Railways in Plymouth
Encyclopedia
The network of railways in Plymouth, Devon
, England
, was developed by companies affiliated to two competing railways, the Great Western Railway
and the London and South Western Railway
. At their height two main lines and three branch lines served 28 stations in the Plymouth
area, but today just six stations remain in use.
in 1724, and in 1756 John Smeaton
laid some more to help move materials in his workyard on the mainland which was preparing stonework for the Eddystone Lighthouse
. In 1812 John Rennie laid a 3 in 6 in (1.07 m) gauge metal tramway to help with the construction of the Plymouth Breakwater; rails were laid in the quarry at Oreston
and on the breakwater, and loaded wagons were conveyed between the two on ships.
A more conventional tramway was opened on 26 September 1823. The 4 in 6 in (1.37 m) Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway
ran from Princetown
to Sutton Harbour and the Cattewater. Branches were opened to Cann Quarry in 1829 and to Plympton in 1834, followed by the Lee Moor Tramway in 1854. Haulage in Plymouth was always by horses and the Lee Moor line remained in use until 1960.
The first main line railway to arrive was the South Devon Railway
(SDR), which brought its line from Exeter
to a temporary terminus as Laira on 5 May 1848. The line was a broad gauge
line backed by the Great Western Railway
(GWR) and was completed to Millbay
on 4 April 1849, although it had originally been conceived that the terminus would be on the high ground at Eldad. A siding into the Plymouth Great Western Docks
was opened from Millbay station in 1850.
The SDR was authorised by Act of Parliament
to construct a branch from Millbay to Devonport
which would have been more convenient for the naval dockyards
but instead the powers were transferred to the Cornwall Railway
(CR). This was another broad gauge line which was originally designed to cross the River Tamar
on the Torpoint Ferry
but these plans were thrown out by Parliament and so Isambard Kingdom Brunel
designed the Royal Albert Bridge
to carry the line instead. Construction was protracted due to a lack of finance but the railway eventually opened on 4 May 1859.
The South Devon and Tavistock Railway
(SD&TR) was opened a few weeks later on 22 June 1859 and was extended by another company to Launceston
on 1 July 1865. In 1867 a short branch was laid from the CR at Keyham to connect with the rail system in the Naval Dockyard, where permanent rails had been in use since at least 1860.
The SD&TR was amalgamated
with the SDR on 1 July 1865, and the SDR in turn was amalgamated with the GWR on 1 February 1876. The CR, however, remained nominally independent of the GWR until 1 July 1889 although the GWR already held a large number of shares.
(LSWR) arrived in Plymouth on 18 May 1876. Initially their trains arrived over the SD&TR line, along which a third rail had been laid to allow mixed gauge
working, to call at Mutley before continuing on the new Cornwall Loop Line and a new branch to their own station at Devonport
. A new joint station was opened at Plymouth North Road
on 28 March 1877.
These arrangements changed on 2 June 1890 when the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway
(PDSWJ) opened a new line from Lydford
along the Tamar valley. LSWR trains now ran through Devonport, North Road and Mutley in the opposite direction, and soon continued to a new terminus at Plymouth Friary
which opened on 1 July 1891.
A branch across the River Plym
to Plymstock opened on 5 September 1892 and was extended to Turnchapel on 1 January 1897.
which opened on 17 January 1898, and a station at Keyham
to serve the dockyards which opened on 1 July 1900.
In 1904 a number of new halts were opened that allowed a suburban service to be operated between Plympton and Saltash
in response to competition from street tram
ways. The LSWR instigated a similar service between Friary and St Budeaux
.
The LSWR became part of the new Southern Railway
(SR) in 1923.
The first contraction of passenger services was seen when the GWR's Yealmpton branch was closed on 7 July 1930, although it was reopened in 1941 to allow Plymothians to reach the safety of the countryside during The Blitz
. This period during the Second World War saw the closure of Millbay station to passengers following bombing and some of the smaller halts were closed, apparently as their wooden structures were considered a fire risk. A new connection between the GWR and SR was put in at St Budeaux to allow flexibility of routing in the event of bomb damage; other connections were installed at Lydford and Launceston.
Mutley station had closed on 2 March 1939 to allow reconstruction of the approaches to the adjacent North Road station. Because of the interruption by the war, work on the new North Road station was not completed for over twenty years. The new panel signal box
at North Road was commissioned in 1960 and, since 1973, controls all movements in the Plymouth area.
The GWR and SR were nationalised into British Railways on 1 January 1948 but the lines around Plymouth remained parts of two different regions until 1963. The Yealmpton branch had closed again to passengers on 7 October 1947, followed by the Turnchapel branch on 10 September 1951, Friary station on 15 September 1958, Plympton on 3 March 1959, and the Tavistock line on 31 December 1962. The old LSWR line through Devonport was closed on 7 September with remaining trains to Gunnislake
running over the CR route to St Budeaux where they used the wartime connection to rejoin the old PDSWJR route. The remaining suburban services to Saltash, which had been reduced after 1961 following the opening of the Tamar Bridge
for the A38 road
, were withdrawn in 1972.
is an important station on the Exeter to Plymouth line
. First Great Western
trains from London Paddington station either terminate here or continue to Penzance
along the Cornish Main Line
. Other services on this route are operated by CrossCountry
from as far as Manchester or Aberdeen
. Local services are operated by First Great Western, both on the main line and on the Tamar Valley Line
to Gunnislake
.
Typical journey times are: Ivybridge
15 min.
; Liskeard
24 min.; Gunnislake 45 min.; Exeter St Davids
1 hr.
; Truro
1¼ hr.; Newquay
1¾ hr.; Penzance or Bristol
2 hr.; London Paddington or Birmingham New Street 3½ hr.; Edinburgh
9 hr.
The companies listed are those that initially operated the station, see the History section above for details of later operators. Stations in bold are still open to passengers.
Quays on the Cattewater, on the River Plym
on the east side of Plymouth, were first served by the P&DR. A standard gauge connection was later established by the LSWR and this is still open for goods traffic, trains having to reverse in a spur outside the old Friary station.
Sutton Harbour, the old harbour in the centre of the town, was also served by a P&DR line to Coxside, on the north-eastern side of the harbour. With the arrival of the SDR in 1848 this line was taken over by the new company but mixed gauge was retained until 1857 after which it became a broad gauge
only line; a short branch to a yard at Sutton Harbour, a little to the west of Coxside, was opened at around the same time.
The LSWR opened a route from Friary station to North Quay on 22 October 1879 and this was connected to the GWR's Sutton Harbour yard on 6 November 1879 and trains of both gauges could shunt the quays. These lines carried on beyond North Quay to Sutton Wharf and Vauxhall Quay; a short piece of this mixed gauge track still survives on this section.
The Plymouth Great Western Docks
, like the broad gauge railways, were engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel
and were connected to Millbay station in 1850. Over the years the network of lines were expanded around all sides of the dock. Ocean Special Mail trains were run direct from the docks to London Paddington; it was one of these in 1904 that saw City of Truro exceed 100 mi/h.
The LSWR established their own Ocean Terminal on the west side of Stonehouse Pool, reached by a short branch from their Devonport station. Fast passenger trains ran from here to London Waterloo in connection with trans-Atlantic liners.
The naval dockyards
at Devonport were connected to the CR at Keyham in 1867. At first these were worked by the CR but the Dockyard built up an extensive locomotive fleet to operate the various yards, including the South Yard which was reached through a tunnel. A free passenger service was operated which had six different classes of accommodation.
The temporary SDR terminus at Laira had equally temporary locomotive accommodation which was relocated to Millbay
when the line was extended to there in 1849. This was the main GWR engine shed
at Plymouth until 23 July 1924, although the site was used to stable locomotives until 1931. A small shed was opened in the adjacent docks around 1869 and was used to house the small shunting locomotives used there until about 1955.
A new GWR shed was opened at Laira
about 1901 and this was the main shed for the area following the closure of Millbay. It is still in use today, servicing First Great Western
's High Speed Train
s and DMU
s.
The LSWR opened its main shed at Friary
in 1890 but this was replaced by a new larger shed (close to the later site of Lucas Terrace Halt) in 1908. It was closed in 1963 and its remaining locomotives transferred to Laira. The LSWR also had a smaller shed at Devonport
; initially the only shed in the area, it was kept on to provide engines for the Stonehouse Pool line.
The South Devon line passes through Mutley Tunnel (beneath Mutley Plain
) on its approach to North Road station. This tunnel now appears much longer than it really is due to the cutting on the west side being covered by a concrete raft supporting a car park.
The Cornwall line passes through the short Devonport Tunnel just west of Devonport station. The PDSWJ route had two tunnels at a lower level, Devonport Park Tunnel and Ford Tunnel, between which was a short deep cutting which was the location of Albert Road Halt
.
There were also a number of tunnels on the freight lines. The P&DR had a tunnel at Leigham; the Devonport Dockyard lines ran through a tunnel to reach South Yard; and the LSWR's North Quay branch had a tunnel beneath Exeter Street.
Millbay station was built in an elevated position with a short viaduct and bridge across Union Street
immediately beyond the platform end. The arches of this viaduct were rented out to local traders for storage and were even used as a garage for the buses used on the GWR road motor services
.
The CR line passed over three of the many Cornwall Railway viaducts
. These were originally built from timber but were all rebuilt in more durable materials between 1899 and 1908. The first was the 321 feet (97.8 m) long Stonehouse Pool viaduct which was rebuilt in brick with iron girders in 1908 and, since it no longer carries trains, its girders have been replaced an abstract artwork that is said to represent the railway as it passes along the Sea Wall
. The next two structures were either side of Keyham station. Keyham viaduct (432 ft) was rebuilt in brick with girders in 1899 and further then with steel girders in 1937. The longer Weston Mill viaduct (1,200 ft) crosses Camel's Head creek was replaced in 1903 with short brick viaducts either side of a four-span bowstring girder structure. The railway then crosses 100 feet (30.5 m) above the River Tamar
on the 2,187½ feet-long Royal Albert Bridge
.
Pennycomequick Viaduct was brought into use on 18 May 1876 with the new Cornwall Loop line. This was built from limestone and joined the western end of Stonehouse Pool Viaduct.
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
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, was developed by companies affiliated to two competing railways, 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...
and 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...
. At their height two main lines and three branch lines served 28 stations in the Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
area, but today just six stations remain in use.
History
The first uses of railway in the area were wooden rails used during the construction of docks facilities. Some were in use in the Naval DockyardHMNB Devonport
Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...
in 1724, and in 1756 John Smeaton
John Smeaton
John Smeaton, FRS, was an English civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist...
laid some more to help move materials in his workyard on the mainland which was preparing stonework for the Eddystone Lighthouse
Eddystone Lighthouse
Eddystone Lighthouse is on the treacherous Eddystone Rocks, south west of Rame Head, United Kingdom. While Rame Head is in Cornwall, the rocks are in Devon and composed of Precambrian Gneiss....
. In 1812 John Rennie laid a 3 in 6 in (1.07 m) gauge metal tramway to help with the construction of the Plymouth Breakwater; rails were laid in the quarry at Oreston
Oreston
Oreston, formerly a village on the southern bank of the Cattewater, is now a suburb of Plymouth.Famed for its limestone quarries, and the discovery of prehistoric remains of animals such as rhinos and lions, stone from which was used in the construction of Plymouth Breakwater, the name is assumed...
and on the breakwater, and loaded wagons were conveyed between the two on ships.
A more conventional tramway was opened on 26 September 1823. The 4 in 6 in (1.37 m) Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway
Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway
The Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway was a gauge horse-worked railway line in Devon, England. Most of the network had been replaced by conventional railways by 1888. The last surviving section, which continued to operate until 1960, is generally referred to as the Lee Moor Tramway...
ran from Princetown
Princetown
Princetown is a town situated on Dartmoor in the English county of Devon.In 1785, Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt, Secretary to the Prince of Wales, leased a large area of moorland from the Duchy of Cornwall estate, hoping to convert it into good farmland. He encouraged people to live in the area and suggested...
to Sutton Harbour and the Cattewater. Branches were opened to Cann Quarry in 1829 and to Plympton in 1834, followed by the Lee Moor Tramway in 1854. Haulage in Plymouth was always by horses and the Lee Moor line remained in use until 1960.
Broad gauge lines
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...
(SDR), which brought its line from 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.-History:...
to a temporary terminus as Laira on 5 May 1848. The line 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 :...
line backed by 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...
(GWR) and was completed to Millbay
Plymouth Millbay railway station
Plymouth Millbay railway station was the original railway terminus in Plymouth, Devon, England. It was used for passenger trains from 1849 to 1941.- History :...
on 4 April 1849, although it had originally been conceived that the terminus would be on the high ground at Eldad. A siding into the Plymouth Great Western Docks
Millbay
Millbay, also known as Millbay Docks, is an area of dockland in Plymouth, Devon, England. It lies south of Union Street, between West Hoe in the east and Stonehouse in the west.-Early history:Mill Bay was a natural inlet to the west of the Hoe...
was opened from Millbay station in 1850.
The SDR was 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...
to construct a branch from Millbay to Devonport
Devonport railway station
Devonport railway station serves the Devonport area of Plymouth, Devon, England. The station is west of Plymouth railway station on the Cornish Main Line. It is operated by First Great Western.-History:...
which would have been more convenient for the naval dockyards
HMNB Devonport
Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...
but instead the powers were transferred to the Cornwall Railway
Cornwall Railway
The Cornwall Railway was a broad gauge railway from Plymouth in Devon to Falmouth in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The section from Plymouth to Truro opened in 1859, the extension to Falmouth in 1863...
(CR). This was another broad gauge line which was originally designed to cross the River Tamar
River Tamar
The Tamar is a river in South West England, that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall . It is one of several British rivers whose ancient name is assumed to be derived from a prehistoric river word apparently meaning "dark flowing" and which it shares with the River Thames.The...
on the Torpoint Ferry
Torpoint Ferry
The Torpoint Ferry is a car and pedestrian chain ferry, connecting the A374 road which crosses the Hamoaze, a stretch of water at the mouth of the River Tamar, between Devonport in Plymouth and Torpoint in Cornwall...
but these plans were thrown out by Parliament and so Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
designed the Royal Albert Bridge
Royal Albert Bridge
The Royal Albert Bridge is a railway bridge that spans the River Tamar in the United Kingdom between Plymouth, on the Devon bank, and Saltash on the Cornish bank. Its unique design consists of two lenticular iron trusses above the water, with conventional plate-girder approach spans. This gives...
to carry the line instead. Construction was protracted due to a lack of finance but the railway eventually opened on 4 May 1859.
The South Devon and Tavistock Railway
South Devon and Tavistock Railway
The South Devon and Tavistock Railway was a broad gauge railway linking Plymouth with Tavistock in Devon, England. It opened in 1859, was extended by the Launceston and South Devon Railway to Launceston, Cornwall, in 1865, and was closed in 1962....
(SD&TR) was opened a few weeks later on 22 June 1859 and was extended by another company to Launceston
Launceston railway station
Launceston railway station was situated in Launceston, Cornwall, United Kingdom. It was served by both the Great Western Railway and London and South Western Railway ....
on 1 July 1865. In 1867 a short branch was laid from the CR at Keyham to connect with the rail system in the Naval Dockyard, where permanent rails had been in use since at least 1860.
The SD&TR was 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...
with the SDR on 1 July 1865, and the SDR in turn was amalgamated with the GWR on 1 February 1876. The CR, however, remained nominally independent of the GWR until 1 July 1889 although the GWR already held a large number of shares.
London & South Western
The standard gauge London and South Western RailwayLondon 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...
(LSWR) arrived in Plymouth on 18 May 1876. Initially their trains arrived over the SD&TR line, along which a third rail had been laid to allow mixed gauge
Dual gauge
A dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway has railway track that allows trains of different gauges to use the same track. Generally, a dual-gauge railway consists of three rails, rather than the standard two rails. The two outer rails give the wider gauge, while one of the outer rails and the inner rail...
working, to call at Mutley before continuing on the new Cornwall Loop Line and a new branch to their own station at Devonport
Devonport Kings Road railway station
Devonport Kings Road railway station was the London and South Western Railway station in Devonport, Devon, England. It opened in 1876 and closed in 1964...
. A new joint station was opened at Plymouth North Road
Plymouth railway station
Plymouth railway station serves the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. It is situated on the northern edge of the city centre close to the North Cross roundabout...
on 28 March 1877.
These arrangements changed on 2 June 1890 when the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway
Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway
The Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway in England was built by an independent company but operated by the London and South Western Railway as part of its main line to give it independent access to Plymouth. It ran from to Devonport Junction, just west of Plymouth North Road...
(PDSWJ) opened a new line from Lydford
Lydford railway station
Lydford railway station was a junction at Lydford between the Great Western Railway and London and South Western Railway situated in a remote part of north-west Dartmoor in Devon, England.-History:...
along the Tamar valley. LSWR trains now ran through Devonport, North Road and Mutley in the opposite direction, and soon continued to a new terminus at Plymouth Friary
Plymouth Friary railway station
Plymouth Friary railway station was the London and South Western Railway terminus in Plymouth, Devon, England.-History:London and South Western Railway trains first arrived at Plymouth on 17 May 1876, entering the town from the east...
which opened on 1 July 1891.
A branch across the River Plym
River Plym
The River Plym is a river in Devon, England. Its source is some 450m above sea level on Dartmoor, in an upland marshy area called Plym Head. From the upper reaches which contain antiquities and mining remains the river flows roughly southwest and enters the sea near to the city of Plymouth, where...
to Plymstock opened on 5 September 1892 and was extended to Turnchapel on 1 January 1897.
After 1892
The broad gauge was removed from the GWR after 20 May 1892 and the single track west of Devonport was doubled over the next few years. This heralded the expansion of services in the towns around Plymouth over the next dozen years, including a new branch to YealmptonYealmpton railway station
Yealmpton station was a stone built railway station in Devon, and was the terminus of the Plymouth to Yealmpton Branch built to the south and across the River Yealm from the town of Yealmpton.-History:...
which opened on 17 January 1898, and a station at Keyham
Keyham railway station
Keyham railway station is a suburban rail station in the city of Plymouth, England. It is served by First Great Western services between Plymouth and Gunnislake and a very few on the Cornish Main Line to Saltash and beyond....
to serve the dockyards which opened on 1 July 1900.
In 1904 a number of new halts were opened that allowed a suburban service to be operated between Plympton and Saltash
Saltash railway station
Saltash railway station serves the town of Saltash in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated on the south side of the town between the Royal Albert Bridge over the River Tamar and Coombe Viaduct which spans a small tributary of the same river...
in response to competition from street tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
ways. The LSWR instigated a similar service between Friary and St Budeaux
St Budeaux Victoria Road railway station
St Budeaux Victoria Road railway station is a suburban station in St Budeaux, Plymouth, Devon, England. It is operated by First Great Western but is unstaffed.-History:...
.
The LSWR became part of the new 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...
(SR) in 1923.
The first contraction of passenger services was seen when the GWR's Yealmpton branch was closed on 7 July 1930, although it was reopened in 1941 to allow Plymothians to reach the safety of the countryside during The Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
. This period during the Second World War saw the closure of Millbay station to passengers following bombing and some of the smaller halts were closed, apparently as their wooden structures were considered a fire risk. A new connection between the GWR and SR was put in at St Budeaux to allow flexibility of routing in the event of bomb damage; other connections were installed at Lydford and Launceston.
Mutley station had closed on 2 March 1939 to allow reconstruction of the approaches to the adjacent North Road station. Because of the interruption by the war, work on the new North Road station was not completed for over twenty years. The new panel signal box
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
at North Road was commissioned in 1960 and, since 1973, controls all movements in the Plymouth area.
The GWR and SR were nationalised into British Railways on 1 January 1948 but the lines around Plymouth remained parts of two different regions until 1963. The Yealmpton branch had closed again to passengers on 7 October 1947, followed by the Turnchapel branch on 10 September 1951, Friary station on 15 September 1958, Plympton on 3 March 1959, and the Tavistock line on 31 December 1962. The old LSWR line through Devonport was closed on 7 September with remaining trains to Gunnislake
Gunnislake railway station
Gunnislake railway station serves the village of Gunnislake in Cornwall, England. There are also connecting buses from here to the town of Tavistock. However the station is located in or nearer to the villages of Drakewalls and Albaston...
running over the CR route to St Budeaux where they used the wartime connection to rejoin the old PDSWJR route. The remaining suburban services to Saltash, which had been reduced after 1961 following the opening of the Tamar Bridge
Tamar Bridge
The Tamar Bridge is a major road bridge at Saltash in southwest England carrying traffic between Cornwall and Devon. When it opened in 1961 it was the longest suspension bridge in the United Kingdom...
for the A38 road
A38 road
The A38, part of which is also known as the Devon Expressway, is a major A-class trunk road in England.The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, making it one of the longest A-roads in England. It was formerly known as the Leeds — Exeter Trunk Road,...
, were withdrawn in 1972.
Current services
Plymouth railway stationPlymouth railway station
Plymouth railway station serves the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. It is situated on the northern edge of the city centre close to the North Cross roundabout...
is an important station on the Exeter to Plymouth line
Exeter to Plymouth Line
The Exeter to Plymouth line is a central part of the trunk railway line between London Paddington and Penzance railway stations in the southern United Kingdom. It is a major branch of the Great Western Main Line and runs from Exeter, to Plymouth, from where it continues as the Cornish Main Line...
. First Great Western
First Great Western
First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
trains from London Paddington station either terminate here or continue to Penzance
Penzance railway station
Penzance railway station serves the town of Penzance, Cornwall, UK. The station is the western terminus of the Cornish Main Line from London Paddington station. The current journey time to or from London is about five hours....
along the Cornish Main Line
Cornish Main Line
The Cornish Main Line is a railway line in the United Kingdom, which forms the backbone for rail services in Cornwall, as well as providing a direct line to London.- History :...
. Other services on this route are operated by CrossCountry
CrossCountry
CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...
from as far as Manchester or Aberdeen
Aberdeen railway station
Aberdeen railway station is the main railway station in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the busiest railway station in Scotland north of the major cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.- History :...
. Local services are operated by First Great Western, both on the main line and on the Tamar Valley Line
Tamar Valley Line
The Tamar Valley Line is a railway line from Devonport in Plymouth Devon, to Gunnislake in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The line follows the River Tamar for much of its route.-History:...
to Gunnislake
Gunnislake
Gunnislake is a large village in east Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated in the Tamar Valley approximately ten miles north of Plymouth...
.
Typical journey times are: Ivybridge
Ivybridge railway station
Ivybridge railway station is situated on the Exeter to Plymouth line and serves the town of Ivybridge in Devon, England. The station re-opened in 1994 to the east of the original station, which had been closed in 1965. The new station is located in the civil parish of Ugborough, and is operated by...
15 min.
Minute
A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units...
; Liskeard
Liskeard railway station
Liskeard station serves the town of Liskeard in Cornwall, England. The station is west of Plymouth on the Cornish Main Line and it is the junction for the Looe Valley Line.-History:-Cornwall Railway:...
24 min.; Gunnislake 45 min.; Exeter St Davids
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.-History:...
1 hr.
Hour
The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds...
; Truro
Truro railway station
Truro Station serves the city of Truro, Cornwall, UK. It is the situated on the Cornish Main Line and is the junction for the Maritime Line to Falmouth. The station is operated by First Great Western....
1¼ hr.; Newquay
Newquay railway station
Newquay railway station is the terminus of the Atlantic Coast Line that runs from Par railway station. It is operated by First Great Western and is situated close to the town centre and beaches in Newquay, Cornwall, England, UK.-History:...
1¾ hr.; Penzance or Bristol
Bristol Temple Meads railway station
Bristol Temple Meads railway station is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is an important transport 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...
2 hr.; London Paddington or Birmingham New Street 3½ hr.; Edinburgh
Edinburgh Waverley railway station
Edinburgh Waverley railway station is the main railway station in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. Covering an area of over 25 acres in the centre of the city, it is the second-largest main line railway station in the United Kingdom in terms of area, the largest being...
9 hr.
List of stations
- Albert Road HaltAlbert Road Halt railway stationAlbert Road Halt was a railway station in Plymouth in the English county of Devon. It was located between Ford and Devonport Park tunnels.-History:The station was opened by the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway on 1 November 1906...
(1906-1947) PDSWJPlymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction RailwayThe Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway in England was built by an independent company but operated by the London and South Western Railway as part of its main line to give it independent access to Plymouth. It ran from to Devonport Junction, just west of Plymouth North Road... - Billacombe (1898-1930 and 1941-1947) GWRGreat 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...
(Yealmpton branch) - Camel's Head (1906-1942) PDSWJ
- Devonport Albert RoadDevonport railway stationDevonport railway station serves the Devonport area of Plymouth, Devon, England. The station is west of Plymouth railway station on the Cornish Main Line. It is operated by First Great Western.-History:...
(1859) CRCornwall RailwayThe Cornwall Railway was a broad gauge railway from Plymouth in Devon to Falmouth in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The section from Plymouth to Truro opened in 1859, the extension to Falmouth in 1863...
(now just "Devonport") - Devonport Kings RoadDevonport Kings Road railway stationDevonport Kings Road railway station was the London and South Western Railway station in Devonport, Devon, England. It opened in 1876 and closed in 1964...
(1876) LSWR - Dockyard HaltDockyard railway stationDockyard railway station is a First Great Western suburban station on the Cornish Main Line in Devonport, Plymouth, United Kingdom. As the name implies it serves Devonport Dockyard...
(1905) GWR - Elburton Cross (1898-1930 and 1941-1947) GWR (Yealmpton branch)
- Ford (Devon) (1890-1964) PDSWJ
- Ford Halt (1904-1941) GWR on CR line
- KeyhamKeyham railway stationKeyham railway station is a suburban rail station in the city of Plymouth, England. It is served by First Great Western services between Plymouth and Gunnislake and a very few on the Cornish Main Line to Saltash and beyond....
(1900) GWR on CR line - Laira (1848-1849) SDRSouth 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...
- Laira Halt (1904-1930) GWR on SDR line
- Lipson Vale Halt (1904-1942) GWR and LSWR joint
- Lucas Terrace Halt (1905-1951) LSWR (Turnchapel branchTurnchapel BranchThe Turnchapel Branch was a London and South Western Railway single track branch railway line in Devon, England, that ran from to via three intermediate stations, , , and .-History:...
) - Marsh Mills (1861-1962) SD&TRSouth Devon and Tavistock RailwayThe South Devon and Tavistock Railway was a broad gauge railway linking Plymouth with Tavistock in Devon, England. It opened in 1859, was extended by the Launceston and South Devon Railway to Launceston, Cornwall, in 1865, and was closed in 1962....
- Mount Gould and Tothill Halt (1905-1918) GWR (Yealmpton branch)
- Mutley (1871-1939) SDR (joint with LSWR from 1876)
- Oreston (1897-1951) LSWR (Turnchapel branch)
- Plymouth FriaryPlymouth Friary railway stationPlymouth Friary railway station was the London and South Western Railway terminus in Plymouth, Devon, England.-History:London and South Western Railway trains first arrived at Plymouth on 17 May 1876, entering the town from the east...
(1891-1958) PDSWJ - Plymouth MillbayPlymouth Millbay railway stationPlymouth Millbay railway station was the original railway terminus in Plymouth, Devon, England. It was used for passenger trains from 1849 to 1941.- History :...
(1849-1941) GWR - Plymouth North RoadPlymouth railway stationPlymouth railway station serves the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. It is situated on the northern edge of the city centre close to the North Cross roundabout...
(1877) GWR and LSWR joint (now just "Plymouth") - Plymstock (1892-1951) GWR and LSWR joint GWR (Turnchapel and Yealmpton branches)
- Plympton (1848-1959) SDR
- St Budeaux Ferry RoadSt Budeaux Ferry Road railway stationSt Budeaux Ferry Road station is a suburban rail station in St Budeaux, Plymouth, England. It is served by First Great Western services during the rush hour only - the vast majority of services pass through non stop due to the proximity of Victoria Road station...
(1904) GWR on CR line - St Budeaux Victoria RoadSt Budeaux Victoria Road railway stationSt Budeaux Victoria Road railway station is a suburban station in St Budeaux, Plymouth, Devon, England. It is operated by First Great Western but is unstaffed.-History:...
(1890) PDSWJ - Tamerton FoliotTamerton Foliot railway stationTamerton Foliot was a railway station, located on the present-day Tamar Valley Line. It opened in 1890, and closed in 1962....
(1898-1962) PDSWJ - Turnchapel (1897-1951) LSWR (Turnchapel branch)
- Weston Mill Halt (1906-1921) PDSWJ
- Wingfield Villas Halt (1904-1921) GWR on CR line
Dock and harbour lines
River Plym
The River Plym is a river in Devon, England. Its source is some 450m above sea level on Dartmoor, in an upland marshy area called Plym Head. From the upper reaches which contain antiquities and mining remains the river flows roughly southwest and enters the sea near to the city of Plymouth, where...
on the east side of Plymouth, were first served by the P&DR. A standard gauge connection was later established by the LSWR and this is still open for goods traffic, trains having to reverse in a spur outside the old Friary station.
Sutton Harbour, the old harbour in the centre of the town, was also served by a P&DR line to Coxside, on the north-eastern side of the harbour. With the arrival of the SDR in 1848 this line was taken over by the new company but mixed gauge was retained until 1857 after which it became 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 :...
only line; a short branch to a yard at Sutton Harbour, a little to the west of Coxside, was opened at around the same time.
The LSWR opened a route from Friary station to North Quay on 22 October 1879 and this was connected to the GWR's Sutton Harbour yard on 6 November 1879 and trains of both gauges could shunt the quays. These lines carried on beyond North Quay to Sutton Wharf and Vauxhall Quay; a short piece of this mixed gauge track still survives on this section.
The Plymouth Great Western Docks
Millbay
Millbay, also known as Millbay Docks, is an area of dockland in Plymouth, Devon, England. It lies south of Union Street, between West Hoe in the east and Stonehouse in the west.-Early history:Mill Bay was a natural inlet to the west of the Hoe...
, like the broad gauge railways, were engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
and were connected to Millbay station in 1850. Over the years the network of lines were expanded around all sides of the dock. Ocean Special Mail trains were run direct from the docks to London Paddington; it was one of these in 1904 that saw City of Truro exceed 100 mi/h.
The LSWR established their own Ocean Terminal on the west side of Stonehouse Pool, reached by a short branch from their Devonport station. Fast passenger trains ran from here to London Waterloo in connection with trans-Atlantic liners.
The naval dockyards
HMNB Devonport
Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...
at Devonport were connected to the CR at Keyham in 1867. At first these were worked by the CR but the Dockyard built up an extensive locomotive fleet to operate the various yards, including the South Yard which was reached through a tunnel. A free passenger service was operated which had six different classes of accommodation.
Engine sheds
Plymouth Millbay railway station
Plymouth Millbay railway station was the original railway terminus in Plymouth, Devon, England. It was used for passenger trains from 1849 to 1941.- History :...
when the line was extended to there in 1849. This was the main GWR engine shed
Engine shed
Engine shed may refer to:* Engine shed, also called a motive power depot or roundhouse, a structure used for the maintenance of railway locomotives.* Engine Shed , a music and entertainment venue on the University of Lincoln's campus....
at Plymouth until 23 July 1924, although the site was used to stable locomotives until 1931. A small shed was opened in the adjacent docks around 1869 and was used to house the small shunting locomotives used there until about 1955.
A new GWR shed was opened at Laira
Laira TMD
Laira TMD is a railway Traction Maintenance Depot situated in Plymouth, Devon, England. The depot is operated by First Great Western and is mainly concerned with the overhaul and daily servicing of their fleet of High Speed Trains and also the DMUs used on local services...
about 1901 and this was the main shed for the area following the closure of Millbay. It is still in use today, servicing First Great Western
First Great Western
First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
's High Speed Train
High Speed Train
There are three types of trains in Britain that have been traditionally viewed as high speed trains:* Advanced Passenger Train - Tilting trains which never entered into regular revenue-earning service....
s and DMU
Diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
s.
The LSWR opened its main shed at Friary
Plymouth Friary railway station
Plymouth Friary railway station was the London and South Western Railway terminus in Plymouth, Devon, England.-History:London and South Western Railway trains first arrived at Plymouth on 17 May 1876, entering the town from the east...
in 1890 but this was replaced by a new larger shed (close to the later site of Lucas Terrace Halt) in 1908. It was closed in 1963 and its remaining locomotives transferred to Laira. The LSWR also had a smaller shed at Devonport
Devonport Kings Road railway station
Devonport Kings Road railway station was the London and South Western Railway station in Devonport, Devon, England. It opened in 1876 and closed in 1964...
; initially the only shed in the area, it was kept on to provide engines for the Stonehouse Pool line.
Tunnels
Mutley Plain
Mutley Plain is a street in Plymouth, Devon, England. Although Mutley Plain is the main street of the dense suburb called Mutley, the term is often applied to the whole area. The road is a busy dual-carriageway, the B3250, with eight sets of traffic lights/pelican crossings...
) on its approach to North Road station. This tunnel now appears much longer than it really is due to the cutting on the west side being covered by a concrete raft supporting a car park.
The Cornwall line passes through the short Devonport Tunnel just west of Devonport station. The PDSWJ route had two tunnels at a lower level, Devonport Park Tunnel and Ford Tunnel, between which was a short deep cutting which was the location of Albert Road Halt
Albert Road Halt railway station
Albert Road Halt was a railway station in Plymouth in the English county of Devon. It was located between Ford and Devonport Park tunnels.-History:The station was opened by the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway on 1 November 1906...
.
There were also a number of tunnels on the freight lines. The P&DR had a tunnel at Leigham; the Devonport Dockyard lines ran through a tunnel to reach South Yard; and the LSWR's North Quay branch had a tunnel beneath Exeter Street.
Bridges and viaducts
Union Street, Plymouth
Union Street in Plymouth, Devon, is a long straight street connecting the city centre to Devonport, the site of Plymouth's naval base and docks...
immediately beyond the platform end. The arches of this viaduct were rented out to local traders for storage and were even used as a garage for the buses used on the GWR road motor services
GWR road motor services
The Great Western Railway road motor services operated from 1903 to 1933, both as a feeder to their train services, and as a cheaper alternative to building new railways in rural areas...
.
The CR line passed over three of the many Cornwall Railway viaducts
Cornwall Railway viaducts
The large number of Cornwall Railway viaducts were necessitated by the topography of Cornwall, United Kingdom, where hills and areas of high ground are separated by deep river valleys that generally run north or south...
. These were originally built from timber but were all rebuilt in more durable materials between 1899 and 1908. The first was the 321 feet (97.8 m) long Stonehouse Pool viaduct which was rebuilt in brick with iron girders in 1908 and, since it no longer carries trains, its girders have been replaced an abstract artwork that is said to represent the railway as it passes along the Sea Wall
South Devon Railway sea wall
The South Devon Railway sea wall is situated on the south coast of Devon in England. It is probably the most photographed section of railway in the United Kingdom as a footpath runs alongside the railway between Dawlish Warren and Dawlish, and another footpath forms a continuation to the sea front...
. The next two structures were either side of Keyham station. Keyham viaduct (432 ft) was rebuilt in brick with girders in 1899 and further then with steel girders in 1937. The longer Weston Mill viaduct (1,200 ft) crosses Camel's Head creek was replaced in 1903 with short brick viaducts either side of a four-span bowstring girder structure. The railway then crosses 100 feet (30.5 m) above the River Tamar
River Tamar
The Tamar is a river in South West England, that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall . It is one of several British rivers whose ancient name is assumed to be derived from a prehistoric river word apparently meaning "dark flowing" and which it shares with the River Thames.The...
on the 2,187½ feet-long Royal Albert Bridge
Royal Albert Bridge
The Royal Albert Bridge is a railway bridge that spans the River Tamar in the United Kingdom between Plymouth, on the Devon bank, and Saltash on the Cornish bank. Its unique design consists of two lenticular iron trusses above the water, with conventional plate-girder approach spans. This gives...
.
Pennycomequick Viaduct was brought into use on 18 May 1876 with the new Cornwall Loop line. This was built from limestone and joined the western end of Stonehouse Pool Viaduct.