(Lost) branches off the Waterloo to Exeter main line

[whole diary]

[grahame]

West of Yeovil Junction, the old LSWR^▸ (London South Western Railway) main line to Exeter and beyond ran some mile inland, and no fewer that four branches ran south to the coast:
* from Axminster to Lyme Regis
* from Seaton Junction to Seaton
* from Sidmouth Junction (Feniton) to Sidmouth
* from Exeter Central / Exmouth Junction to Exmouth
A further branch off the Sidmouth branch (from Tipton St John) lead via Budleigh Salterton to Exmouth

Lyme Regis closed in November 1965
Seaton closed in March 1966
Sidmouth closed in March 1967 (freight 2 months later) as did Budleigh Salterton
Only Exmouth (from Exeter Central) remains open

Here's the 1960 timetable for the Sidmouth branch and the branch off the branch to Exmouth



You realise just how much has been lost when looking at the old main line timetable from Waterloo, with trains in 1960 still running beyond Exeter running to Ilfracombe via Barnstaple Town, to Torrington via Bideford, to Bude via Okehampton, to Padstow via Launceston, Camelford and Wadebridge, and to Plymouth via Tavistock.  Only the stub via Crediton to Barnstaple (Junction) remains.

Edit to add - map.  From Wikipedia - labelled "public domain" and no original author

[JontyMort]

Fascinating. Note A (1.52 from Sidmouth Junction) “through carriages from Waterloo” is presumably two portions of the Atlantic Coast Express?

One of the great “might have been” moments - as it seems to me - is that the Bristol & Exeter fell to the Great Western instead of the Midland. If the Midland had taken it over following their coup in acquiring the Gloucester lines, the scope for co-operation with the LSWR^▸ (London South Western Railway) might have left us a much better railway west of Exeter.

[ellendune]

One of the great “might have been” moments - as it seems to me - is that the Bristol & Exeter fell to the Great Western instead of the Midland. If the Midland had taken it over following their coup in acquiring the Gloucester lines, the scope for co-operation with the LSWR^▸ (London South Western Railway) might have left us a much better railway west of Exeter.

Or the proximity of Midland's territory might have made them bitter rivals to LSWR instead of GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)

[rogerpatenall]

Fascinating. Note A (1.52 from Sidmouth Junction) “through carriages from Waterloo” is presumably two portions of the Atlantic Coast Express?

Yes, Saturdays only, and yet Note B, shows the up service being M-F with Saturdays excepted. Must have been a fair amount of empty stock moving around.

[grahame]

Fascinating. Note A (1.52 from Sidmouth Junction) “through carriages from Waterloo” is presumably two portions of the Atlantic Coast Express?

Yes, Saturdays only, and yet Note B, shows the up service being M-F with Saturdays excepted. Must have been a fair amount of empty stock moving around.

I scanned (but didn't post a link) three other branch timetables from the same 1960 date - Yeovil Town, Seaton and Lyme Regis. It would seen that Seaton and Yeovil also had through London carriages ... ((image here))

[bradshaw]

Living in Crewkerne in the 1950s and early 60s we used the Lyme branch most years as we stayed in family friend’s chalet.
I can also remember the gate set on the Yeovil Town branch.

However, I missed out on the rest of the SR^‡(resolve) branches, apart from Plymouth via Okehampton, because we decided to travel further afield.

[rogerw]

Fascinating. Note A (1.52 from Sidmouth Junction) “through carriages from Waterloo” is presumably two portions of the Atlantic Coast Express?

Yes, Saturdays only, and yet Note B, shows the up service being M-F with Saturdays excepted. Must have been a fair amount of empty stock moving around.

A quirk of the timetable printing where note A and B appear to read over two lines.  The SO and SX on the line below are separate notes. The through carriages ran every day bar Sunday.

[PhilWakely]

The Atlantic Coast Express, the 'most multi-portioned train in Great Britain'. Nine different sections are comprised in its daily formation, each making for a different destination....

Intriguingly, passengers on the ACE for Exmouth would have had to put up with their train splitting twice - once at Sidmouth Junction and again at Tipton St John - and I guess similarly for pax heading for north Cornwall (at Okehampton and Halwill Junction).

[rogerpatenall]

In August 1958 I travelled from Waterloo through to Padstow ( to stay with friends at Harlyn Bay) the return trip being as far as Templecombe (changing off the ACE at Exeter Central).

But on the down trip, it wasn't just Halwill, etc. Being midweek there was only the one service, and we lost the first coach at Salisbury (for stations to Yeovil, I think). Then Sidmouth Junction as discussed. The restaurant cars came off at Exeter, along with other coaches, until just three coaches and a WC^▸ (Wiltshire Council (Unitary Authority)) air smoothed loco arrived at Padstow.

Great memories, again, and there are still two 1958 pop songs that take me straight back to Harlyn - and - well, probably best if I leave the memories where they currently reside . . .

[JontyMort]

Great memories, again, and there are still two 1958 pop songs that take me straight back to Harlyn - and - well, probably best if I leave the memories where they currently reside . . .

Quite right, Roger. You would only find that you hadn’t aged but she might be 80...

[RichardB]

I've put together an Excel sheet (attached) containing the Winter and Summer passenger counts for the Sidmouth branch from the Ministry of Transport closure file in the National Archives.

There were a lot of schoolchildren going to Ottery St Mary and the through Waterloo trains on Summer Saturdays were well loaded, but otherwise it was not that busy by 1963. 

[RichardB]

The file for the Tipton St Johns - Budleigh Salterton - Exmouth line shows that there were quite a reasonable number of commuters from Budleigh Salterton and Littleham to Exeter via Exmouth to the extent that the TUCC in their report to the Minister recommended that serious consideration be given to retaining Budleigh Salterton - Exmouth.  Below you'll find the Ministry's letter to BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) and BR's reply which was enough, sadly, to kill the idea.  You can click on the photos below to get the full letters (thanks Graham).

If it had gone ahead and had worked, interesting to think how things would have changed in Exmouth and around the station.  That road, for example.

An hourly clockface service would have been possible.

[RichardB]

No idea why those attachments have appeared sideways.  They were the right way up when I attached them.  Graham, can you correct them please?

[grahame]

No idea why those attachments have appeared sideways.  They were the right way up when I attached them.  Graham, can you correct them please?

Very odd they've appeared that way, and I'm afraid "just turning them round" is one of those sounds-simple jobs that turns out to be a whole can of worms when investigated.  Best thought is to include key graphics into the original post (at a reduced resolution) and suggest to readers that they click on the image to see the original, then remove the attachments.    If you "quote" this post you'll be able to cut and paste the code that follows and then edit it back into your earlier post ... posts remain open for a few days to edit before they're archived.

I have selected key parts of each letter for the clickable images (so that people can see the text inline) and I have adjusted the colour balance on the Ministry of Transport to British Rail letter to help make it readable. It would appear that the MoT were economising on typewriter ribbons as well as socially useful but unprofitable railway lines as the time, as the original suggests  a ribbon well past its "best before" date ...

[RichardB]

Many thanks Graham. I'll pick out the code and do that.