Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway
Encyclopedia
The Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway was a broad gauge
railway which linked the South Devon Railway
at Newton Abbot railway station
with Bovey Tracey
and Moretonhampstead
, Devon
, England.
. Work on the line commenced in 1863 and the major earthworks (with cuttings and embankments, many still visible today) were complete. All the granite used for construction of the bridges was cut from Lustleigh Cleave. The line was 12 miles, 28 chains (20 km) long.
Following a Board of Trade inspection, the branch line opened to the public on 26 June 1866. A public holiday was observed, with people turning out to witness the first journey from to .
In 1892, the broad gauge
line was replaced by a standard gauge
format, taking only 32 hours and 60 men to complete - part of the wider conversion of the whole network.
The railway brought tourists to the area. Other users of the service were local industries: farmers' produce, nursery plants and blacksmiths' products were sent by train.
Traffic grew from 1860 to the 1930s and then went into decline. Despite a significant summer tourist trade, featuring in many contemporary guide books, traffic on the branch over the year was not enough to cover rising costs.
The station was used in 1931 for the film 'Hound of the Baskervilles', its name being temporarily changed (Ewans 1964).
In 1957, the possibility of closure was reported in the Mid Devon Advertiser and on 28 February 1959 the last passenger service ran down the line, although a freight operation still ran. The line closed on 6 April 1964.
The last special passenger train ran as far as Bovey Tracey on 5 July 1970. Oil and china clay
trains continued to operate occasionally on the south section of the line below Heathfield
for several years, but the remaining section of the branch was taken out of use in 2009 when 'temporary stop blocks' were placed on the line 53 chains (1.1 km) from the junction at Newton Abbot.
Several miles of the line between and , some of which is now a path open to the public, are planned by the council to become a cycle track. The old Lustleigh station house is visible from the old railway bridge at Brookfield, as are the Brookfield, Caseley and Knowle bridges.
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
railway which linked the South Devon Railway
South Devon Railway Company
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-Chronology:* 1844 South Devon Railway Act passed by parliament...
at Newton Abbot railway station
Newton Abbot railway station
Newton Abbot railway station serves the town of Newton Abbot in Devon, England. It is from London on the Exeter to Plymouth line via the Reading to Taunton line, at the junction for the branch to . For many years it was also the junction for Moretonhampstead and the site of a large locomotive...
with Bovey Tracey
Bovey Tracey
Bovey Tracey is a small town in Devon, England, on the edge of Dartmoor, its proximity to which gives rise to the "slogan" used on the town's boundary signs, "The Gateway to the Moor". The locals just call the town "Bovey" ....
and Moretonhampstead
Moretonhampstead
Moretonhampstead lies on the edge of Dartmoor and is notable for having the longest one-word name of any place in England. The parish church is dedicated to St. Andrew. George Oliver and John Pike Jones , 1828, Exeter: E. Woolmer. Moretonhampstead is twinned with Betton in France.-History:The...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, England.
History of the line
In 1861 the Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway company was formed at the Globe Hotel in Exeter, and in 1862 the bill for making the railway was given Royal AssentRoyal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
. Work on the line commenced in 1863 and the major earthworks (with cuttings and embankments, many still visible today) were complete. All the granite used for construction of the bridges was cut from Lustleigh Cleave. The line was 12 miles, 28 chains (20 km) long.
Following a Board of Trade inspection, the branch line opened to the public on 26 June 1866. A public holiday was observed, with people turning out to witness the first journey from to .
In 1892, the broad gauge
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
line was replaced by a standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
format, taking only 32 hours and 60 men to complete - part of the wider conversion of the whole network.
The railway brought tourists to the area. Other users of the service were local industries: farmers' produce, nursery plants and blacksmiths' products were sent by train.
Traffic grew from 1860 to the 1930s and then went into decline. Despite a significant summer tourist trade, featuring in many contemporary guide books, traffic on the branch over the year was not enough to cover rising costs.
The station was used in 1931 for the film 'Hound of the Baskervilles', its name being temporarily changed (Ewans 1964).
In 1957, the possibility of closure was reported in the Mid Devon Advertiser and on 28 February 1959 the last passenger service ran down the line, although a freight operation still ran. The line closed on 6 April 1964.
The last special passenger train ran as far as Bovey Tracey on 5 July 1970. Oil and china clay
Kaolinite
Kaolinite is a clay mineral, part of the group of industrial minerals, with the chemical composition Al2Si2O54. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina octahedra...
trains continued to operate occasionally on the south section of the line below Heathfield
Heathfield (Devon) railway station
For the station in Sussex see Heathfield railway stationHeathfield railway station was on the Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway at Heathfield, nearly 4 miles from Newton Abbot, Devon, England....
for several years, but the remaining section of the branch was taken out of use in 2009 when 'temporary stop blocks' were placed on the line 53 chains (1.1 km) from the junction at Newton Abbot.
Several miles of the line between and , some of which is now a path open to the public, are planned by the council to become a cycle track. The old Lustleigh station house is visible from the old railway bridge at Brookfield, as are the Brookfield, Caseley and Knowle bridges.
Chronology
- 1862 Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway authorised by Act of ParliamentAct of ParliamentAn Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
- 1866 Railway opened
- 1872 AmalgamatedConsolidation (business)Consolidation or amalgamation is the act of merging many things into one. In business, it often refers to the mergers and acquisitions of many smaller companies into much larger ones. In the context of financial accounting, consolidation refers to the aggregation of financial statements of a group...
with the South Devon Railway CompanySouth Devon Railway CompanyThe 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-Chronology:* 1844 South Devon Railway Act passed by parliament... - 1876 South Devon Railway amalgamated with the Great Western RailwayGreat Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
- 1882 Standard gauge Teign Valley Railway opened from Heathfield
- 1892 Broad gauge converted to standard gauge
- 1928 Brimley Halt opened
- 1948 Great Western Railway nationalised into British Railways
- 1955 Hawkmoor Halt renamed to Pullabrook Halt
- 1959 Passenger trains withdrawn
- 1964 Goods trains withdrawn beyond Bovey
- 1970 Goods trains withdrawn beyond Heathfield
The last train
These pictures show the journey of the last special passenger train to Bovey Tracey on 5 July 1970.See also
- Haytor Granite TramwayHaytor Granite TramwayThe Haytor Granite Tramway was a unique granite-railed tramway running down from Haytor Down, Dartmoor, Devon. The tramway was built in 1820 to carry Haytor granite, which was of fine grain and high quality, down from the heights of Dartmoor for the construction of houses, bridges and other...
granite siding near Bovey