The Exeter and Crediton Railway was a 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 :...

 railway that linked Exeter

Exeter

Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...

 and Crediton

Crediton

Crediton is a town and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon in England. It stands on the A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, about north west of Exeter. It has a population of 6,837...

, 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.

Although built in 1847, it was not opened until 12 May 1851 due to disagreement about the gauge to be used. It was initially operated by the Bristol and Exeter Railway

Bristol and Exeter Railway

The Bristol & Exeter Railway was a railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter.The company's head office was situated outside their Bristol station...

, but eventually became a part of the 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. It also had many routes connecting towns in...

, thus being one of the few broad gauge railways never to become part of the Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway

The 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...

.

It remains open as part of the scenic Tarka Line

Tarka Line

The Tarka Line is a railway line from Exeter to Barnstaple in Devon, England. The line follows the River Creedy, River Yeo and River Taw for some of its route...

from Exeter to .

Chronology

• 1845 Exeter and Crediton Railway authorised by Act of Parliament
  Act of Parliament
  An 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...
  
  
• 1847 Railway built as broad gauge line but opened
• 1848 One of the two broad gauge lines replaced
  Gauge conversion
  In rail transport, gauge conversion is the process of converting a railway from one rail gauge to another, through the alteration of the railway tracks...
  
   by 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...
  
  
• 1851 Railway opened using the broad gauge line
• 1854 North Devon Railway
  North Devon Railway
  The North Devon Railway was a British railway company which operated a line from Cowley Bridge Junction, near Exeter, to Bideford in Devon, later becoming part of the London and South Western Railway's system...
  
   opened to Crediton
• 1862 Leased to the London and South Western Railway and converted to mixed gauge

Bristol and Exeter Railway continues to operate a limited broad gauge goods service

• 1892 Broad gauge abandoned
• 1923 London and South Western Railway amalgamated
  Consolidation (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...
  
   into the Southern Railway
  Southern Railway (Great Britain)
  The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...
  
  
• 1948 Southern Railway nationalised into the British Railways