Salisbury and Yeovil Railway
Overview | |
---|---|
Locale | England |
Dates of operation | 1859–1878 |
Successor | London and South Western Railway |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
Length | 40 miles (64 km) |
The Salisbury and Yeovil Railway linked
Despite being founded after the "Railway Mania" 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 shareholders receive more than the face value of their shares.
History
The LSWR was completed to
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 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 an Act of Parliament on 7 August 1854.[1][page needed]
The LSWR now applied for powers for a direct line from near Basingstoke 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 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.[1][page needed]
The line opened in three stages. From a new
In 1861 the
Bradford Abbas Junction was closed on 1 January 1870, after which time all trains to Yeovil had to run via Yeovil Junction. In January 1878 the company was sold to the LSWR.[3][page needed]
Finances
Year | Dividend |
---|---|
1861 | 4.375% |
1862 | 4.25% |
1863 | 4.625% |
1864 | 5% |
1865 | 5.25% |
1866 | 6.5% |
1867 | 6.5% |
1868 | 6.25% |
1869 | 6.25% |
1870 | 6.25% |
1871 | 6.75% |
1872 | 7.25% |
1873 | 8.75% |
1874 | 8.75% |
1875 | 9.75% |
1876 | 11.25% |
1877 | 12.5% |
The capital of the railway was divided into £100 shares. 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% (see table, right). The LSWR itself owned 10,000 of the shares; it nominated two directors but had no voting powers at shareholders meetings.[1][page needed]
The line cost £500,758 (equivalent to £50,040,582 as of 2021),[4] 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 £7 10s dividend; the S&YR shareholders turned this down. In January 1878 they accepted a new offer of £250 of LSWR preference shares. A shareholder 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.[1][page needed] This has caused modern historians to describe the company as "the most successful of all railways in Southern England".[5]
Key personnel
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 offer of 1872. He was a local journalist and published a history of the company in 1878.[1][page needed]
The railway's engineer was Joseph Locke. Once an assistant to Robert Stephenson, 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.[2][page needed] Stations were designed by William Tite.[3][page needed] The actual construction of the line was contracted to Thomas Brassey, although he sub-contracted the actual work to other people.[2][page needed]
Route
The railway made an end-on junction with the LSWR at its new
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.[3][page needed]
The line drops steeply for a couple of miles, followed by a brief level section in the
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
Surviving features
Most of the line remains open and carries
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Ruegg, Louis H. (1878). The History of a Railway.
- ^ ISBN 0-85361-612-4.
- ^ ISBN 0-86093-525-6.
- ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ St John Thomas, D. (1960). The Salisbury and Yeovil Railway. (facsimile reprint of The History of a Railway, Introduction)
- ^ "Table 160: London to Salisbury and Exeter" (PDF). Electronic National Rail Timetable. Network Rail. December 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2009.
- ISBN 1-904537-54-5.