Already on 17 July 1862 the Okehampton Railway, supported by the LSWR, had obtained Parliamentary authority for a standard gauge railway to Okehampton, leaving the North Devon line west of Yeoford, at Colebrook.
With the rise of seaside holidays, and with the LSWR wishing to encourage the development of resorts that catered to that, and which brought the fruits of seaside industries as well, an extension to Ilfracombe became obvious.