The South Devon Banks are a series of steep inclines on the ex- GWR railway line linking

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

and

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

in Devon, England. These two cities are separated by the rocky uplands of

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous ...

forcing the early railway

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

s to propose that the line skirt the difficult terrain of the comparatively sparsely populated moorland.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...

, in surveying the South Devon Railway, opted to push a line along a coastal strip between the

Exe Exe or EXE may refer to: * .exe, a file extension * exe., abbreviation for executive Places * River Exe, in England * Exe Estuary, in England * Exe Island, in Exeter, England Transportation and vehicles * Exe (locomotive), a British locomotive ...

and

Teign Teigne (also : Teign, Tègne, Teeñ, Tin or Tañ in Wolof language) was the title of the monarch of the pre-colonial Kingdom of Baol, now part of present-day Senegal. In Wolof, "Teigne" means the support that is placed on the head to carry so ...

valleys, and then to climb the southern outliers of

making for the head of the

Plym Plym can refer to: * River Plym, in Devon * HMS ''Plym'' (K271), a River class frigate * ''Plym'' and ''Plym II'', former and current Torpoint Ferries * ''Plym'', a GWR Caliph Class The Great Western Railway (GWR) Ariadne Class and Caliph Cla ...

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

. From

Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its 2011 population of 24,029 was estimated to reach 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in the Victorian era as the home of the Sou ...

, the line climbs Dainton Bank, and from

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-so ...

it climbs Rattery Bank, reaches a peak at Wrangaton summit, and then descends Hemerdon Bank to reach

. These three are collectively known as the South Devon Banks.

Dainton Bank

The third steepest main line bank on the British mainland, with 2 miles varying between 1 in 36 and 1 in 57. Leaving Newton Abbot station, the line is near level until Aller Junction, where the line to

Torbay Torbay is a borough and unitary authority in Devon, south west England. It is governed by Torbay Council and consists of of land, including the resort towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located on east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme ...

diverges to the left. The climb proper begins at Stoneycombe, where there was a signal box and quarry siding, and continues through Dainton tunnel to Dainton signal box, a distance of 2 miles and 17 chains (3.56 km).

Rattery Bank

The seventh steepest main line bank on the British mainland, with a constant initially between 1 in 45 and 1 in 70 before easing to 1 in 90 and then increasing to 1 in 65. Leaving Totnes station, the line immediately climbs past the site of Tigley signal box and on to the site of Rattery signal box, a distance on 4 miles and 50 chains (7.44 km).

Hemerdon Bank

The fourth steepest main line bank on the British mainland, with a constant 1 in 42 for 2½ miles. The climb begins at Plympton and climbs all the way to Hemerdon signal box, a distance of 2 miles and 50 chains (4.22 km).

Effects on operations

From an early date, trains were constrained in weight, and therefore in length, by the need to climb the steep gradients of South Devon. Express trains were further constrained by the need to achieve fast times between Exeter and Plymouth. In

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

times trains changed engines at Newton Abbot with 4-4-0 saddle tanks of the South Devon Railway and later 2-4-0 saddle tanks of the GWR hauling trains over the steep gradients to Plymouth. This practice continued after the change to standard gauge, with Dean 4-2-2's handing over to 4-4-0 Duke class engines for the climbs, and later

Bulldog The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.Atbaras with their driving wheels. The only exception to this policy was in 1902 and 1903, when

Atbara Atbara (sometimes Atbarah) ( ar, عطبرة ʿAṭbarah) is a city located in River Nile State in northeastern Sudan. Because of its links to the railway industry, Atbara is also known as the "Railway City'. As of 2007, its population is 11 ...

and City class engines hauled lightly loaded royal specials throughout. The inaugural Cornish Riviera Limited built on the royal specials of the previous two years by running through to Plymouth with a City class engine; the train being limited to 6 coaches. However, greater demand for seats meant that by 1911, despite the introduction of the 4-6-0 Saint class, a pilot engine was required. In this process a pilot engine, usually placed behind the train engine per standard GWR practice and therefore requiring an awkward shunting manoeuvre, would be added at Newton Abbot on down trains, and both engines haul the train through to Plymouth where it was usual to change engines before entering Cornwall. In the up direction, the change of engines at Plymouth would see two engines take over the train, the inside engine being removed during the stop at Newton Abbot. From their introduction, the King class had a monopoly on the fastest workings through Devon, but it was still usual to add a pilot for heavy loads;

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gr ...

and

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

classes were common, and even a double-headed

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

could be encountered. The advent of the NBL 2000 hp diesels in 1958 spelled the end of regular

double-heading In railroad terminology, double heading indicates the use of two locomotives at the front of a train, each operated individually by its own crew. The practice of triple-heading involves the use of three locomotives. The practice of multi-headin ...

; these were a match for the steam timetable on their own. The later

Warships A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and ...

, and then

Westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

were also capable, and faster times over the gradients became possible. With the move from Diesel-Hydraulic to Diesel-Electric, Classes 45, 46, 47 and 50 took over; the only train being booked for a pilot in the early 1980s being the Paddington to Penzance sleeper which was booked, in the Down direction only, to have a class 31 added for the run to Plymouth. With the advent of the HST, the power-to-weight ratio of to meant that there was no difficulty in keeping to time. However, operating instructions dictated that an HST running with only one operational power car should be piloted over the South Devon Banks. As the drawbar on the HSTs was behind the lower front panel, the procedure required to attach an additional locomotive to the front was quite time consuming. Similarly the desire to make up time had to be tempered by the limitation on maximum speed due to the additional locomotive. Classes 46, 47 and 50 have been recorded assisting HSTs in this manner, and running up to along the

Exe Estuary The Exe estuary is an estuary on the south coast of Devon, England. The estuary starts just to the south () of the city of Exeter, and extends south for approximately eight miles to meet the English Channel (). The estuary is a ria and so is l ...

between Exeter and Dawlish Warren was not unheard of; the engine was typically attached at Exeter as there was usually a locomotive available at the stabling point. There was little need for this procedure in the up direction as a spare power car was normally available at Laira, even if it had to be turned on the triangle at Laira Junction/Mount Gould Junction/Lipson Junction first. In more recent times, HSTs have been permitted to run through unassisted on one operational power car only, however normal practice is to omit the Totnes stop in order to achieve a run at the incline (Rattery Bank in the westbound direction or Dainton Bank in the eastbound direction). Much of the reason for this change in policy is the relative non-availability of standby diesel locomotives on the modern railway, where minimal freight traffic operates in the south west of England.

Test track

Many tests and comparisons carried out by the GWR and BR(WR) have involved traversing the South Devon Banks. During the locomotive exchanges of 1948, Paddington to Plymouth turns were worked by LMR Coronation class 4-6-2 43236 ''City of Bradford'', LMR Royal Scot 4-6-0 46162 ''Queen's Westminster Rifleman'', ER A4 4-6-2s 60022 ''Mallard'' and 60033 ''Seagull'' and SR Merchant Navy 4-6-2 35019 ''French Line CGT'', and Bristol to Plymouth turns were worked by LMR Black Five 4-6-0 45253, ER B1 4-6-0 61251 ''Oliver Bury'' and SR West Country 4-6-2 34006 ''Bude''. These turns all included a dynamometer car on one or more runs. In June 1950, Brown-Boveri designed Gas Turbine No. 18000 carried out a series of test runs with a dynamometer car, starting from Plymouth and climbing Hemerdon bank. During these tests, the locomotive failed to restart a train from a standing start on the bank itself, and achieved a speed of on cresting the bank with a load, having been travelling at past Plympton before starting the climb. The Metropolitan Vickers Gas Turbine No. 18100 also carried out a series of test runs in 1951 including climbing all of the South Devon Banks. Performance up Dainton and Rattery was deemed satisfactory, but four subsequent test runs were carried out ascending Hemerdon bank. One was aborted, but in the other three 18100 hauled 14, 17 and 18 coaches respectively, the latter exceeding and achieving a minimum of on the bank when recorded as passing

Plympton Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down river to Plym ...

signal box In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...

at .

References

* * * * * * {{Brunel Rail transport in Devon Great Western Railway Works of Isambard Kingdom Brunel