Following the rejection of the E&CR lease to the B&ER, the directors of the E&CR now saw themselves as aligned to the LSWR. The railway had been fully completed, except for the connection to the B&ER at Cowley Bridge. Believing that this connection was now impossible, on 3 December 1847 the Board ordered the broad gauge track to be converted to narrow gauge. Reaching Exeter over the B&ER would be impossible, so they started work on a station at Cowley Bridge near the turnpike road: Cowley Bridge was to be their railhead for Exeter. This arrangement would be hugely inconvenient, for traffic from Barnstaple and North Devon, as well as Crediton.