J W Buller was chairman of the E&CR board and he and other directors aligned to the B&ER were in the majority; but it was very plain that the huge majority of shareholders favoured the LSWR. To frustrate further alignment to the narrow gauge, Buller signed a two-year contract with a George Hennett to work the line on 7 April 1847. The minority Taw Vale directors called an Extraordinary General Meeting on 12 April 1847, and proposed removal of Buller and three other B&ER directors, and proposed prohibiting the opening of the line on the broad gauge. Buller as Chairman declared the proposition to be illegal but it was carried. Amid angry scenes and a scuffle, Buller and his friends departed the meeting, taking the minute book with them. At subsequent legal hearings, the takeover by the Taw Vale directors was declared to be legal, and a director called Thorne was properly the chairman of the company. Complaints were made to the Railway Commissioners, and they found that the LSWR had improperly funded share purchases by local individuals to gain a majority at the votes, but the B&ER had done a similar thing over the E&CR vote.