In the first years of the century, the Manson tablet exchange apparatus (referred to as "Manson's travelling tablet catcher") was installed on the line, enabling exchange of the single line tablets at signal boxes at a higher speed than with manual exchange. Acceleration of the fast trains was planned, and the Traffic Manager, Hutchinson, asked of the Engineer, Melville, "I assume that there can be no objection to the inclusive speed of one of our trains being increased from 36 to 40 mph. The road, I take it, is as good as can be found anywhere." Melville replied "There can be no objection at all to the express trains running at the inclusive speed you refer to ..." The acceleration was applied from July 1901.