Turnchapel Branch

That objective was largely unsuccessful, but the line proved useful in bringing granite down from quarries below Princetown to the tidal waters around Plymouth, for onward transport by coastal shipping.

The reconstituted company was not short of funds, and aside from the granite traffic it had the advantage of ownership of lands adjacent to the waters of the River Plym at Laira and elsewhere in Plymouth.

[note 1] The LSWR had established a terminal for goods services at Friary, on the east side of central Plymouth, opening in 1878.

However this incursion across the Plym alarmed the GWR, who feared extension into the South Hams and possibly a new competing line to Exeter, and opposing schemes to build from Pomphlett to Modbury were put forward.

There was no interlocking between the operation of the swing bridge near Turnchapel and train signalling, and parts of the route were outside the authorised limits of deviation.

[3][4] From 15 January 1898 the GWR started operating its own passenger train service from its Millbay station in Plymouth to Yealmpton; this ran by agreement over the LSWR line from Cattewater Junction to Plymstock, which included the bridge over the River Plym.