The Brixham Branch Railway

By Chris Potts

Built and financed by Richard Wolston, a Brixham solicitor, the Torbay & Brixham Railway from Churston to Brixham opened on 28th February, 1868 and was from the beginning worked (i.e. they supplied the staff and equipment) by the South Devon Railway which had its headquarters in Plymouth. In 1870 Richard Wolston was declared insolvent, the cost of giving Brixham its railway having broken him financially. The railway continued to be run by other members of his family. After the Great Western Railway took over the South Devon Railway in 1876, the T&B became truly independent, providing staff and hiring equipment. But it was a struggle to survive and in 1883 the GWR bought it for a bargain £12,000, only half of what it had cost to build.

An engine shed was provided at Brixham and until about 1896 one driver and one fireman worked the entire branch service, meaning a 15 hour day, including meal breaks! Until 1892 the single track line was broad gauge (7ft 0¼ in.) but in that year it was converted to the now standard gauge of 4ft 8 ½ in. In 1899 the signalling was improved, enabling more than one train to be at Brixham at one time, but with its single platform it was never possible to have more than one passenger train there at once. Brixham station, above South Furzeham Road , was supplied with water from a leat, or stream, in the town, the water being pumped up 135ft by water wheel to the engine shed tank. There were tremendous difficulties in obtaining enough water to keep the engines going, often in the summer water tenders had to be sent from Newton Abbot (by rail) to keep the engines going. The provision of a mains water tower at Churston in 1910 eased the situation somewhat.

In 1929 the engine shed was closed and afterwards an engine came daily from Newton Abbot, although one driver and fireman were based at Brixham until the end of steam in 1961. Despite strong competition from the buses from the late 1920s, passenger traffic held up until World War II. A severe cut back in train services caused by a coal shortage in 1951 halved what remained of passenger traffic and it never recovered. People simply transferred to the more convenient buses. Fish traffic and inwards coal for domestic use were really the mainstay of the branch after World War II and these continued at a good level right up until the line closed. In 1948 the Labour Government nationalized the railways and the GWR became British Railways, Western Region.

Steam was replaced by diesel in 1961, normally a single car but a bigger train was provided on Summer Saturdays. In 1962 the Western Region decided to close the line entirely, but it was agreed to wait until after Dr Beeching's report on the viability of the whole system was presented in 1963. Sadly, the last train ran on 11th May, 1963. The station site is now a housing estate, although most of the line could be reopened if one or two bridges were rebuilt. However, the writer considers that this possibility is remote.

In 2000 the nearest Brixham has to a railway is the excellent model of the station, with working auto-train, opened at Brixham Museum in April 2000. It is well worth a visit to see this and try and imagine the atmosphere of this once busy terminus. The smell of fish was always present, the sea gulls wheeled overhead, and in term time the sound of children in the adjacent Furzeham School playground was another feature of the place.

Much more information on the Brixham Branch can be found in this writer's new edition of ‘The Brixham Branch' published by The Oakwood Press, PO Box 13 , Usk, Mon., NP15 1YS at £11.95. It is available from good bookshops, the Brixham Museum or direct from the publisher.