The North Devon Railway was a railway company which operated a line from Cowley Bridge Junction, near Exeter, to Bideford in Devon, England, later becoming part of the London and South Western Railway's system. Originally planned as a broad gauge (7 ft 0¼ in, 2,140 mm) feeder to the Bristol & Exeter Railway, it became part of a battle between the broad gauge group and the standard gauge railway interests. In this context, standard gauge lines were often described as narrow gauge.
The original construction in the middle of the nineteenth century was significant in giving rail connection to the important, but remote towns of North Devon that had hitherto relied on the packhorse and coastal shipping. The Exeter to Barnstaple section followed the rivers Yeo and Taw, passing through pleasing countryside, and meandered with the valleys, but passing only very small settlements. It remains open between Exeter and Barnstaple, and passenger trains on the route are branded the Tarka Line for marketing purposes.
The northern extremities turned south to Bideford and Torrington following the coast of the Bristol Channel before turning inland. Part of this section is now a cycleway known as the Tarka Trail.
Plans and debates
Parliamentary battles
In the 1830s, it began to be apparent that railways could substantially improve the prospects of connected towns. Most existing transport was by coastal shipping, by rivers and canals, or by pack horse.
In 1831 promoters in Crediton decided that rail connection to a dock on the tidal River Exe at Exeter was needed, and Parliamentary powers were obtained by Act of 23 June 1832. However no construction actually took place and the powers lapsed.
A public meeting at Barnstaple came to a corresponding conclusion for their town, and proposed a railway to Fremington, and to construct a dock there, avoiding the difficult passage of the River Taw to their town. They obtained the Taw Vale Railway and Dock Act on 11 June 1838, but this scheme too resulted in no actual construction. However, there was enough interest to get the Taw Vale Amendment Act on 21 July 1845 extending the powers and authorising certain additional works.
The Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) reached Exeter, opening on 1 May 1844, putting the city directly in rail communication with London.
At this time it was realised everywhere that railways were needed to connect with the beginnings of a national network. High dividend distributions among the earlier companies provoked a vast number of railway schemes, at a time when it was believed that any district could only support a single railway, and the frenzy this created is known as the railway mania. At the same time, the Great Western Railway (GWR) and its ally the B&ER were built using the broad gauge, while nearly all large competing companies used the standard gauge (often referred to as the narrow gauge in contrast). If a new independent local scheme was being promoted, securing its chosen gauge to be broad or narrow also secured its allegiance to one or the other of the larger companies, and in turn this might secure further territorial exclusivity for the winner. This continuing process became known as the gauge wars.
In 1845 the railway mania resulted in a huge number of competing schemes being proposed in Parliament, which arranged for a Railway Commission led by Lord Dalhousie to review competing proposals and recommend a selected scheme for each area. The commission was informally referred to at the time as the Five Kings. In addition, because of difficulties in operating a national network with railways using different gauges, a Gauge Commission was set up to propose policy on the gauge question.
Schemes put forward for the consideration of Dalhousie's included a new Exeter and Crediton Railway (to join Crediton to the B&ER at Exeter) and a North Devon Railway to run from Crediton to Barnstaple. The Commission rejected all other proposals for the area, and in a report dated 4 March 1845 they recommended postponement of a decision on these two in order to appraise an alternative route suggestion, to run from Tiverton to Barnstaple instead of Exeter to Barnstaple. The Taw Vale Dock and Railway from Barnstaple to Fremington was of course already authorised.
Crediton had observed the arrival of the B&ER at Exeter and developed a scheme to run from their town to join the B&ER at Cowley Bridge. Surprisingly in view of Dalhousie's recommendation, they got their Act of Parliament on 21 July 1845, with authorised capital of £70,000. The track gauge was not specified. The new Company intended to lease their line to the B&ER.