Southern Railway Routes West of Salisbury - Branch Lines Between Salisbury and Exeter

Branch Lines Between Salisbury and Exeter

The challenging terrain between Salisbury and Exeter made it difficult for the main line as constructed to serve several important towns near its path. This resulted in several important branch lines being constructed to serve them, in many cases promoted by local interests. Most of the branch lines made a junction with the main line at a place other than a town, reducing the commercial effectiveness of the route.

Even the Salisbury and Yeovil Railway served Yeovil itself by a branch from Bradford Abbas, a fact which lost it much initial support in Yeovil when it became known at the promotion stage.

When the Yeovil branch opened, on the same day as the S&YR main line on 1 June 1860, the Yeovil station was not ready and the trains continued on the Bristol & Exeter line to Hendford, the B&ER station on the western limits of the town. The B&ER laid mixed gauge track for the purpose, having reached there in 1857 connecting with the GWR at Pen Mill. The magnificent Yeovil joint station opened on 1 June 1861, jointly operated by the B&ER, the GWR and the L&SWR, and the L&SWR trains ceased running through to Hendford.

Chard was served by a railway promoted by the Chard Railway company; when construction was partly complete the L&SWR purchased the railway on 1 January 1863 and the line opened on 8 May 1863, from Chard Road to Chard Town. When the Bristol & Exeter Railway reached Chard from Taunton in 1866, the L&SWR line was extended, by-passing the original station and running to a new Joint station, called New Chard or "Chard Joint", opened in 26 November 1866. The original station remained open, but was reduced to goods-only status in 1917.

Lyme Regis was the last of the intermediate branches to be built after several earlier schemes from 1864 failed; the Lyme Regis branch line ran from Axminster station with 1 in 40 gradients and sharp curves, opening on 24 August 1903. Constructed and worked by the Axminster & Lyme Regis Light Railway, it was absorbed by the L&SWR on 1 January 1907. Although a southwards branch, it ran from the up (north) side of Axminster station and crossed over the main line. There was a spur to the down sidings at Axminster station.

The Seaton branch was constructed by the Seaton and Beer Railway; it opened on 16 March 1868 from Colyton Junction (later Seaton Junction) with intermediate stations at Colyton Town, Colyford and Seaton. The line was leased by the L&SWR from 1 January 1880 and absorbed by it on 1 January 1888.

The Sidmouth Railway got its act of parliament on 29 June 1871 and opened its line on 6 July 1874 from Feniton, with intermediate stations at Tipton and Ottery St Mary. The Sidmouth station was somewhat short of the town itself. Feniton had been renamed Ottery Road in 1861, but was renamed Sidmouth Junction when the Sidmouth line opened. (After closure of the branch line it reverted to Feniton in 1971).

A light railway called the Budleigh Salterton Railway got its act on 20 July 1894 and opened its line in 1897 from Tipton St Johns (the earlier Tipton station, renamed in 1881) to Salterton, with an intermediate station at Budleigh. In 1898 it renamed Salterton to be called Budleigh Salterton; Budleigh was renamed East Budleigh, and a new station was opened at Newton Poppleford.

The L&SWR already operated an Exmouth branch, and it filled in the gap by opening its Exmouth & Salterton Railway from Budleigh Salterton to Exmouth, with an intermediate station at Littleham, on 1 June 1903.

Much earlier, the Exeter & Exmouth Railway had opened its line from the L&SWR at Exmouth Junction on 1 May 1861; it was worked from the outset by the L&SWR.