coastal shipping) from Exmouth to Budleigh Salterton.
Finally the Budleigh Salterton Railway was incorporated on 20 July 1894, with powers to build a line from Tipton (later Tipton St Johns) on the Sidmouth Railway to Budleigh. The connection at Tipton gave access to the L&SWR's London to Exeter main line at Sidmouth Junction, and no direct connection towards Exmouth was included in the proposals, perhaps in response to the Dock Company's opposition. [2]
The L&SWR was to operate the line, taking 60% of receipts (plus certain minor fixed costs). The contractors Lucas and Aird proceeded with the construction, and notwithstanding the loss of two temporary bridges when the River Otter was in flood during 1896, construction was completed early. [3]
Major F Marindin of the Railway Inspectorate passed the line for opening when he visited on 10 April 1897.
The line was constructed to full main line standards with 82 lb/yd steel rails and creosoted softwood sleepers. Signalling was only provided at Salterton, the terminus, and by the Sidmouth Railway company at the junction at Tipton.
The line accordingly opened on 15 May 1897, with stations at Budleigh and Salterton. There were eight passenger trains each way, one of them mixed, and one goods train.
Budleigh was renamed East Budleigh, and Salterton was renamed Budleigh Salterton on 27 April 1898. Newton Poppleford station opened on 1 June 1899. [2]
Major reduction in the services along the line in the 1960s led to a corresponding decrease in usage. The line closed to freight traffic on 27 January 1964 and to passengers on 6 March 1967. [1]
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Starting as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in Hampshire and Berkshire, including Portsmouth and Reading. In the grouping of railways in 1923 the LSWR amalgamated with other railways to create the Southern Railway.
Budleigh Salterton is a small town on the coast in East Devon, England, 15 miles (24 km) south-east of Exeter. It lies within the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and forms much of the electoral ward of Budleigh, whose ward population at the 2011 census was 5,967.
Exmouth is a port town, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and 11 miles (18 km) southeast of Exeter.
The Avocet Line is the railway line in England connecting Exeter with Exmouth. It was originally built by the London and South Western Railway, and was historically known as the Exmouth branch railway. The line follows the Exe Estuary for about half of its route, from just outside Topsham to Exmouth, giving views of the estuary. The line is named after the pied avocet, which lives in the estuary.
East Devon is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Simon Jupp of the Conservative Party.
Feniton railway station serves the village of Feniton in Devon, England. It was opened by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1860 but is now operated by South Western Railway which provides services on the West of England Main Line. It is 159 miles 24 chains (256.4 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
Exmouth railway station serves the town of Exmouth in Devon, England and is 11.25 miles (18 km) south east of Exeter St Davids. The station is the terminus of the Avocet Line from Exeter St Davids. The station is managed by Great Western Railway, who operate all trains serving it.
Honiton was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Honiton in east Devon, formerly represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It sent members intermittently from 1300, consistently from 1640. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) until it was abolished in 1868. It was recreated in 1885 as a single-member constituency.
Sidmouth railway station was a fully operational station located in Sidmouth, Devon, England until its closure in 1967. The station is now a privately owned property at the top of Alexandria Road, Sidmouth. The line was part of the Southern Railway, a branch off the Salisbury to Exeter route at Sidmouth Junction.
This article describes the history and operation of the railway routes west of Salisbury built by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) and allied companies, which ultimately became part of the Southern Railway in the United Kingdom. Salisbury forms a natural boundary between the Southern Railway core routes in the counties surrounding London, and the long route connecting with the Devon and Cornwall lines.
Otterton is a village and civil parish in East Devon, England. The parish lies on the English Channel and is surrounded clockwise from the south by the parishes of East Budleigh, Bicton, Colaton Raleigh, Newton Poppleford and Harpford and Sidmouth. In 2001 its population was 700, compared to 622 a hundred years earlier. At the 2011 census the population had reduced to 656. Otterton is part of Raleigh electoral ward whose total population at the above census was 2,120.
The Sidmouth Railway was a railway branch line that ran from a junction at Feniton to Sidmouth, connecting the resort to the main line network.
The hundred of East Budleigh was the name of one of thirty two ancient administrative units of Devon, England.
Budleigh Salterton railway station is a closed railway station that served the town of Budleigh Salterton in Devon, England. It was opened by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1897 but was closed to passengers in 1967 due to the Beeching Axe.
Tipton St Johns railway station is a closed railway station that served the village of Tipton St John in Devon, England. It was opened in 1874 and later served as the junction for the Budleigh Salterton Railway, but was closed to passengers in 1967 due to the Beeching Axe.
East Budleigh railway station is a closed railway station that served the villages of East Budleigh and Otterton in Devon, England.
Littleham railway station was a railway station that served Littleham, Exmouth, in Devon, England.
The Aylesbeare Mudstone Group is an early Triassic lithostratigraphic group in southwest England. The name is derived from the village of Aylesbeare in east Devon. The Group comprises the Littleham Mudstone Formation, the Exmouth Mudstone and Sandstone Formation and the underlying Clyst St Lawrence Formation. The strata are exposed on the coast between Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton where the type section is defined. The rocks of the Aylesbeare Mudstone Group have also previously been known as the Aylesbeare Group and the Aylesbeare Mudstone Formation.
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