In 1819, an Act of Parliament was obtained which authorised the construction of a horse tramway between Princetown and Plymouth. In 1821, the directors of the Plymouth and Dartmoor horse tramway applied for a second Act, to authorise a deviation to the route, and in order to obtain consent for the new route from Parker's son, also called John Parker and Earl of Morley since 1815, they agreed to build a branch, possibly including an inclined plane, to the quarry. The company ran into financial difficulties, and the branch was not built. Despite the fact that he was a member of the management committee for the tramway, Parker took legal action against the three directors who had proposed the branch. They suggested that he should build the branch himself, and in return, all goods transferring from it to the existing tramway would be subject to lower tolls.