The building and opening of the Crediton to Exeter trainline

The building and opening of the Crediton to Exeter trainline. . Joseph Locke (1805-1860) built the railway line from Exeter to Crediton. He also built the line from London Waterloo to Exeter. Many regard him as a notable English civil engineer of the 19th century; a man who is particularly associated with railway projects. His colleagues Robert Stephenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel may be more well known for their work on the Great Western Railway, however it is Joseph Locke's plaque that you will find here at Crediton Station., The first plans for the Tarka Line started in the 1820s when it was suggested that a railway line be created to run from Crediton to the docks at Exeter Quayside. These initial ideas changed over time., There were a lot of arguments about the line from Exeter to Crediton. There was a delay of 4 years from the line being finished and the first train to run on it. If you look carefully at some of the very old photos you will see there are 3 rails instead of 2. This was to solve the problem of trains of different gauges (width) having to use the line. Now all mainline trains in this country run off the same gauge., Another person important in opening the line to Crediton, was James Wentworth Buller. He lived at Downes hear Crediton and was a local MP. He was active with committees to raise the money to build the line.