ONE WAY OR ANOTHER
In 1967, the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway had already been closed for over 30 years. Fifty years later, preservationists are on the verge of the most important part of the resurrection of the Southern’s only narrow gauge line.
Chelfham Viaduct. There is no greater portent that, one day, the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway will re-connect the two eponymous towns. Why else would it have escaped destruction, while the rest of the line’s infrastructure was decimated following the L&B’s closure in September 1935, if not to serve as a symbol that the resurrection of this legendary railway was and still is - inevitable sooner or later? To use a famous phrase, the viaduct, and the railway of which it once formed a part, are “not dead but sleepeth.” Over 80 years since this railway was wiped off the map, it is now very much awake. Woody Bay stands as a shining example of how to restore a station, and four (soon to be five) authentic L&B carriages shuttle back and forth over the mile of running line that has been reinstated to Killington Lane. Even the railway’s Manning Wardle 2-6-2Ts, with which the L&B is synonymous, have come back from the dead, in the shape of the Ffestiniog Railway’s No. 190 Lyd - a replica of the 1925-built Lew. Although the locomotive is not an L&B resident, it makes frequent visits to its spiritual home. However, later this year, the new L&B will finally have an authentic locomotive it can call its own, as the replica Baldwin 2-4-2T Lyn is rapidly nearing completion. Combined with the rake of L&B carriages, it will complete a picture many enthusiasts assumed had been consigned to history. And this is only the beginning. The revived L&B is on the verge of the biggest expansion in its preservation history, as it is waiting to be granted planning permission to become a somewhere-to-somewhere railway for the first time since 1935..
BACK TO BLACKMOOR
Blackmoor is one of the most evocative station name on the railway, as synonymous with the L&B as Midsomer Norton is with the S&D and Appleby is with the S&C. Within a few years, this important intermediate station will become the beating heart of the revived railway, from where the L&B will begin the long journey towards re-connecting with both Lynton and Barnstaple. The L&B needs Blackmoor if it is to succeed. Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Trust Chairman Peter Miles says: “Blackmoor is important for a number of reasons. The station is on a crossroads that pretty much everyone visiting Exmoor and North Devon passes through, so there’ll be plenty of passing trade.” Blackmoor’s reinstatement is possibly the most important project on the railway’s agenda. Not only will it provide a meaningful destination from Woody Bay, it will also become the railway’s engineering and operating base, with extensive facilities built in a sympathetic style resembling the line’s original works at Pilton. There will be plenty of amenities for passengers, too. In June last year, North Devon Council approved the railway’s planning application to convert the station building, currently in use as a pub (and aptly named Old Station House Inn) into a station/ restaurant, and the trust has formed a new company - L&B Blackmoor plc - to purchase and operate it. Peter says: “With its location on two of the main tourist routes into North Devon, we expect it to become a very popular location as a pub, restaurant and café/tea rooms - as well as a station!” Two weeks before it approved the Blackmoor scheme, NDC also gave the green light to the railway’s plans to extend the line from Blackmoor to Wistlandpound and erect a small station there. Furthermore, LBRT owns or has access to almost all but one and a half miles of the trackbed between Killington and Wistlandpound, setting the stage for the most important expansion in the railway’s preservation history. So why hasn’t it happened already? The railway is awaiting a decision from Exmoor National Park Authority to grant planning permission to reinstate the three miles of track between Killington Lane and Blackmoor. “Part of the reason for the delay [in getting the ENPA’s planning permission] is the Exmoor Local Plan, the details of which should be confirmed imminently, and the rebuilding of the L&B is included in that plan,” says Peter. Once planning permission is given, the first stage is to secure funding, together with the application for a Transport & Works Act Order, part of which would grant the railway powers to make Compulsory Purchase Orders on land that it does not yet own. Then, says Peter: “We have various civil engineering tasks to complete first, including clearing cuttings, an embankment, making repairs to bridges, building new bridges and the like. “All of this means that funding is the vital step; no money equals no work. However, we will be carrying on with trackbed clearance, fencing and so on. “The works programme shows a three-year construction period. We should be able to improve (slightly) on that. Overall, including TWAO and fundraising, I would suggest it will be four to five years before the extension is opened.”
CHANGING DIRECTION
So where next after Blackmoor and Wistlandpound? For years, the plan has been to forge northwards and re-connect with Lynton, bringing the railway back to one of the towns honoured in the railway’s name. Remarkably, the original station building still survives and is in the hands of a trust member, but when the line extends northwards, it may not return to its original terminus. Peter says: “The original Lynton station was built in a logical site for railway access but about 300 feet above Lynton town centre, with a demanding walk back up to the station - no wonder the bus became popular!” Instead, the plan is to build a new terminus in the style of the old one nearer to the town, but even this has its difficulties. “The route to the new site at Lynton would involve lots of very expensive civil engineering work, not least tunnelling through solid rock. “The cost per mile of going to Lynton is going to be much more than going all the way to Barnstaple, and will need careful planning and design.” Depending on how much funding can be obtained, the railway could initially focus its attentions southwards and rebuild the line back towards Barnstaple. “This section should be quite simple,” explains Peter. “Both the trust and Exmoor Associates already own various parts of the trackbed, and others are under discussion.” The railway already has a suitable destination to aim for Chelfham. The L&B’s Estates Company acquired the station in 1999 and, aside from Woody Bay, it is the most complete surviving station on the former route. It is also ideally situated, on the northern approaches to Chelfham Viaduct, so it’s an attractive proposition when the railway decides to head southwards. A considerable amount of restoration work has already taken place, and the lean-to structure built in the 1950s will soon be demolished, thus returning the station building to its mid-1920s condition. Immediately south of the station is the viaduct, the largest structure on the line. At 70 feet high and 132 yards long, it is the longest and tallest narrow gauge railway viaduct in Britain, and was Grade II listed in 1965.
THE COST PER MILE OF GOING TO LYNTON IS GOING TO BE MUCH MORE THAN GOING ALL THE WAY TO BARNSTAPLE
The viaduct was restored in 2000 by its then owners, the British Railways Board (Residuary), with assistance from both the Railway Heritage Trust and LBR Trust. Spanning the Stoke Rivers valley, it is ready to take trains, complete with ballast and proper drainage. The route south to Barnstaple features fewer obstacles, and is relatively clear of development. Through Exmoor Associates, a company set up to acquire land and properties on the former L&B alignment, the railway also has access to another station - Snapper Halt which still retains its original waiting shelter and has also been the subject of restoration work. What is perhaps most attractive about heading back to Barnstaple is the fact that the former site of Pilton works, the L&B’s original engineering base, has been reserved for railway use by North Devon Council. The site is currently a car park, but will one day be the location of the L&B’s southern terminus. The line originally continued onwards to the former LSWR Barnstaple Town station (closed in 1970, and now a restaurant) but for now this is as far as the revived L&B will go, not least because the trackbed has subsequently been heavily redeveloped. “We don’t need to go into Barnstaple Town anyway because there’s nothing there. Pilton is about as good a terminus as you could ask for, and it’s actually closer to the town centre.” Enthusiasts hoping that the legendary works will be resurrected are in for a disappointment, however. “Just a small station with a run-round loop,” says Peter.
MOTIVE POWER
Until now, there has been one significant thing missing from the authentic L&B experience that the revived railway has recreated - the right steam locomotives. The L&B’s current three-strong steam locomotive fleet consists of Bagnall Works Nos. 2891 4-4-0T Charles Wytock and 3023 0-4-2T Isaac, and Kerr Stuart ‘Joffre’ Works No. 2451 0-6-0T ‘Axe’ its name continuing the tradition of the L&B locomotives named after three-letter Devon rivers. The only ‘L&B’ locomotive to grace the line in preservation is the Manning Wardle 2-6-2T No. 190 Lyd, built by the Ffestiniog Railway in 2010. “Lyd doesn’t look right up in North Wales, it’s too genteel. It would look much better on the L&B,” says Peter. While it is undoubtedly a popular visitor to the railway, sadly, it is unlikely that Lyd will be an L&B resident any time soon, so until any more Manning Wardles are recreated (more on that shortly), the responsibility of recreating an authentic L&B train falls to Lyn. Started in 2009, the construction of the replacement Baldwin-built 2-4-2T is now in its closing stages at Alan Keef’s locomotive works in Ross-on-Wye, and it should steam for the first time on July 8, almost fifty years to the day since the end of Southern steam. By the end of the summer, No. 762 Lyn will call the L&B its permanent
home, resplendent in Southern Railway olive green livery that was applied to the original locomotive following its overhaul at Eastleigh in 1928-9. Peter says: “The arrival of Lyn will be the culmination of efforts in hand since 2006; it will be a very exciting moment. “The sight of Lyn running on the current railway at the head of the original coaches will be fantastic and a real statement of intent, proving the L&B’s aims to recreate the railway in its original form and appearance.” Despite the numerous modifications made to the new Lyn including the provision of superheating, higher boiler pressure and roller bearings - the burden of maintaining the L&B’s passenger services over 5½ miles of steeply graded railway cannot fall on the Baldwin alone. What the railway needs is Manning Wardle 2-6-2Ts - a whole fleet of them in fact. After all, the L&B is synonymous with these delightful locomotives, and the revived railway won’t be complete without them. Three - Yeo, Exe and Taw - were built by Manning Wardle for the railway in 1898, with a fourth, Lew, following in 1925 to supplement the original fleet. The original trio were scrapped after being sold off at auction following the line’s closure in 1935, while Lew was retained to haul the demolition trains, after which it was shipped to South America and subsequently never heard of again.
IN LIEU OF LEW
The mystery of Lew’s fate is just one part of the aura that surrounds these fabled locomotives, so it’s not surprising that the L&B already has plans to build some of its own. “If you look at the demands of a 5½-mile railway - let alone the eventual 19 miles we’ll have - you need more than three locomotives,” says Peter. “We only have Lyn and Isaac that are powerful enough and Axe simply wouldn’t be up for it, especially hauling a four or five-coach train.” The railway did actually start building a replica of No. 759 Yeo, with the frames cut and built by Winson Engineering Ltd in 1999, but while the build was in progress, the firm went into liquidation. Peter says: “The decision was taken that it would be folly to continue with building Yeo while Lyd was being constructed at Boston Lodge, particularly as various modifications were being incorporated. Much better to wait and see how the revised design worked before continuing with Yeo.” The frames were removed from their works and stored at various locations over the years until arriving at Woody Bay and going on display, waiting for the day when the project could get off the ground - a day which could come sooner rather than later. Once Lyn is finished and sufficiently run-in, work will start on building not one but two Manning Wardles so that they’re ready for when the extended L&B opens in five years’ time, with more to follow later. Another possibility would be building a second Baldwin 2-4-2T, to the same style as when Lyn was delivered in 1898, complete with copper-capped chimney and in the original L&B livery. In addition to the lack of motive power, the L&B has another pressing issue that will need addressing - rolling stock. Currently the railway only has one four-coach rake (shortly to be five), but for the extension to Blackmoor - and the extra passengers it will bring - it will need three four-coach sets. Construction of the second set has effectively begun with No. 5, and others are soon to follow. Peter says: “These will be rebuilds of vehicles and incorporate parts from the originals.” The third set will be new-built carriages, and to contrast with the current L&B-liveried coaches, will be outshopped in Southern Railway green lined in early 1930s fashion. Initial thoughts are that they will be built along similar lines to the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway’s observation/Pullman cars. Unlike the L&B-style coaches, this set will be close-coupled to allow for a corridor connection, so the railway can provide on-train catering for the first time. These prospective coaches may not be entirely authentic, but Peter asserts they will be built to the same profile as the L&B coaches so they shouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb. Enthusiasts may have once written off rebuilding the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway as an impossible dream, but compare it to the other ‘impossible dream’ - the Welsh Highland Railway. It’s another 1ft 11½in gauge railway which, at 20 miles, is almost the same length as the L&B. It too wends its way through a scenic but challenging landscape and, like the L&B, was almost entirely destroyed following closure. Who could have imagined that just 14 years after restoration started in 1997, the WHR would be reinstated? The L&B will undoubtedly perform the same miracle, and this year marks the turning point in the railway’s history, from a small preserved line keeping the spirit of the L&B alive to the makings of the finest narrow gauge railway in England. Mighty oaks from little acorns grow. And this oak tree is about to grow like never before.
THE L&B NEEDS BLACKMOOR IF IT IS TO SUCCEED