The Seaton branch line was a railway branch line connecting the seaside resort of Seaton, in the English county of Devon, to the main line network at Seaton Junction railway station, on the main line between Salisbury and Exeter.
The branch line opened in 1868; it became very popular with holidaymakers, greatly enhancing the attraction of the resort, but it declined and the line was closed in 1966.
Origins
The small town of Seaton became a seaside holiday resort in the middle of the nineteenth century, although its historic port activity had declined to the use of fishing boats only. When the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) opened a main line from Yeovil to Exeter in 1860, completing a route from London, local people saw that a rail connection might reinvigorate their town. However the difficult terrain of the Devon Coast in the area forced the L&SWR to align its route a considerable distance to the north. They opened a station called Colyton for Seaton, near Shute. The station was four miles from Seaton, and over a mile from Colyton.[1][pageneeded]
Local people wanted an actual rail link to the town, and after a first failed attempt to obtain an Act of Parliament for the purpose, they were successful, obtaining an Act for the "Seaton and Beer Railway" on 13 July 1863. The Company had an authorised capital of £36,000, and powers for a loan of £12,000, for the construction of a line from near the L&SWR Colyton station to a Seaton station to the east of the town.[1][pageneeded][2][pageneeded][3][pageneeded]
The Act included powers to construct a bridge over the River Axe, giving access to Axmouth.[4][pageneeded]
Construction
At a Company meeting on 5 December 1863, Sir Walter Trevelyan was elected Chairman of the Company, and W.R. Galbraith the Engineer.
A contract for the construction was awarded to Howard Ashton Holden, signed on 8 January 1864, but progress was extremely slow, and in April 1865 the Company wrote to Holden threatening suspension of the contract. On 27 September 1865 the Company terminated Holden's contract on Galbraith's advice. Two alternative potential contractors fell by the wayside, and it was obvious that the available firms lacked the financial resources to undertake the work. The Company itself was now running short of money, and it had to obtain a further £12,000 by a 5% preference share issue and a £4,000 loan in an attempt to fund the work more directly, and John Sampson was engaged to carry the work on, with considerable financial assistance from the Company. Even Galbraith, on the Company's authority, was unable to obtain a locomotive to hire for the conduct of the works. With horses instead, he took direct control of the works, with Sampson in effect his site manager.
The planned opening for the summer season of 1867 was abandoned, but by 2 August 1867 a locomotive was found to be hired in to work on the construction. Several small contracts were let for constructing buildings; an understanding regarding the supply of water to Seaton station was found to be unsatisfactory, and an alternative with Sir Walter Trevelyan had to be hastily arranged.[4][pageneeded]
The working arrangements with the L&SWR seem to have been left unclear. The company wished the L&SWR to work the line for them, and they tried to obtain more favourable financial terms than the L&SWR offered, and for a time considered working the line themselves. However the vulnerabilities of operating such a short line with the risk of accident or locomotive failure disrupting matters. At length the Company agreed the L&SWR terms.[1][pageneeded]
The Company submitted the line for formal approval by the Board of Trade's Railway Inspectorate, and Colonel Yolland visited on 27 December 1867, but he objected to the Company's proposed connection at Colyton (i.e. the junction with the L&SWR main line): branch trains arriving were to run past the station and then propel back 200 yards to use the down (westbound) platform of the main line, rather than having a separate bay platform. There were numerous other matters of detail objected to.[4][pageneeded]
When Yolland revisited for a second inspection on 19 February 1868, he was satisfied with all the minor issues except one, but the platforming arrangement at Colyton Junction was outstanding. However Sir Walter Trevelyan had an interview with the president of the Board of Trade, and the outcome was that this objection would be laid aside on the Company's undertaking to provide a branch line platform in six months on request from the Board of Trade.[4][pageneeded]
At the end of February 1868 the Company received a letter from the L&SWR in which it declared its own objections, mainly connected with the provision of more durable structures. The Seaton and Beer Company went to arbitration over the L&SWR's demands, and the arbitrator found that limited improvements only were required.[1][pageneeded]
The arbitration award referred to above was notified by letter on 15 March 1868.[4][pageneeded]
Opening
Accordingly, the branch line opened for traffic on 16 March 1868.[3][pageneeded] The L&SWR worked the line. There were five trains each way each weekday, with mixed operation for two up and one down trains. Branch trains arriving at Colyton (later Seaton Junction) ran past the station towards Exeter to the point of convergence with the main line, and then reversed back into the down (westbound) platform.
The 1:30 PM train from Seaton reversed at the Junction and ran to Axminster to make a connection for London, returning and making a connection out of the 10:50 AM from Waterloo.[1][pageneeded][5][pageneeded]
The line was 4¼ miles long; there were two intermediate stations, at Colyton Town and Colyford; Colyton (on the L&SWR main line) was renamed Colyton Junction on the same day. (It was renamed Seaton Junction on 18 July 1869[note 1] to avoid confusion with the Town station.)[2][pageneeded]
Traffic and operation
In the three and a half months to 30 June 1868, the line had only earned £300 from "coaching" and £43 from goods; the L&SWR retained £155 and the Company received £145. However, by 1870 matters much had improved, with 81,000 passengers and 13,928 tons of goods being carried in that year; in the same year the platform at Seaton was extended by 180 feet to accommodate the now-heavy volume of passenger traffic.[1][pageneeded]
The line was worked at first by Beattie 2-2-2 well tanks, no 12 Jupiter and 3 Phoenix being in use at the beginning. O2 and T1 class 0-4-4 tank engines replaced the Beattie engines in the 1890s, occasionally supported by an Adams radial 4-4-2T. From 1930 auto train operation was begun on the branch.[2][pageneeded]
The M7 0-4-4 tank engines are most associated with the line in its post-war years; these engines used the Westinghouse brake on passenger trains, making a characteristic sound as the train brake pipe was charged with compressed air.
Bulleid light pacifics were reported to have run on the branch.
On summer Saturdays after 1949 there was considerable extra traffic on the line, with two locomotives together operating nine-coach trains with through coaches to and from London. However, from 1962 through working to and from the branch ceased.
When the line opened, it was operated on the "one engine in steam" system, but from 5 March 1899 the Tyers electric tablet system was instituted, with an intermediate signalbox at Colyton.[4][pageneeded]
Original engineering
The original track on the branch was 65 lbs per yard flat bottom rail in 24 feet lengths fastened direct to cross-sleepers on 12 inches of ballast.
The line was on easy gradients from Seaton to Colyford, and then rose at 1 in 76 with some short easier sections, to the junction with the main line.[1][pageneeded]
The bridge to Axmouth
The original powers for the Company had included the provision of a toll bridge over the River Axe to the east of Seaton station, giving access to the village of Axmouth. The small harbour there had road access on that side of the Axe. A contract for the bridge was let to William Jackson of Westminster on 15 December 1875; the engineer was Philip Brannon.
Axmouth Bridge was opened on 24 April 1877, with a central span of 50 feet and two side spans of 30 feet span. It was constructed in concrete, and "is believed to be one of the first bridges in the UK to be constructed in concrete, with the adjoining toll house being the oldest concrete house in England."[4][pageneeded]
The bridge is listed as a scheduled monument by Historic England who report that: "Axmouth Bridge is believed to have been the third concrete bridge to have been built in England and, as the two earlier examples have been demolished, it now stands as the earliest and best example of a mass concrete bridge to survive in the country."[6]
The L&SWR takes over
The Company and the L&SWR negotiated a lease of the line to the L&SWR. Awdry says that the Company discussed lease terms with the Great Western Railway too.[3][pageneeded] A 1,000 year lease to the L&SWR was effective from 1 January 1880 for a rent of £1,000 in the first year, rising progressively to £1,550. The agreement had an option to purchase, and the L&SWR took ownership on 1 January 1888. However it refused to adopt the Axe bridge, a road bridge immediately to the east of the Seaton station leading to Axmouth; the bridge was taken over by Sir A.W. Trevelyan.[1][pageneeded]
The takeover resulted in the preference shareholders receiving 75% of the nominal value of their stock, the residue going to the ordinary shareholders.[1][pageneeded]
Improvements at Seaton Junction
In 1927–1928, the Southern Railway (who had taken over the L&SWR at the Grouping of the railways in Great Britain) extended and improved the station facilities at Seaton Junction, providing through main tracks with the platform lines on loops; there was a new branch platform (opened on 13 February 1927), which branch trains could use without fouling the main line.[2][pageneeded][5][pageneeded]
Closure
With the growth of road transport after 1950 and of car ownership in the 1960s, the line declined substantially, and the line was closed on 7 March 1966 in the course of the Beeching axe.[5][pageneeded]
Seaton Tramway
File:Colyton on The Seaton Tramway in July 1982
The alignment between Riverside (just north of the old Seaton Station) and Colyton was purchased by Modern Electric Tramways Ltd, who moved their operations from Eastbourne in 1969 and established Seaton Tramway in 1970. It was extended northwards in stages, reaching Colyford in 1971 and Colyton in 1980.
The original Colyton station building is still in use as the Tramway's gift shop and restaurant. Colyford Station was demolished to make way for a tramway passing loop and siding, with just the old Gents WC remaining, although long since decommissioned.
With Seaton Station unavailable due to demolition and redevelopment, Seaton Tramway opened a new route from Riverside to Seaton Harbour Road/Underfleet in 1975, which does not use any part of the branch line alignment.
The River Axe is a 22-mile (35 km) long river in the counties of Dorset, Somerset and Devon, in the south-west of England. It rises in Dorset and flows south to Lyme Bay which it enters through the Axe Estuary in Devon. It is a shallow, non-navigable river, although its mouth at Seaton has some boating activity. The name Axe derives from a Common Brittonic word meaning "abounding in fish", and is cognate with pysg, the Welsh word for fish.
Seaton is a seaside town, fishing harbour and civil parish in East Devon on the south coast of England, between Axmouth and Beer. It faces onto Lyme Bay and is on the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site. A sea wall provides access to the mostly shingle beach stretching for about a mile, and a small harbour on the River Axe estuary.
The Avocet Line is the railway line in Devon, 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.
The Seaton Tramway is a 2 ft 9 in narrow gauge electric tramway in the East Devon district of South West England. The 3-mile (4.8 km) route runs alongside the Axe Estuary and the River Coly, running between the coastal resort of Seaton, the village of Colyford, and the ancient town of Colyton. For much of its route, it operates between the estuary and the Seaton Wetlands nature reserves, offering views of the wildlife of both.
Axminster railway station serves the town of Axminster in Devon, England. It is operated by South Western Railway and is situated on the West of England Main Line. It is 144 miles 41 chains (232.6 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
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.
The Dalry and North Johnstone Line was a branch of the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) in Renfrewshire and Ayrshire, Scotland, connecting the stations in Elderslie and Dalry via a route running parallel to the existing line built by the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway. This provided additional line capacity for Ayrshire Coast and Kilmarnock services. The loop line was used for passenger services until the mid-1960s, when it was closed by the Beeching Axe. The majority of the line's trackbed has since been absorbed into the Sustrans National Cycle Network.
In 1861 the Llynvi Valley Railway was opened in Glamorganshire, Wales, to convey mineral products to the Bristol Channel at Porthcawl. It adopted an earlier tramroad, the Duffryn Llynvi and Porthcawl Railway. The Llynvi and Ogmore Railway was opened in 1865, and the two companies amalgamated to form the Llynvi and Ogmore Railway in 1866. At first Porthcawl harbour was an important destination for onward transport, but this soon declined.
Colyton is a town in Devon, England. It is located within the East Devon local authority area, the river River Coly runs through it. It is 3 miles (5 km) from Seaton and 6 miles (10 km) from Axminster. Its population in 1991 was 2,783, reducing to 2,105 at the 2011 Census. Colyton is a major part of the Coly Valley electoral ward. The ward population at the above census was 4,493.
Colyford is a village and civil parish in the East Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. It is situated midway between Lyme Regis and Sidmouth on the A3052 road. To the north the village borders the town Colyton. To the south is the seaside resort town Seaton, separated from Colyford by the Seaton Wetlands, a series of nature reserves flanking the estuary of the River Axe. Colyford lies on the River Coly, which flows into the River Axe immediately to the east of the village.
The Paisley and Barrhead District Railway was a railway in Scotland that ran between the towns of Paisley and Barrhead. It was intended to serve industrial premises and develop local passenger and goods business.
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.
The Chard branch lines were two lines serving the town of Chard in Somerset, England. One was a northward branch, opened in 1863, from the Salisbury to Exeter main line, and the other, opened in 1866, ran south-eastwards from the Bristol – Taunton main line. Each branch had its own Chard passenger station at first, although the two lines connected in Chard.
Seaton Junction is a closed railway station on the West of England Main Line from London Waterloo to Exeter. It was situated 3 miles west of Axminster and 7 miles east of Honiton. It was previously known as Colyton for Seaton and Colyton Junction.
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 Yeovil–Taunton line was a railway line in England, built by the Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) to connect its main line with the market town of Yeovil in Somerset. It opened in 1853, using the broad gauge of 7 ft 1⁄4 in and was the first railway to serve Yeovil. It ran from a junction at Durston although, in later years, passenger trains on the line ran through to and from Taunton where better main and branch line connections could be made.
Seaton railway station served the holiday resort of Seaton in Devon, England between 1868 and 1966. It was the terminus of a branch line from Seaton Junction. The station was about half a mile east of the centre of Seaton, on the western side of the estuary of the River Axe. Originally named Seaton and Beer, it was renamed Seaton by the LSWR.
Colyford railway station, and its successor the Colyford tram stop, serve the village of Colyford in Devon, England. It was open as a railway station, on the Seaton branch line, between 1868 and 1966, and has been open as a tram stop, on the Seaton Tramway, since 1971. It is located on the eastern side of the village of Colyford, adjacent to the White Hart Inn, where the line crosses the A3052 road on a level crossing.
Colyton railway station, and its successor the Colyton tram stop, serve the town of Colyton in Devon, England. It was open as a railway station, on the Seaton branch line, between 1868 and 1966, and has been open as a tram stop, on the Seaton Tramway, since 1980. The station is situated some 0.5 miles (0.80 km) to the east of Colyton town centre.
Axmouth Old Bridge is a bridge across the River Axe near its mouth on the south coast of the English county of Devon. It effectively links the village of Axmouth with the seaside town of Seaton, although the whole of the Axe estuary, including both banks and hence the bridge, is within the civil parish of Axmouth. It was built in 1877 and closed to vehicles in 1990, although it is still available to pedestrians and forms part of the route of the South West Coast Path. It is now paralleled by a modern road bridge.
References
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Williams, R.A. (1973). The London & South Western Railway: Volume 2: Growth and Consolidation. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN0-7153-5940-1.
1 2 3 4 5 Phillips, Derek; Pryer, George (1997). The Salisbury to Exeter Line. Sparkford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN0-86093-525-6.
1 2 3 Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Wellingborough: Patrick Stephens Limited. ISBN1-85260-049-7.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Phillips, Derek (2000). From Salisbury to Exeter: The Branch Lines. Shepperton: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN0-86093-546-9.
1 2 3 Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1991). Southern Main Lines: Yeovil to Exeter. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN0-906520-91-6.
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