PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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Laira Green Temporary Station was located between Plympton and Mutley Stations on the Great Western Railway main line, at a point almost exactly 244 miles from London. It was adjacent to what is today known as Laira Avenue. This was outside the Borough of Plymouth at that time and in fact was on extra-parochial land reclaimed from Laira Creek. The Station was built by the South Devon Railway as the temporary terminus of its main line from Totnes. It was opened to passenger traffic on Friday May 5th 1848. Although the main line was signle track, the section from Hemrdon Siding, at the top of Hemerdon Bank, through Plympton to Laira was double track. A signal protected the down line into the temporary station and the point at which the Plymouth & Dartmoor Railway crossed it. The Station comprised two sheds within which there was a refreshment room where 'spiritualistic liquor' was, of course, banned. Special horse buses ran from the Station into Plymouth at a single fare of sixpence but they were, apparently, totally inadequate. The first train was worked by two 4-coupled engines, “Pisces” and “Cancer”, the first driven by Mr Daniel Gooch himself and the second by Mr M C Rae. Laira Green Temporary Station was closed when the line was finally extended through to Millbay Station on Monday April 2nd 1849. At this point an Up signal similar to the Down one mentioned earlier was placed to protect the Plymouth & Dartmoor Railway but the Board of Trade inspector considered that it was too close to the crossing and ordered that it be moved three or four hundred yards further west. For later developments at Laira, including the Locomotive Depot and Marshalling Yard ............... IN PREPARATION
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