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LYNTON & BARNSTAPLE RAILWAY |
| Nearly 40 years ago, enthusiasts decided that the legendary
Lynton & Barnstaple railway could never be restored. Times have changed - and Woody bay station is now being prepared in earnest for the day when trains will return by revivalists whose purist aim is to recreate the line exactly as it was. |
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| The history of the L&B in its first incarnation is well
recorded. To briefly summarise, the first sod was cut on the site of
Lynton station on September 17 1895 by Lady Newnes. Building the 19
and a half mile line exceeded budget to the point where the company nearly
went bankrupt, and the railway was to struggle financially for the rest of
its existence. Despite this, the track, rolling stock and buildings
were built to high standards, an example of the luxury upholstery inside
the un-restored original coach on display in the Great Hall of the National
Museum if nothing else serves to underline this single point.
'Yeo' leaves Woody Bay Station in May 1935 |
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The first train from Barnstaple to Lynton ran on March 14 1898, hauled by one of the three original Manning Wardle 2-6-2Ts, Taw, with just one coach. The official opening took place on May 11 that year, and the locomotive fleet, which also included Taw's sister engines Yeo and Exe, was later supplemented by a US-built Baldwin 2-4-2T Lyn. Acquired by the Southern Railway in 1923, a new Manning Wardle locomotive, Lew, was bought in 1925, and some new wagons followed in 1927. The SR improved the track work and fitted the locomotives and some coaches with steam heating, but it failed to make significant inroads into traffic returns. Closure plans provoked much loud local opposition in 1935, when more visitors used the line in summer than ever before. However, the SR's view was that few of the protesters used the services, and September 29 saw the final down train, the 11.50am from Barnstaple, double-headed by Lew and Yeo, returning from Lynton at 7.55pm. The next morning, a wreath placed at the Barnstaple stop-block by the stationmaster from Woody Bay was accompanied by a card from an enthusiast called Captain Wolf which read: " To the Barnstaple-Lynton Railway: In loving memory, perchance it is not dead, but sleepeth", words which came to immortalize and encapsulate the legend that is L&B. All the track was lifted during 1936 and the locomotives, rolling stock, stations and track bed were sold off. Four or five engines went for scrap and were cut up within a short space of time. Lew, which hauled the demolition train, was shipped to Brazil for a new life in the plantations. The line was gone but certainly not forgotten. Visit Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Society for further information. Railway Website |
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