Railways in Plymouth
Some were in use in the Naval Dockyard in 1724,[2] and in 1756 John Smeaton laid some more to help move materials in his workyard on the mainland which was preparing stonework for the Eddystone Lighthouse.
The SDR was authorised by Act of Parliament to construct a branch from Millbay to Devonport which would have been more convenient for the naval dockyards but instead the powers were transferred to the Cornwall Railway (CR).
[6] The South Devon and Tavistock Railway (SD&TR) was opened a few weeks later on 22 June 1859 and was extended by another company to Launceston on 1 July 1865.
[6] The 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge London and South Western Railway (LSWR) arrived in Plymouth on 18 May 1876.
These arrangements changed on 2 June 1890 when the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway (PDSWJ) opened a new line from Lydford along the Tamar valley.
LSWR trains now ran through Devonport, North Road and Mutley in the opposite direction, and soon continued to a new terminus at Plymouth Friary which opened on 1 July 1891.
In 1904 a number of new halts were opened that allowed a suburban service to be operated between Plympton and Saltash in response to competition from street tramways.
The first contraction of passenger services was seen when the GWR's Yealmpton branch was closed on 7 July 1930, although it was reopened in 1941 to allow Plymothians to reach the safety of the countryside during The Blitz.
This period during the Second World War saw the closure of Millbay station to passengers following bombing and some of the smaller halts were closed, apparently as their wooden structures were considered a fire risk.
The new panel signal box at North Road was commissioned in 1960 and, since 1973, controls all movements in the Plymouth area.
[10] The GWR and SR were nationalised into British Railways on 1 January 1948 but the lines around Plymouth remained parts of two different regions until 1963.
Great Western Railway (GWR) trains from London Paddington station either terminate here or continue to Penzance along the Cornish Main Line.
A standard gauge connection was later established by the LSWR and this is still open for goods traffic, trains having to reverse in a spur outside the old Friary station.
The Plymouth Great Western Docks, like the broad gauge railways, were engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and were connected to Millbay station in 1850.
Ocean Special Mail trains were run direct from the docks to London Paddington; it was one of these in 1904 that saw City of Truro exceed 100 mph (160 km/h).
[48] The LSWR established their own Ocean Terminal on the west side of Stonehouse Pool, reached by a short branch from their Devonport station.
This tunnel now appears much longer than it really is due to the cutting on the west side being covered by a concrete raft supporting a car park.
Millbay station was built in an elevated position with a short viaduct and bridge across Union Street immediately beyond the platform end.
The arches of this viaduct were rented out to local traders for storage and were even used as a garage for the buses used on the GWR road motor services.
