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Avocet Line
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 (on the Exmouth end) to Exmouth, giving views of the estuary. The line is named after the pied avocet, which lives in the estuary.
The line was constructed in 1861, connecting the City of Exeter and the port town of Exmouth. Built in two portions by two railway companies, it worked as a single entity.
The City of Exeter lies on the river Exe in Devon, but the river is not navigable as far as the city. Exmouth, 11 miles (18 km) further south on the east bank of the river at its mouth, became important before the days of railways and reliable roads as the point of arrival for goods by coastal shipping, and the harbour there grew in importance. Topsham, also on the eastern bank of the river and only 4 miles (6.4 km) from Exeter, also shared in growth.
The Exeter Ship Canal was built in the sixteenth century to allow shipping to reach the city, but use of the canal was inconvenient and limited to small vessels.
The merchants of Exeter held a meeting to discuss the possibility of building a railway connection from Exmouth to the city as early as 1825. At this date there were no other railways nearby so there was no thought of connecting the line to a network. However the proposal — estimated to cost £50,000 — was discontinued when the Corporation of the City of Exeter agreed to extend the canal southwards to Turf, opposite Topsham, enabling 400 ton vessels to reach the head of the canal by passing a difficult reach of the river channel.[page needed]
In 1845 the Railway Mania was at its height. Two similar schemes for an Exeter Topsham and Exmouth Railway were publicised in August of that year. A few months later the Great Western Railway issued a prospectus for a Great Western & Exeter, Topsham & Exmouth Junction Railway and the South Devon Railway (SDR) also issued a prospectus, proposing to run an atmospheric-powered broad gauge line from the Exminster pumping station. This would have been carried over the canal and crossed the River Exe on a 14-span viaduct to Topsham and then down the east side of the river to Exmouth.
The Railway Manis subsided and the front-running proposal was to build a standard-gauge line from about the location of the present-day Exeter Central station, following the eastern bank of the river Exe and terminating at Exmouth. Joseph Locke was appointed engineer and authorisation was received in the Exeter and Exmouth Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. cxxix) on 3 July 1846 for the Exeter and Exmouth Railway. However the promoters had depended upon the standard-gauge London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) building a line to Exeter with the intention being to lease the line to the L&SWR. The larger company had been planning a line from Dorchester to Exeter, but at this stage they found that they could not finance the long route and cancelled the project, in effect killing the prospects of the Exeter and Exmouth company as their powers expired.
The planned route of the Exeter and Exmouth scheme was revived in December 1853. This generated considerable support, particularly in Exmouth, but the SDR and associated broad gauge interests countered with a revival of its scheme to make a branch from Exminster, crossing the river Exe by viaduct. By this time, broad gauge railways had been in Exeter since 1844 while in 1853 the standard gauge L&SWR was no closer than Salisbury, which it reached by a branch line from Bishopstoke (Eastleigh). Local people therefore considered the broad gauge railways a better partner and an Exeter and Exmouth Railway Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c. cxxii) was passed on 2 July 1855 for the line from Exminster across the Exe to Exmouth.
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Avocet Line AI simulator
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Avocet Line
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 (on the Exmouth end) to Exmouth, giving views of the estuary. The line is named after the pied avocet, which lives in the estuary.
The line was constructed in 1861, connecting the City of Exeter and the port town of Exmouth. Built in two portions by two railway companies, it worked as a single entity.
The City of Exeter lies on the river Exe in Devon, but the river is not navigable as far as the city. Exmouth, 11 miles (18 km) further south on the east bank of the river at its mouth, became important before the days of railways and reliable roads as the point of arrival for goods by coastal shipping, and the harbour there grew in importance. Topsham, also on the eastern bank of the river and only 4 miles (6.4 km) from Exeter, also shared in growth.
The Exeter Ship Canal was built in the sixteenth century to allow shipping to reach the city, but use of the canal was inconvenient and limited to small vessels.
The merchants of Exeter held a meeting to discuss the possibility of building a railway connection from Exmouth to the city as early as 1825. At this date there were no other railways nearby so there was no thought of connecting the line to a network. However the proposal — estimated to cost £50,000 — was discontinued when the Corporation of the City of Exeter agreed to extend the canal southwards to Turf, opposite Topsham, enabling 400 ton vessels to reach the head of the canal by passing a difficult reach of the river channel.[page needed]
In 1845 the Railway Mania was at its height. Two similar schemes for an Exeter Topsham and Exmouth Railway were publicised in August of that year. A few months later the Great Western Railway issued a prospectus for a Great Western & Exeter, Topsham & Exmouth Junction Railway and the South Devon Railway (SDR) also issued a prospectus, proposing to run an atmospheric-powered broad gauge line from the Exminster pumping station. This would have been carried over the canal and crossed the River Exe on a 14-span viaduct to Topsham and then down the east side of the river to Exmouth.
The Railway Manis subsided and the front-running proposal was to build a standard-gauge line from about the location of the present-day Exeter Central station, following the eastern bank of the river Exe and terminating at Exmouth. Joseph Locke was appointed engineer and authorisation was received in the Exeter and Exmouth Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. cxxix) on 3 July 1846 for the Exeter and Exmouth Railway. However the promoters had depended upon the standard-gauge London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) building a line to Exeter with the intention being to lease the line to the L&SWR. The larger company had been planning a line from Dorchester to Exeter, but at this stage they found that they could not finance the long route and cancelled the project, in effect killing the prospects of the Exeter and Exmouth company as their powers expired.
The planned route of the Exeter and Exmouth scheme was revived in December 1853. This generated considerable support, particularly in Exmouth, but the SDR and associated broad gauge interests countered with a revival of its scheme to make a branch from Exminster, crossing the river Exe by viaduct. By this time, broad gauge railways had been in Exeter since 1844 while in 1853 the standard gauge L&SWR was no closer than Salisbury, which it reached by a branch line from Bishopstoke (Eastleigh). Local people therefore considered the broad gauge railways a better partner and an Exeter and Exmouth Railway Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c. cxxii) was passed on 2 July 1855 for the line from Exminster across the Exe to Exmouth.