The Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway (PD&SWJR) was an English railway company. It constructed a main line railway between Lydford and Devonport, in Devon, England, enabling the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) to reach Plymouth more conveniently than before.
The line was worked by the as part of its own system, but the adopted the East Cornwall Mineral Railway which connected Kelly Bray and Calstock, and connected it to the main line at Bere Alston. This became the Callington branch, and the R operated the line itself through a subsidiary company.
In the 1960s, the main line from Lydford closed, as did the western end of the Callington line, but the section from St Budeaux to remains open and the passenger operation is known as the Tamar Valley Line.
History
Plymouth over the South Devon Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) and its "associated companies", the Bristol and Exeter Railway and the South Devon Railway (SDR), had connected Plymouth and London in 1849, giving the broad gauge group dominance over a large area. In 1859 a line was opened connecting Tavistock to the near Plymouth; this was the South Devon and Tavistock Railway, and it was taken over by the in 1865. An affiliated company, the Launceston and South Devon Railway, extended the line to Launceston via Lidford (later spelt Lydford). The entire line from Launceston to Plymouth was controlled by the .
The rival London and South Western Railway (LSWR) sought to reach Plymouth too; it planned an approach by a northern alignment from Exeter through Okehampton, encouraging the friendly Devon and Cornwall Railway Company to build the line; the took the smaller company over on 1 January 1872. The chosen course had to penetrate difficult terrain with little population, and at first it limited its ambitions to reaching Lidford: at first only to a terminus there adjacent to the station, reached in 1876.
Although this was a disappointment, it enabled other tactical agreements to be made with the South Devon Railway Company, and avoided a difficult parliamentary battle; as part of the agreement that the would abandon certain authorised extensions, the granted running powers over its line between Lidford and Devonport, and agreed to build a connecting line in Plymouth (the Cornwall Loop) and a Plymouth station at North Road. The built a new terminal station (approached from the east) at Devonport, so that down passenger trains approaching the area ran east-to-west through the North Road station, via the Cornwall Loop to the Devonport terminus. A Plymouth goods station at Friary on the east side of the city was also built at this time.R A Williams, The London and South Western Railway - Volume 2: Growth and Consolidation, David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1973,
Relying on facilities provided by a competitor was always unsatisfactory: the naturally gave precedence to its own trains; its Tavistock line had been laid out as a branch line only, with sharp curves and heavy gradients; and the was to be paid 10½d in every shilling (87.5%) of income on the line.Stephen Fryer, The Building of the Plymouth Devonport and South Western Junction Railway, self-published 1997, Moreover, the was progressively doubling the track on its Devon lines, and the SDR section, remaining single with the 's own traffic as well as the LSWR's, was increasingly seen as an obstruction.John Nicholas and George Reeve, The Okehampton Line, Irwell Press Ltd, Clophill, 2008,
Proposals for a connecting line
Local interests promoted a (D&CCR) which obtained an authorising act of Parliament, the (45 & 46 Vict. c. ccxxviii), on 18 August 1882 to build a line from Lidford to Calstock, where it would join an existing short mineral line, the East Cornwall Mineral Railway (ECMR),The ran from Kelly Bray to the quayside on the Tamar at Calstock. which it would purchase and convert it to full railway standards. The would therefore reach the Tamar at Calstock and get to Callington.
In the 1883 session, the sought powers to extend the authorised line from Gunnislake to run via Beer Alston (later spelt Bere Alston) and Tamerton Foliot to the Devonport terminus of the ; that line would give the the independent access it required to Plymouth.
In the same session, the Plymouth Devonport and South Western Junction Railway (PD&SWJR) sought powers for a line linking Lidford and Devonport via Tavistock and Beer Ferris (later spelt Bere Ferrers), as well as several branches connecting to other lines, including the line authorised in 1882.
The proposal alienated many potential supporters: in particular, it was not to pass through the important town of Tavistock (to avoid generating parliamentary opposition from the , who were already serving the town). The bill was successful, receiving royal assent as the (46 & 47 Vict. c. ccxxx) on 25 August 1883; authorised capital was £750,000; the act of Parliament authorised a new independent line in Plymouth connecting Friary and Devonport stations, and with a large central Plymouth station east of Tavistock road; the connecting link from Devonport to Lidford; the branch to the line authorised in 1882 near Calstock; and connections to the Dockyard at Devonport. Running powers were granted over the short harbour lines of the in Plymouth. An agreement was made with the for them to operate the line for 50% of gross receipts. A further act of Parliament, the (47 & 48 Vict. c. ccxxxi) of 7 August 1884 authorised the purchase of the and abandonment of its Lidford to Calstock line; a clause was inserted obliging the to purchase the East Cornwall Mineral Railway within a year of opening to Devonport.
Construction The construction of the main line posed significant engineering challenges due to the difficult terrain, and it took some time to gain the necessary subscriptions; the first sod was not cut until 29 March 1887. The contract sum was £793,000 including land acquisition.
The Tavistock station was intended to be at the Launceston road on the northern margin of the town, but local people presented a petition and were successful in altering its location, costing an additional £2,000 due to the need to build special access arrangements.
The line involved three tunnels and seven viaducts, as well as 76 bridges in its 22 miles (35 km). The need to enter the Devonport terminus from the west end, through a residential area, posed particular difficulties, as did the tidal mud inlets in the southern section.
Opening Major Marindin of the Board of Trade inspected the main line for approval to open on 23 April 1890. A number of improvements were required, and goods traffic (not subject to the conditions) commenced on 12 May. Passenger traffic started on 1 June 1890.
The route from London to Plymouth was 16 miles (28 km) shorter than the route; the latter still ran via Bristol (until 1906). The 11:00 express from Waterloo now arrived at Plymouth North Road at 4:45 p.m. (16:45).
On 1 July 1891, the Friary passenger terminus was opened; when running over the Tavistock line, passenger trains arriving in the area had run through Plymouth from east to west, calling at the Mutley and Plymouth North Road stations, and terminating at the Devonport terminus. Now they arrived at Devonport, made into a through station, and ran through Plymouth from west to east, continuing to call at Plymouth North Road and once again at Mutley, and turning into the new Friary passenger terminus. The Friary goods station was improved as part of the work, and goods trains also ran through Plymouth North Road.
At this time, the route from Exeter to Penzance was broad gauge, with mixed gauge provided where required for trains. However the broad gauge was to be abolished, and in a massive operation in May 1892 the gauge was converted. The first narrow gaugePrior to this time the two principal gauges were called broad gauge and narrow gauge respectively; increasingly from this time the narrow gauge was regarded as the standard, and the term standard gauge became the normal designation. Night Mail train from Paddington to Plymouth was passed over the Okehampton line and the on the night of 20/21 May 1892; from the night of 23/24 May, the was able to revert to its own route throughout on its newly relaid standard gauge.
Plymouth suburban traffic The energetically developed suburban traffic in the greater Plymouth area, running a relatively frequent stopping service between Friary and St Budeaux. The rise of street-running passenger tramways in Plymouth from 1872 posed a competitive threat, and this accelerated when electric trams were introduced in 1899. The responded by introducing railmotors, single passenger coaches with an integrated steam power unit, on 26 September 1906, with additional halts opened on 1 November that year. The service proved popular, and in some cases the railmotors themselves were replaced by conventional trains because of capacity problems. Nonetheless, street-running public passenger transport achieved gradual dominance, and the found that outer suburban services were more beneficial.
Lydford link removed In 1915, the connection from the line to the line was removed; exchange facilities through the sidings remained.
The Callington branch
The East Cornwall Mineral Railway (ECMR) had opened a narrow gauge line from Kelly Bray to Calstock quay (on the River Tamar, concerned chiefly with mineral extraction. That short line lay about 4 miles (7 km) from the line, and the obtained powers as part of the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway Act 1884 (47 & 48 Vict. c. ccxxxi) to acquire the and to connect it with its main line. After some considerable delay it took active steps to do so, obtaining authorisation by the Bere Alston and Calstock Light Railway Order 1900 of 12 July 1900 to build the connecting line, and to operate the line (but not the incline to the Tamar quay) as a passenger line; the gauge was to be 3 ft 6in. The estimated cost was £74,014, because of the necessity to cross the River Tamar on a high viaduct.
There was little interest in subscribing to this venture and after further inactivity the was persuaded to subscribe the capital, receiving 3% guaranteed shares. Application was made to Parliament and the Bere Alston and Calstock Light Railway was established as a separate company by the (2 Edw. 7. c. xxx) of 23 June 1902, capital £135,000. A further light railway order, the of 12 October 1905, authorised the adoption of the standard gauge on the line, implying conversion of the existing East Cornwall Mineral line.Roger Crombleholme, Douglas Stuckey and C F D Whetmath, Callington Railways, Branch Line Handbooks, Teddington, 1967Williams, volume 2, page 274Christopher Awdry, Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies, Patrick Stephens Limited, Wellingborough, 1990,
The branch was engineered under the supervision of Colonel Stephens with the consulting engineers Galbraith and Church; it had to cross the River Tamar at Calstock at a high level and the construction took a considerable time, finally opening on 2 March 1908. The conversion of the gauge of the old line had taken only two days. The had used a rope-worked incline to reach the Tamar quay at Calstock; the incline was abandoned and a wagon lift was provided to move wagons to the quay.
An approach was made to the inviting them to work the line, but the PD&SWJR were advised to work it themselves, which they did.
Passenger stations were:
Bere Alston; station on the main line Calstock Gunnislake; at the site of the former Drakewalls Depot Chilsworthy; opened 1 June 1909 Latchley Seven Stones; opened 15 June 1910; closed September 1917 Stoke Climsland; formerly Monk's Corner; renamed Luckett 1 November 1909 Callington Road; formerly Kelly Bray; renamed Callington for Stoke Climsland 1 November 1909.