Editing Avocet Line (section)

===A series of false starts===
[[File:Exmouth branch 1861.gif|thumb|left|Exmouth branch railways in 1861]]
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.<ref name = Otter>{{cite book| first=R.A.| last=Otter| title=Civil Engineering Heritage: Southern England| publisher=Thomas Telford Limited| location=London| year=1994| isbn=07277-1971-8}}</ref>{{page needed|date=March 2017}}

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 Company|South Devon Railway]] also issued a prospectus, proposing to run an [[Atmospheric railway|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 authorisation was received in the '''{{visible anchor|Exeter and Exmouth Railway Act 1846}}''' 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 1855]] 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,<ref name = phillips>{{cite book| first=Derek| last=Phillips| title=From Salisbury to Exeter: The Branch Lines| publisher=Oxford Publishing Company| location=Shepperton| year=2000| isbn=0-86093-546-9}}</ref>{{page needed|date=March 2017}}<ref name = williams>{{cite book| first=R.A.| last=Williams| title=The London & South Western Railway: Volume 1: The Formative Years| publisher=David & Charles| location=Newton Abbot| year=1968}}</ref>{{page needed|date=March 2017}}