Bristol & Exeter Railway

Bristol and Exeter Railway

Exeter in 1844. William Spreat's print shows the original Exeter station before the South Devon Railway was opened.
Dates of operation	1844–1876
Successor	Great Western Railway
Track gauge	7 ft (2,134 mm)
Headquarters	Bristol

The Bristol & Exeter Railway (B&ER) was an English railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter. It was built on the broad gauge and its engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It opened in stages between 1841 and 1844. It was allied with the Great Western Railway (GWR), which built its main line between London and Bristol, and in time formed part of a through route between London and Cornwall.

It became involved in the gauge wars, a protracted and expensive attempt to secure territory against rival companies supported by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) which used the narrow gauge, later referred to as standard gauge.

At first it contracted with the GWR for that company to work the line, avoiding the expense of acquiring locomotives, but after that arrangement expired in 1849, the B&ER operated its own line. It opened a number of branches within the general area it served: to Clevedon, Cheddar, Wells, Weston-super-Mare, Chard, Yeovil and Tiverton.

The B&ER was financially successful but amalgamated with the GWR in 1876, the combined company being called the Great Western Railway.

The Great Western Railway (GWR) obtained its authorising Act of Parliament in 1835, to build its line between London and Bristol. The merchants of Bristol were anxious to secure a railway route to Exeter, an important commercial centre and a port on the English Channel, giving easier shipping connections to continental Europe. They promoted the Bristol and Exeter Railway and when they issued a prospectus on 1 October 1835, they had little difficulty in securing subscriptions for the £1.5 million scheme.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel was appointed engineer—he was also engineer to the GWR—and his assistant William Gravatt surveyed the route, leading to presentation of a Parliamentary Bill for the 1836 session. The Bill had an easy passage and was enacted on 19 May 1836. The Act did not specify the gauge of the track; branches at Bridgwater and to Tiverton were authorised. Notwithstanding the apparent family connection to the neighbouring GWR, none of the B&ER directors was also a GWR director at this time. The GWR was still under construction.