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The Bristol & Exeter Railway was a railway company formed to connect Bristol
Bristol

Bristol is a City status in the United Kingdom, unitary authority area and Ceremonial counties of England in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff....
 and Exeter
Exeter

Exeter Exeter was the most south-westerly Roman fortified settlement in Roman Britain and has existed since time immemorial. Exeter Cathedral, founded in 1050 is Anglicanism....
. It was friendly to the Great Western Railway, which had been opened between London and Bristol the previous year, and the two railways operated in collaboration.

The company's head office was situated outside their Bristol station.






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Exeter St Davids 1844
The Bristol & Exeter Railway was a railway company formed to connect Bristol
Bristol

Bristol is a City status in the United Kingdom, unitary authority area and Ceremonial counties of England in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff....
 and Exeter
Exeter

Exeter Exeter was the most south-westerly Roman fortified settlement in Roman Britain and has existed since time immemorial. Exeter Cathedral, founded in 1050 is Anglicanism....
. It was friendly to the Great Western Railway, which had been opened between London and Bristol the previous year, and the two railways operated in collaboration.

The company's head office was situated outside their Bristol station. Designed by Samuel Fripp, it was opened in 1854.

In addition to the mainline from Bristol
Bristol

Bristol is a City status in the United Kingdom, unitary authority area and Ceremonial counties of England in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff....
 to Exeter
Exeter

Exeter Exeter was the most south-westerly Roman fortified settlement in Roman Britain and has existed since time immemorial. Exeter Cathedral, founded in 1050 is Anglicanism....
 (Devon
Devon

Devon is a large Counties of England in South West England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county but often indicating a shire....
), branches were opened to Clevedon
Clevedon

Clevedon is a town in North Somerset, England.The name derives from the Saxon language, 'Cleve' meaning Cleave or Cleft and 'don' meaning hill, the town being situated amongst a group of small hills alongside the River Severn....
, Cheddar
Cheddar

Cheddar is a large village and civil parish in the district of Sedgemoor in the England county of Somerset. It is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills north-west of Wells....
 and Wells, Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare

Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort town and civil parish in North Somerset, part of the Ceremonial counties of England of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill....
, Chard
Chard, Somerset

Chard is a town and civil parish in the county Somerset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Devon border, south west of Yeovil. The parish has a population of approximately 12,000 and, at an altitude of , is the highest town in Somerset and also the southernmost....
, and Yeovil
Yeovil

Yeovil is a town in south Somerset, England, on the A30 road and A37 road. It has a population of 41,871 at the 2001 census . The town lies within the local district of South Somerset and the Yeovil ....
 in Somerset
Somerset

Somerset is a Counties of England in South West England. The county town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county. The Ceremonial counties of England of Somerset borders the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west....
, and to Tiverton, Devon. The Bristol & Exeter also worked a number of small independent railways: the Bristol and Portishead Port and Pier Railway
Portishead Railway

The Portishead Railway was a branch line railway running from Portishead, Somerset in Somerset to the Great Western Main Line in Bristol, England....
, the Somerset Central Railway, the West Somerset Railway
West Somerset Railway

The West Somerset Railway is a heritage railway that runs along the edge of the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England, between Bishops Lydeard and Watchet....
 and Minehead Railway, the Devon and Somerset Railway
Devon and Somerset Railway

The Devon and Somerset Railway ran from near Taunton in Somerset to Barnstaple in North Devon. It was operated from the outset by the Bristol and Exeter Railway which became part of the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1876....
, and the Exeter and Crediton Railway
Exeter and Crediton Railway

The Exeter and Crediton Railway was a broad gauge railway that linked Exeter and Crediton, Devon, England.Although built in 1847, it was not opened until 12 May 1851 due to arguments about the gauge to be used....
.

History

} The Bristol & Exeter Railway was authorised by act of Parliament in 1836, following quickly on the 1835 act for construction of the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was a History of rail transport in Great Britain that linked London with the south west and west of England and most of Wales....
. Bristol merchants were anxious to secure a railway route to Exeter, which was an important commercial centre, and which had a harbour on the south coast, in the English Channel. Coastal shipping from the South coast and from continental Europe making for Bristol needed to navigate the hazardous north Cornwall coast after negotiating the waters round Land's End.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Fellow of the Royal Society , was a United Kingdom engineer. He is best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, including the first with a propeller, and numerous important bridges and tunnels....
 was appointed engineer, and the first broad gauge
Broad gauge

Broad gauge railways use a rail gauge greater than the standard gauge of ....
 section of the line was completed to Bridgwater on 14 June, 1841, and the extension to Taunton in July 1842 - both using trains leased from the Great Western. The line was completed to Exeter in 1844.

At first the railway was worked by the Great Western Railway, but the Bristol & Exeter took over its own working in 1849. It built a carriage works at Bridgwater
Bridgwater

Bridgwater in Somerset, England, is a market town, the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor Districts of England, and the leading industrial town in the Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England....
, which already had a railway engineering industry. George Hennet
George Hennet

George Hennet was a railway engineer and contractor. He undertook many contracts for Isambard Kingdom Brunel's broad gauge railways in the South West of England and funded the provision of extra facilities on the South Devon Railway Company, these formed the basis of a general trading business that he conducted....
 obtained permission in the town to cast atmospheric pipes for 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...
, the Bristol and Exeter Railway simply extended his works. The Hennet name continued to be linked to Bridgwater for many years, and was responsible for producing many wagons for various companies.

The Bristol & Exeter Railway was a considerable financial success and between 1844 and 1874, paying an average annual dividend
Dividend

Dividends are payments made by a corporation to its shareholder members. It is the portion of corporate profits paid out to stockholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, that money can be put to two uses: it can either be re-invested in the business , or it can be paid to the shareholders as a dividend....
 of 4.5 per cent. The city fathers of Exeter refused the railway access to the dock of the Exeter Canal
Exeter Canal

The Exeter Canal, downstream of Exeter, Devon, England was built in 1563 which means it pre-dates the "History of the British canal system" period and is one of the oldest artificial waterways in the UK....
 until 35 years after it entered the city in 1844. The railway built its own new dock, which could accommodate the new larger steam ships, and bankrupted the canal in 1867.

The railway was fully amalgamated
Consolidation (business)

Consolidation or amalgamation is the act of merging many things into one. In business, it often refers to the mergers or acquisitions of many smaller companies into much larger ones....
 with the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1876.

Stations


Mainline

  • Bristol
    • Bristol
      Bristol Temple Meads railway station

      Bristol Temple Meads railway station is the oldest and largest Train station in Bristol, England. It is an important interchange hub for public transport in Bristol, with bus services to various parts of the city and surrounding districts, and a ferry service to the city centre in addition to the train services....
       (1841, joint with Great Western Railway)
    • Bedminster
      Bedminster railway station

      Bedminster railway station is on the Bristol to Taunton Line and serves the suburb of Bedminster in Bristol, England. It also serves the area of Windmill Hill, Bristol....
       (1871)
  • Somerset
    • Flax Bourton (1860)
    • Nailsea
      Nailsea and Backwell railway station

      Nailsea and Backwell railway station is a station on the Bristol to Taunton Line. It is located in the village of Backwell and close to the town of Nailsea in North Somerset, England....
       (1841)
    • Clevedon Road
      Yatton railway station

      Yatton railway station serves the village of Yatton in North Somerset, England. It is west of Bristol Temple Meads railway station on the Bristol to Taunton Line....
       (1841, renamed Yatton 1847)
    • Banwell (1841, later renamed Puxton and Worle)
    • Weston Junction (1841)
    • Bleadon and Uphill (1871)
    • Brent Knoll (1875)
    • Highbridge
      Highbridge and Burnham railway station

      Highbridge and Burnham railway station is situated on the Bristol to Taunton Line in the town of Highbridge, Somerset in Somerset, England and also serves neighbouring Burnham-on-Sea....
       (1841)
    • Dunball (1873)
    • Bridgwater
      Bridgwater railway station

      Bridgwater railway station serves Bridgwater in Somerset, England. It is on the Bristol to Taunton Line and is operated by First Great Western. Originally built to the designs of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the station is now a Grade II listed building....
       (1841)
    • Durston (1853)
    • Taunton
      Taunton railway station

      Taunton railway station is a junction station on the London to Penzance Line, from London Paddington station. It is situated in Taunton, Somerset, England and is operated by First Great Western but also served by CrossCountry trains....
       (1842)
    • Norton Fitzwarren
      Norton Fitzwarren railway station

      Norton Fitzwarren railway station is a former railway Train station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway, in the village of Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset, United Kingdom....
       (1873)
    • Wellington (1843)
    • Beambridge (temporary station 1843-1844)
  • Devon
    • Burlescombe (1867)
    • Tiverton Road (1844, renamed Tiverton Junction 1848)
    • Cullompton (1844)
    • Hele (1844)
    • Silverton (1867)
    • Stoke Canon (1860)
    • Exeter
      Exeter St Davids railway station

      Exeter St Davids station is the most important of seven National Rail stations in the city of Exeter in southwest England. Today the station is owned by Network Rail and operated by First Great Western....
       (1844)


Branches

  • Clevedon branch
    Clevedon branch line

    File:Clevedon branchline 5.jpgThe Clevedon branch line was a railway line that ran from Yatton Yatton railway station to Clevedon in North Somerset, England...
     from Yatton
    • Clevedon (1847)
  • Cheddar Valley Railway
    Cheddar Valley line

    The Cheddar Valley line was a railway line that ran from Yatton railway station through Cheddar, Wells and Shepton Mallet to Witham railway station in England....
     from Yatton (also known as The Strawberry Line)
    • Congresbury
      Congresbury railway station

      Congresbury railway station was a station at Congresbury on the Bristol and Exeter Railway's Cheddar Valley line in Somerset and the junction for the Wrington Vale Light Railway to Blagdon....
       (1867)
    • Sandford (1867)
    • Winscombe
      Winscombe railway station

      Winscombe railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway's Cheddar Valley line in Winscombe, Somerset.The station was opened as "Woodborough" with the broad gauge line to Cheddar in August 1869 as a single-platform station....
       (1867; called Woodborough for the first few months)
    • Axbridge
      Axbridge railway station

      Axbridge railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway's Cheddar Valley line in Axbridge, Somerset. Axbridge was one of the principal stations for the transport of strawberries, which led to the line's alternative name as The Strawberry Line....
       (1867)
    • Cheddar
      Cheddar railway station

      Cheddar railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway's Cheddar Valley line in Cheddar, Somerset. The station had substantial goods traffic based on the locally-grown strawberries, which led to the line's alternative name as The Strawberry Line....
       (1867)
    • Draycott (1870)
    • Lodge Hill
      Lodge Hill railway station

      Lodge Hill railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway's Cheddar Valley line in Somerset. The station served the village of Westbury-sub-Mendip, but was not named Westbury because of the potential for confusion with Westbury, Wiltshire....
       (1870, serving Westbury-sub-Mendip
      Westbury-sub-Mendip

      Westbury-sub-Mendip is a village in Somerset, England, with a population of about 800, situated on the southern slopes of the Mendip Hills from Wells and Cheddar....
      )
    • Wookey
      Wookey railway station

      Wookey railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway's Cheddar Valley line in Somerset. It was close to the famous cave at Wookey Hole....
       (1871)
    • Wells
      Wells (Tucker Street) railway station

      Wells railway station was the second terminus station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway's Cheddar Valley line in Somerset after the extension from the first terminus at Cheddar was opened....
       (1870)
  • Weston branch
    Weston-super-Mare railway station

    Weston-super-Mare railway station serves the town of Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England. It is situated on a loop off the main Bristol to Taunton Line....
     (from Weston Junction)
    • Weston
      Weston-super-Mare railway station

      Weston-super-Mare railway station serves the town of Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England. It is situated on a loop off the main Bristol to Taunton Line....
       (1841)
  • Yeovil branch (joined before Durston)
    • Athelney (1853)
    • Langport (1853)
    • Martock (1853)
    • Montacute (1882)
    • Yeovil (Hendford) (1853)
    • Yeovil Pen Mill
      Yeovil Pen Mill railway station

      Yeovil Pen Mill railway station is one of two stations serving the town of Yeovil, Somerset. The station is situated just under a mile to the east of the town centre....
       (1857, joint with Great Western Railway)
  • Chard branch
    • Thorn (1871, later renamed Thornfalcon)
    • Hatch (1866)
    • Ilminster (1866)
    • Chard (1866, joint with London and South Western Railway
      London and South Western Railway

      The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth, Dorset....
      )
  • Tiverton branch
    • Tiverton
      Tiverton railway station

      Tiverton railway station served the town of Tiverton, Devon, England. It opened in 1848 as the terminus station of a broad gauge branch line from the Bristol and Exeter Railway main line: the main line junction station four miles away had originally been called Tiverton Road but was renamed as Tiverton Junction railway station when the branch...
       (1848)


Locomotives

Main article Bristol and Exeter Railway locomotives
Bristol and Exeter Railway locomotives

The Bristol and Exeter Railway locomotives worked trains on the Bristol and Exeter Railway from 1 May 1849 until the railway was Consolidation with the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1876....
.

Locomotives for the railway were provided by the Great Western Railway until its working arrangement finished on 1 May 1849, after which the Bristol and Exeter provided its own locomotives. Engine sheds were provided at major stations and on some branches, and workshops were established at Bristol in September 1854.

Charles Hutton Gregory
Charles Hutton Gregory

Sir Charles Hutton Gregory KCMG was a United Kingdom civil engineer. He was president of the Institution of Civil Engineers between December 1867 and December 1869....
 was responsible for the locomotives until May 1850, when James Pearson
James Pearson (engineer)

This article is about James Pearson, British railway engineer. For other people of the same name see James Pearson.James Pearson was a 19th century England railway engineer....
 was appointed as Locomotive Engineer. He designed several classes of tank engines, including his distinctive large 4-2-4T locomotives
Bristol and Exeter Railway 4-2-4T locomotives

The 14 Bristol and Exeter Railway 4-2-4T locomotives were broad gauge 4-2-4 steam locomotives built to three different designs. The first entered service in 1853 and the last was withdrawn in 1885....
, the first of which were introduced in 1854.

Chronology

  • 1836 Bristol and Exeter Railway authorised by Act of Parliament
    Act of Parliament

    An act of Parliament is a statute wikt:enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. It is broadly equivalent to an act of Congress in the United States....
  • 1841 Opened from Bristol to Bridgwater, also Weston branch
  • 1842 Extended from Bridgwater to Taunton
  • 1843 Extended to temporary terminus at Beam Bridge
  • 1844 Main line completed to Exeter
  • 1845 Independent Exeter station opened at Bristol
  • 1847 Clevedon branch
    Clevedon branch line

    File:Clevedon branchline 5.jpgThe Clevedon branch line was a railway line that ran from Yatton Yatton railway station to Clevedon in North Somerset, England...
     opened
  • 1848 Tiverton branch opened
  • 1849 Lease to Great Western Railway expires
  • 1853 Yeovil branch opened
  • 1854 Operation of Somerset Central Railway
  • 1857 Yeovil branch extended to junction with Great Western Railway Weymouth line
  • 1862 Exeter and Crediton Railway opened, operated by Bristol and Exeter Railway
  • 1862 West Somerset Railway opened and leased to Bristol and Exeter Railway
  • 1864 Exeter station rebuilt
  • 1865 Grand Western Canal
    Grand Western Canal

    The Grand Western Canal ran between Taunton in Somerset and Tiverton, Devon in Devon in the United Kingdom. The canal had its origins in various plans, going back to 1796, to link the Bristol Channel and the English Channel by a canal, bypassing Lands End....
     purchased
  • 1866 Chard branch opened; Weston station rebuilt
  • 1867 Bridgwater and Taunton Canal
    Bridgwater and Taunton Canal

    The Bridgwater and Taunton Canal is a canal in the south-west of England between Bridgwater and Taunton, Somerset, opened in 1827 and linking the River Tone to the River Parrett....
     purchased
  • 1868 Taunton station rebuilt
  • 1869 Branch opened from Yatton to Cheddar
  • 1870 Branch extended from Cheddar to Wells
  • 1871 Devon and Somerset Railway opened to Wiveliscombe, worked by Bristol and Exeter Railway
  • 1872 Bristol Harbour Railway opened, jointly owned with the Great Western Railway
  • 1873 Devon and Somerset Railway completed to Barnstaple
  • 1874 Minehead Railway opened, operated by Bristol and Exeter Railway
  • 1875 Bristol to Taunton, Weston and Yeovil branches converted to mixed gauge
    Dual gauge

    A dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway has rail tracks that allows trains of different gauges to use the same track. Generally dual-gauge railway consists of three rails, rather than the standard two rails....
    ; Wells branch converted to standard gauge
    Standard gauge

    The standard gauge is a widely-used rail gauge. Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge . The distance between the inside edges of the rails of standard gauge track is ....
  • 1876 Amalgamated with Great Western Railway


See also

Disused railway stations (Bristol to Exeter Line)
Disused railway stations (Bristol to Exeter Line)

|}There are 22 disused railway stations in the 75 miles between Bristol Temple Meads railway station and Exeter St Davids railway station, of which 12 can be recognised from passing trains....


External links