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The Seaton Branch Line was a railway branch line connecting the seaside resort of Seaton, Devon in England, to the main line network at Seaton Junction railway station, on the main line between Salisbury and Exeter. The branch line opened in 1868; it became very popular with holidaymakers, greatly enhancing the attraction of the resort, but it declined and the line was closed in 1966. ==Origins== The small town of Seaton became a seaside holiday resort in the middle of the nineteenth century, although its historic port activity had declined to the use of fishing boats only. When the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) opened a main line from Yeovil to Exeter in 1860, completing a route from London, local people saw that a rail connection might reinvigorate their town. However the difficult terrain of the Devon Coast in the area forced the L&SWR to align its route a considerable distance to the north. They opened a station called Colyton for Seaton, near Shute. The station was four miles from Seaton, and over a mile from Colyton.〔R A Williams, ''The London & South Western Railway: Volume 2: Growth and Consolidation'', David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 1973, ISBN 0 7153 5940 1〕 Local people wanted an actual rail link to the town, and after a first failed attempt to obtain an Act of Parliament for the purpose, they were successful, obtaining an Act for the "Seaton and Beer Railway" on 13 July 1863. The Company had an authorised capital of £36,000, and powers for a loan of £12,000, for the construction of a line from near the L&SWR Colyton station to a Seaton station to the east of the town.〔〔Derek Phillips and George Pryer, ''The Salisbury to Exeter Line'', Oxford Publishing Company, Sparkford, 1997, ISBN 0 86093 525 6〕〔Christopher Awdry, ''Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies'', Patrick Stephens Limited, Wellingborough, 1990, ISBN 1-85260-049-7〕 The Act included powers to construct a bridge over the River Axe, giving access to Axmouth.〔Derek Phillips, ''From Salisbury to Exeter: The Branch Lines'', Oxford Publishing Company, Shepperton, 2000, ISBN 0 86093 546 9〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Seaton Branch Line」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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