in a political scandal due to the railway. He was supposed to stand as a liberal Party candidate for the area, but stood aside for a gentleman called Schenley – after Schenley promised to invest £3,000 in the railway company. He was later found to have bought the votes of many voters with the not inconsiderable sum of £1,400 (£60,000 today). Although Charles Seale Hayne
Kingswear Station
was found to have done no wrong in the matter, it showed how desperate he was for funds – that he gave up the chance at political power to keep the build going. He was an ambitious mover and shaker, a solicitor who was determined to further his own career and the fortunes of Dartmouth, which had been flagging. but he had to bring in more money to get his dream finished. Part of his plan was to bring the line direct to Dartmouth itself, across a bridge below greenway. but the greenway estate owners were adamant the line would not cross their land – and Seale Hayne was forced to direct the line all the way to Kingswear. if he had been successful, it’s interesting to think how the two places, Kingswear and Dartmouth, would have developed: where Dart Marina is now, formerly the Sandquay boat yard, would have been railway sidings and warehouses – would the brnC have been built? How would Kingswear have developed without the huge influx of passengers right into its heart?
However it DiD come to Kingswear and, after seven years of construction, it opened to much fanfare in the regatta week of 1864.
Seale Hayne had achieved his goal – but at a massive
cost. the total bill for bringing the single line to Kingswear had been £262,000 – three times the original estimate. the first few years of the railway were not easy, despite the passengers it brought forming part of a renaissance for the town of Dartmouth – which had also been boosted by the arrival of the britannia cadet training ship in 1863. Seale Hayne bought and rebuilt the ‘Plume of Feathers’ pub and created the still-trading royal Dart Hotel to capi- talise on the passengers arriving at its doors from the train. the company also bought a paddle steamer in 1869 to take passengers across the river – the Dolphin was pointed at both ends to allow it to go back and forth without turning. it remained in service until 1908. the boat that replaced it, the Mew lasted a further 46 years before be- ing replaced. but it was clear the line was losing money and in 1876 it was amalgamated, along with most branch lines in the South west, into the great western railway. this change would eventually herald the end of the
line’s association with isambard Kingdom brunel’s famous ‘broad gauge’ tracks. they were seven feet wide – which the great man claimed was best for stability and also
Photo by Nick Shepherd -
www.southdevonphotos.co.uk 59
allowed individual trains to carry more freight or passengers, increasing profitability. but most of the rail network was set on the ‘Standard gauge’, four foot eight inches. this created headaches as rolling stock could not be used on both. So the standard gauge was installed in 1892, the year the entire network was taken across to Standard gauge. the line continued to operate -
becoming a double line in 1908 – and formed a link all the way to london that many felt was vital to the harbour. the railways were nationalized in 1948 – and in 1970 news was released that the Kingswear branch line would be closed. it duly closed in 1972 and was sold to the South Devon
railway – a group of enthusiasts. it has become one of the most successful heritage rail- way lines in the country – bringing hundreds of thousands into the heart of Dartmouth Harbour, much as Charles Seale Hayne hoped the line would. Seale Hayne himself left the town of Dartmouth after becoming embroiled in the arguments over the building of the embankment. He became MP for Ashburton in 1885 and was Paymaster general under gladstone from 1892-95. He left a massive fund on his death to build an agricultural college near newton Abbot. •
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