Железная дорога Авосет: История линии Эксет – Эксмут

The Avocet Line is the railway line in Devon, England connecting Exeter with Exmouth. It was originally built by the London and South Western Railway, and was historically known as the Exmouth branch railway. The line follows the Exe Estuary for about half of its route, from just outside Topsham (on the Exmouth end) to Exmouth, giving views of the estuary. The line is named after the pied avocet, which lives in the estuary.

The line was constructed in 1861, connecting the City of Exeter and the port town of Exmouth. Built in two portions by two railway companies, it worked as a single entity.

The City of Exeter lies on the river Exe in Devon, but the river is not navigable as far as the city. Exmouth, eleven miles further south on the east bank of the river at its mouth, became important before the days of railways and reliable roads as the point of arrival for goods by coastal shipping, and the harbour there grew in importance. Topsham, also on the eastern bank of the river and only four miles from Exeter, also shared in growth. The Exeter Ship Canal had been built in the sixteenth century to alleviate this problem, but use of the canal was inconvenient and limited to small vessels. As early as 1825, Exeter merchants held a meeting to discuss the possibility of building a railway connection from Exmouth to the city. At this date there were no other railways nearby, and there was no thought of connecting the line to a network. However the proposal — estimated to cost £50,000 — was discontinued when the Corporation of the City of Exeter agreed to extend the canal southwards to Turf, opposite Topsham, enabling 400 ton vessels to reach the head of the canal by passing a difficult reach of the river channel. In 1845 the Railway Mania was at its height, and two similar schemes for an "Exeter Topsham and Exmouth Railway" were publicised in August of that year. A few months later the Great Western Railway issued a prospectus for a "Great Western & Exeter, Topsham & Exmouth Junction Railway", and the South Devon Railway also issued a prospectus, proposing to run an atmospheric powered broad gauge line from the Exminster pumping station, across the canal and crossing the River Exe on a 14 span viaduct to Topsham, and thence to Exmouth. The financial frenzy subsided and the front running proposal was to build a standard gauge line from about the location of the present day Exeter Central station, following the eastern bank of the river Exe and terminating at Exmouth. Joseph Locke was appointed engineer, and parliamentary authorisation was received on 3 July 1846 for the Exeter and Exmouth Railway. However the promoters had depended upon the standard gauge London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) building a line reaching Exeter; their intention was to lease the line to the L&SWR. The larger company had been planning a line from Dorchester to Exeter, but at this stage they found that they could not finance the long route and cancelled the project, in effect killing the prospects of the E&E company as the powers expired. The planned route of the Exeter and Exmouth scheme was revived in December 1853, and generated considerable support in Exmouth particularly, but the broad gauge interest countered with a revival of its scheme to make a branch from Exminster, crossing the river Exe by viaduct. By this time, broad gauge railways had been in Exeter since 1844, while in 1853 the standard gauge L&SWR was no closer than Salisbury, which it reached by a branch line from Bishopstoke (Eastleigh). Local people therefore considered the broad gauge railways a better partner, and an Exeter and Exmouth Railway Act was passed on 2 July 1855, for the broad gauge line from Exminster to Exmouth, crossing the Exe. The first stages of constructing the line were proceeding and on 1 August 1857 the directors of the company announced that they had arranged with the Bristol and Exeter Railway and the South Devon Railway to lease their line for ten years at £3,000 per annum. However at the shareholder meeting, the shareholders appointed a committee to review the cost of the construction, (estimated at £94,435) and the committee reported back rejecting the lease to the broad gauge interest, and recommending altering the route of the line to join the anticipated route of the L&SWR into Exeter. The L&SWR had by now made real progress in constructing a direct line to Exeter, and its subsidiary, the Yeovil and Exeter Railway, undertook to make a branch line between Exeter and Topsham; the Exeter and Exmouth Company would confine its endeavours to the section between Topsham and Exmouth. The L&SWR would work the entire line for 50% of the gross receipts in proportion to the mileages respectively constructed. The costs of Topsham station and the quay line there would be shared,

By 1903 the network was complete, with a line from Exeter to Exmouth and a line from Sidmouth Junction to Exmouth. From 1906 the L&SWR introduced steam railmotors in the Exeter area to Honiton on the main line, as a response to the competitive threat from street tramways. A new halt was opened at Lions Holt on 26 January 1906, between Exeter Central and Blackboy Tunnel, on the main line. (The halt was renamed St James' Park Halt on 6 October 1946 to emphasise the proximity to the local football ground.) On 31 May 1908 the line between Exmouth Junction and Topsham was doubled. Two Drummond H13 class steam railcars, nos 5 and 6, had been operating local stopping services on the main line to Honiton, and from 1 June 1908 they (and presumably sister units) operated shuttle trains between Exeter Queen Street and Topsham also, with ten services each way (five on Sundays). Two additional halts were opened on the same day. Polsloe Bridge Halt was immediately on the Exmouth side of Exmouth Junction; it was extended in 1927. Clyst St Mary & Digby Halt was made of sleepers; the reference to Digby is to a hospital nearby. The halt was closed on 27 September 1948. In 1916 the shuttle service to Topsham was discontinued and the railmotors withdrawn or transferred. The section between Exeter St Davids and Exeter Central is shared with South Western Railway services on the West of England line to
Between 2006 and 2020 it operated using , 150 or 153 diesel multiple units (DMUs) either singly or in multiple. Between December 2007 and December 2011 DMUs were also used. Since 2020 it has been chiefly operated using 150 or 166 diesel multiple units as 3, or 4 car formations.

The line is double track from Exeter St Davids to Exmouth Junction, but is single thereafter except for a passing loop at Topsham, where many trains are scheduled to cross each other. All movements on the line are under the control of the signal box at Exmouth Junction, which remotely operates the level crossing at Topsham as well as the loop there.

The busiest station on the branch is Exmouth, which is the fifth busiest in Devon. The numbers of passengers using the line each year have shown an increase in particular Digby & Sowton and St James Park. Comparing all stations on the year beginning April 2002 to the Year beginning April 2010 there are a variety of trends. The biggest increases have been at Digby & Sowton by 157% and St James Park with 105%. The increases in descending order from there are Topsham by 89%, Polsloe Bridge by 82%, Exton by 60%, Lympstone Village by 31% and the smallest with Exmouth by 6%. Meanwhile, Lympstone Commando has declined by 33%.