609:
171:
555:. An agreement was made with the LSWR, under which that company would provide the locomotives and stock required and operate the trains for 42.5% of the gross receipts. After twenty years this would be converted into a lease at a fixed price to be set once the traffic levels and costs had been determined. The 57.5% remaining with the S&YR was to pay the capital costs including a dividend to the shareholders. This was paid in two annual instalments and was never less than 4.25% per annum; in the last five years it was in excess of 8%
327:. The station for this line was at a lower level than the S&YR but a junction was established to allow traffic to be exchanged. This was a rather unusual arrangement that entailed Dorset trains reversing into the S&YR station on a line alongside the main line. This space was needed for doubling the Salisbury line in 1870 so a new Templecombe Junction Railway was built by the S&YR that allowed trains from the north to run directly into the main line station. In 1874 the lower line, by now the
312:
707:
231:
take up half the shares, guarantee a 4% return on the shareholders' investment, and operate the trains. However a large faction in the LSWR now preferred the coastal route that could use the already constructed line to
Dorchester, while still others opposed westward extension by any route. Another independent company now put forward their own proposals for a Salisbury and Yeovil Railway, and they were rewarded by the
239:
158:" of the 1840s, it proved to be one of the most profitable railways in the United Kingdom. This was in part due to carrying all LSWR trains to the south west, and in part due to the very good terms agreed for the LSWR to operate the trains. When the company finally sold out to the LSWR in 1878, it held out for a price which saw the
736:. The section from Wilton to Templecombe has reverted to single track with passing loops at Tisbury and Gillingham. Of the original eight stations (excluding Salisbury), only those at Tisbury, Gillingham, Templecombe, and Sherborne remain open. Templecombe was closed from 1966 to 1983 and nothing remains of the original station.
648:. To get to here, the summit of the line 260 feet (79 m) above Salisbury, the line had been climbing steadily, mostly at gentle gradients and nowhere steeper than 1 in 120 (0.8%), but from Semley the line dropped down at grades as steep as 1 in 100 (1%) to Gillingham (21.7 mi (34.9 km)).
580:
The chairman of the company was Henry Dandy
Seymour. He died in 1877 and was succeeded by John Chapman. The secretary was Mr H Notman, who held the second largest block of voting shares. Another notable shareholder was Louis H Ruegg, who persuaded his fellow shareholders to reject the LSWR buy-out
250:
to
Salisbury. This had been proposed in the 1830s, authorised in 1846 but, like the original Salisbury and Yeovil line, had not been constructed. To get these renewed powers the company was forced by Parliament to commit to building the Yeovil to Exeter extension, and so the nominally independent
230:
The large number of new railway schemes approved at that time caused an economic depression; it proved difficult to raise the money needed for the work and so the powers lapsed. Three years later an independent company tried to raise the money for a
Salisbury to Exeter line and the LSWR agreed to
214:
which would have been in direct competition with either of the two proposed LSWR routes. Both companies applied for powers to construct new lines in 1846; the LSWR for a line from
Basingstoke to Yeovil and both companies for different lines from Yeovil to Exeter. Neither was approved and so new
571:
who bought a single £100 share at face value when issued and retained it until 1878 would have received £120 5s in dividends. Once it had been exchanged for LSWR shares they could be sold for £347 16s or retained to bring an annual income of £13 in dividends. This has caused modern
562:
The line cost £500,758 (equivalent to £59,412,277 as of 2023), to construct and when it was completed the LSWR had an option to purchase it for £567,000. In 1872 they offered to exchange £100 of S&YR shares for LSWR preference shares with a market value of £170 which would pay
651:
The line then climbed on similar grades for 2.5 mi (4.0 km) up to
Buckhorn Weston Tunnel. This was 742 yards (678 m) long, the only tunnel between Salisbury and Yeovil. It proved difficult to construct, with many problems due to water and soft ground.
198:. A great debate then started within the LSWR about whether to extend further west through Salisbury (the shorter "central route" or through Dorchester (the more populous "coastal route"). The rival
251:
Salisbury and Yeovil would link two otherwise isolated sections of the LSWR. The LSWR therefore agreed to subscribe to the shares, and to work the trains in return for 42.5% of the receipts.
671:
station (30.9 mi (49.7 km)). Apart from one short climb approaching Yeovil, it was now downhill all the way and the steepest gradient on the line is found here, dropping down to
592:, he served as engineer to the LSWR until 1849 but left them as he preferred the central route to Exeter rather than the coastal one proposed at the time. Stations were designed by
974:
725:
148:
678:
At
Bradford Abbas (38.5 mi (62.0 km)) the Yeovil line parted company with the LSWR main line to Exeter, swinging north-westward to cross over the GWR's
625:
979:
745:
216:
143:. Its trains were operated by the LSWR and it was sold to that company in 1878. Apart from a short section in Yeovil it remains open and carries the
984:
679:
203:
994:
621:
259:
567:
dividend; the S&YR shareholders turned this down. In
January 1878 they accepted a new offer of £250 of LSWR preference shares. A
989:
952:
845:
809:
660:
328:
220:
733:
195:
132:
51:
698:
station. This track was retained for goods traffic even after the passenger traffic at
Hendford had transferred to Yeovil Town.
686:
terminus (40 miles (64 km)). For the first year, until the Town station was completed, the railway continued alongside the
215:
applications were made in 1847, and after a mammoth 50-day hearing it was decided that the LSWR scheme was the better. Both the
343:
332:
608:
283:
559:. The LSWR itself owned 10,000 of the shares; it nominated two directors but had no voting powers at shareholders meetings.
232:
187:
629:
683:
664:
324:
275:
247:
914:
170:
691:
668:
339:. This brought even more traffic onto the S&YR in the form of goods and passengers from the North to the LSWR.
267:
719:
672:
617:
305:
263:
255:
183:
144:
695:
271:
729:
637:
564:
342:
Bradford Abbas
Junction was closed on 1 January 1870, after which time all trains to Yeovil had to run via
711:
641:
633:
320:
199:
191:
108:
999:
861:
687:
572:
historians to describe the company as "the most successful of all railways in Southern England".
116:
624:
and was next door to the existing GWR station. The line ran north-westwards close to the GWR's
311:
948:
841:
805:
589:
548:
131:) in England. Opened in stages in 1859 and 1860, it formed a bridge route between the main
1004:
552:
336:
581:
offer of 1872. He was a local journalist and published a history of the company in 1878.
706:
667:(28.5 mi (45.9 km)) was mid-way up the next climb, which ended shortly before
872:
656:
655:
The line drops steeply for a couple of miles, followed by a brief level section in the
597:
279:
968:
211:
155:
206:
as an alternative route to Dorchester, which was to be built from the north through
593:
585:
287:
224:
867:
645:
568:
179:
159:
63:
868:"The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)"
304:
miles (4 km) westwards from Salisbury, and 4 miles (6 km) east from
238:
112:
194:. Within a few years efforts started on work to extend from Southampton to
682:
on a bridge, then dropping down alongside this before heading west to the
140:
128:
286:
had opened on 19 July 1860. Although initially just a single track with
636:(8.4 mi (13.5 km) from Salisbury). The next stations were at
207:
124:
120:
705:
607:
310:
237:
169:
136:
278:
was opened on 1 June 1861. In the meantime, the LSWR's line from
266:
on 7 May 1860, and finally to Yeovil on 1 June 1860. It used the
628:
almost the whole 2.6 miles (4.2 km) to the first station,
600:, although he sub-contracted the actual work to other people.
616:
The railway made an end-on junction with the LSWR at its new
246:
The LSWR now applied for powers for a direct line from near
217:
London and South Western Railway (Salibury and Yeovil) Act
596:. The actual construction of the line was contracted to
620:, which opened on the same day in 1859 as the line to
353:
346:. In January 1878 the company was sold to the LSWR.
210:. It also proposed a connecting line from Yeovil to
93:
62:
57:
47:
39:
31:
26:
675:(34.5 mi (55.5 km)) at 1 in 80 (1.25%).
182:in 1840 and a branch line was opened in 1848 from
162:receive more than the face value of their shares.
308:. The whole route was doubled within ten years.
644:(17.6 mi (28.3 km)), the station for
8:
331:and part-owned by the LSWR, was extended to
315:The new junction arrangements at Templecombe
290:at stations, work started in 1861 to double
254:The line opened in three stages. From a new
21:
915:"Table 160: London to Salisbury and Exeter"
831:
829:
827:
825:
823:
821:
795:
793:
791:
789:
724:Most of the line remains open and carries
864:inflation figures are based on data from
773:
771:
769:
767:
765:
763:
761:
746:Southern Railway routes west of Salisbury
221:Exeter, Yeovil and Dorchester Railway Act
975:Railway companies disestablished in 1878
840:. Sparkford: Oxford Publishing Company.
632:. Here the S&YR turned west towards
836:Phillips, Derek; Pryer, George (1997).
757:
640:(12.6 mi (20.3 km)) and then
174:The commemorative plaque at Gillingham
20:
551:of the railway was divided into £100
335:where a connection was made with the
7:
204:Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway
235:which was passed on 7 August 1854.
922:Electronic National Rail Timetable
14:
680:Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth line
661:Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
329:Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
154:Despite being founded after the "
16:Former railway company in England
980:London and South Western Railway
896:The Salisbury and Yeovil Railway
233:Salisbury and Yeovil Railway Act
135:(LSWR) network and its lines in
133:London and South Western Railway
52:London and South Western Railway
1:
924:. Network Rail. December 2009
802:Yeovil, 150 Years of Railways
262:on 1 May 1859; from there to
947:. Bristol: Redcliffe Press.
838:The Salisbury to Exeter Line
105:Salisbury and Yeovil Railway
22:Salisbury and Yeovil Railway
985:Rail transport in Wiltshire
894:St John Thomas, D. (1960).
584:The railway's engineer was
276:Yeovil Town railway station
1021:
995:Rail transport in Somerset
717:
692:Bristol and Exeter Railway
274:station until a new joint
268:Bristol and Exeter Railway
178:The LSWR was completed to
945:Somerset Railway Stations
720:West of England Main Line
618:Salisbury railway station
202:(GWR) was supporting the
145:London Waterloo to Exeter
990:Rail transport in Dorset
902:The History of a Railway
780:The History of a Railway
778:Ruegg, Louis H. (1878).
728:'s hourly services from
694:to reach that company's
659:. The junction with the
866:Clark, Gregory (2017).
588:. Once an assistant to
900:(facsimile reprint of
804:. Usk: Oakwood Press.
800:Jackson, B.L. (2003).
715:
613:
321:Dorset Central Railway
316:
243:
242:Railways around Yeovil
175:
943:Oakley, Mike (2006).
726:South Western Railway
709:
626:Salisbury Branch Line
611:
314:
241:
200:Great Western Railway
173:
149:South Western Railway
97:40 miles (64 km)
284:Exeter Queen Street
23:
862:Retail Price Index
716:
714:train at Sherborne
702:Surviving features
688:Yeovil Branch Line
614:
612:Gillingham station
557:(see table, right)
317:
244:
176:
40:Dates of operation
590:Robert Stephenson
545:
544:
256:Fisherton station
227:on 22 July 1848.
101:
100:
1012:
959:
958:
940:
934:
933:
931:
929:
919:
911:
905:
899:
891:
885:
884:
882:
880:
858:
852:
851:
833:
816:
815:
797:
784:
783:
775:
734:Exeter St Davids
524:
513:
502:
491:
480:
469:
458:
447:
436:
425:
414:
403:
392:
381:
370:
354:
303:
302:
298:
295:
258:in Salisbury to
88:
84:
82:
81:
77:
74:
24:
1020:
1019:
1015:
1014:
1013:
1011:
1010:
1009:
965:
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963:
962:
955:
942:
941:
937:
927:
925:
917:
913:
912:
908:
904:, Introduction)
893:
892:
888:
878:
876:
865:
859:
855:
848:
835:
834:
819:
812:
799:
798:
787:
777:
776:
759:
754:
742:
730:London Waterloo
722:
704:
606:
578:
522:
511:
500:
489:
478:
467:
456:
445:
434:
423:
412:
401:
390:
379:
368:
352:
344:Yeovil Junction
337:Midland Railway
333:Bath Green Park
300:
296:
293:
291:
188:Milford station
168:
86:
79:
75:
72:
70:
69:4 ft
68:
43:1859–1878
17:
12:
11:
5:
1018:
1016:
1008:
1007:
1002:
997:
992:
987:
982:
977:
967:
966:
961:
960:
953:
935:
906:
886:
873:MeasuringWorth
853:
846:
817:
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785:
756:
755:
753:
750:
749:
748:
741:
738:
718:Main article:
703:
700:
657:Blackmoor Vale
605:
602:
598:Thomas Brassey
577:
574:
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539:
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531:
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366:
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348:
280:Bradford Abbas
167:
164:
99:
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90:
66:
60:
59:
55:
54:
49:
45:
44:
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15:
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2:
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988:
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978:
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954:1-904537-54-5
950:
946:
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923:
916:
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907:
903:
897:
890:
887:
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874:
869:
863:
857:
854:
849:
847:0-86093-525-6
843:
839:
832:
830:
828:
826:
824:
822:
818:
813:
811:0-85361-612-4
807:
803:
796:
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790:
786:
781:
774:
772:
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768:
766:
764:
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758:
751:
747:
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743:
739:
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731:
727:
721:
713:
708:
701:
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697:
693:
689:
685:
681:
676:
674:
670:
669:Milborne Port
666:
662:
658:
653:
649:
647:
643:
639:
635:
631:
627:
623:
619:
610:
603:
601:
599:
595:
591:
587:
582:
576:Key personnel
575:
573:
570:
566:
560:
558:
554:
550:
540:
537:
536:
532:
529:
528:
521:
518:
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367:
364:
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356:
355:
349:
347:
345:
340:
338:
334:
330:
326:
322:
313:
309:
307:
289:
288:passing loops
285:
281:
277:
273:
269:
265:
261:
257:
252:
249:
240:
236:
234:
228:
226:
222:
218:
213:
209:
205:
201:
197:
193:
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181:
172:
165:
163:
161:
157:
156:Railway Mania
152:
150:
146:
142:
138:
134:
130:
126:
122:
118:
114:
110:
106:
96:
92:
87:1,435 mm
67:
65:
61:
56:
53:
50:
46:
42:
38:
34:
30:
25:
19:
944:
938:
926:. Retrieved
921:
909:
901:
895:
889:
877:. Retrieved
871:
856:
837:
801:
779:
723:
677:
654:
650:
615:
594:William Tite
586:Joseph Locke
583:
579:
561:
556:
546:
341:
319:In 1861 the
318:
282:Junction to
253:
245:
229:
225:Royal assent
177:
160:shareholders
153:
104:
102:
18:
928:14 December
684:Yeovil Town
665:Templecombe
646:Shaftesbury
569:shareholder
325:Templecombe
323:arrived at
248:Basingstoke
184:Bishopstoke
180:Southampton
147:service of
64:Track gauge
969:Categories
752:References
622:Gillingham
563:£7 10
260:Gillingham
196:Dorchester
117:Gillingham
1000:Salisbury
712:Class 159
673:Sherborne
360:Dividend
306:Sherborne
264:Sherborne
223:received
192:Salisbury
113:Wiltshire
109:Salisbury
58:Technical
48:Successor
740:See also
696:Hendford
350:Finances
272:Hendford
141:Cornwall
129:Somerset
83: in
27:Overview
690:of the
638:Tisbury
549:capital
533:11.25%
393:4.625%
371:4.375%
299:⁄
166:History
107:linked
78:⁄
35:England
1005:Yeovil
951:
844:
808:
642:Semley
634:Dinton
630:Wilton
553:shares
541:12.5%
525:9.75%
514:8.75%
503:8.75%
492:7.25%
481:6.75%
470:6.25%
459:6.25%
448:6.25%
415:5.25%
382:4.25%
212:Exeter
208:Yeovil
125:Yeovil
123:) and
121:Dorset
94:Length
32:Locale
918:(PDF)
879:7 May
604:Route
437:6.5%
426:6.5%
137:Devon
949:ISBN
930:2009
881:2024
842:ISBN
806:ISBN
547:The
538:1877
530:1876
519:1875
508:1874
497:1873
486:1872
475:1871
464:1870
453:1869
442:1868
431:1867
420:1866
409:1865
398:1864
387:1863
376:1862
365:1861
357:Year
219:and
139:and
103:The
860:UK
732:to
663:at
404:5%
270:’s
190:in
186:to
115:),
971::
920:.
870:.
820:^
788:^
760:^
710:A
151:.
957:.
932:.
898:.
883:.
850:.
814:.
782:.
565:s
523:0
512:0
501:0
490:0
479:0
468:0
457:0
446:0
435:0
424:0
413:0
402:0
391:0
380:0
369:0
301:2
297:1
294:+
292:2
127:(
119:(
111:(
89:)
85:(
80:2
76:1
73:+
71:8
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