Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

as far as im led to believe (which might not be in the right direction) in order to apply for a TWAO, one has to own a certain percentage of trackbed of what said TWAO is to cover,so as far as i understand it,the trust don't own enough trackbed between Killington lane and Blackmoor gate to be able to actually apply for the TWAO as of yet

 

Thanks, A. That's rather how I read it, yet if the point has been mentioned before, it has completely eluded me. I didn't realise that percentage was a prerequisite. Which leads on to how much is required, and what percentage is currently in the Trust's hands?

 

Mark
As has been said several times in the past, it is better that certain details are best kept private and not openly discussed on forums such as this.
If you were playing bridge you surely wouldn't tell the people sitting each side of you what cards you have in your hand?
Regards
Mike

 

I would agree with that, except that surely these figures will already be somewhere in the public domain? It was the Trust newsletter which chose to publish this point, so surely it cannot be as confidential as you make out.
Beyond that, all I will say is that I'm opening at 1 no- trumps.

 

Here is a photo taken circa 1930 showing 'Parracombe Halt'. The concrete shelter on the platform still exists but stands now accompanied by a bungalow and stable block. The good news is that the railway has planning permission to clear the site and rebuild it similar to how you see it below.......


The second purchase will provide the railway with a short section of trackbed between Bridge 58 (Blackleg Cattle Creep) and Bridge 57 (Rowley Cross Bridge).

 

Ironic that whilst siting of the stop* at Parracombe (one of the larger settlementa on the line) was better than most, the same couldn't be said of ticket sales arrangements. I trust, when the L&B returns, historic authenticity isn't going to be an issue!

*I'm bravely avoiding the whole station/halt debate!

 

Well I shan't! Whilst that picture of Parracombe Halt is quite bucolic, we might perhaps recognise that Parracombe itself might well become an important origin/destination on the proposed extension of the railway. Accordingly it should perhaps have more ample facilities than a simple meagre shelter (memories of Pevensey Bay Halt are coming to mind here!!). IIRC a crossing loop is proposed for the New Parracombe, all of which lead one to think that perhaps it should be designated a station rather than a meagre halt...
Of course, leave the meagre shelter as a reminder of what was... then envision what might be!

In addition, it is lovely to see those stations/halts which are in L&BR Trust or EA possession, but neither Caffyns Halt or Lynton station are, I believe.
OK, I know that a new station is proposed for Lynton and won't it be exciting to see the architect drawings for that proposal when it eventuates?
What of Caffyns Halt? I gather that the owner is favourably inclined to the railway. If so, why not restore it as and when time and funds allow? (Yes, I realise that it would not be a high priority but it might be a project that enlivens the northern end of our beloved railway.)

 

Excellent news - looking forward to my magazine arriving tomorrow. I am impressed by the hard work being done behind the scenes by both the L &B and EA. "Well Done" to all concerned.

 

When reading the latest Magazine my attention was caught by a nice photo of the new set of lever description plates provided at Chelfham - a lovely paint job by Jim Pounds, well done. However I note that the plates are incomplete, as some are missing their 'pull list' numbers, so hopefully that will be corrected in due course (if not already done since the photo was taken).

The legends applied appear to have been taken from the SR locking table, although photo evidence from Wheeler shows that the actual legends in use at Chelfham were different (probably still the original EoD plates). The SR details are rather curious, as the terminology and phrasing for the pointwork does not match anything else L&SWR/SR of which I am aware, so I am wondering if the SR draughtsman perhaps had a background elsewhere? Establishing a consistent and 'authentic' set of terminology is a good example of one of those many bits of 'trivial detail' that we are addressing in the S&T design work for Phase 2A and beyond.

Meanwhile, the rate of progress is good to see

 

Much like you I am not sure what is meant by the comment in the newsletter. On reflection, I think that speculation would be inappropriate. Applying for a TWAO is a very complex operation and the details need to be right. No doubt the L and B is receiving professional advice on this and I for one am trying to be patient much as I would like to know exactly what is going on.
My bid is 2 spades - the cuttings require a lot of digging!

 

Maybe is we all 'club' together it will get done faster

 

Wasn't Parracombe's original status a reflection of initial local opposition to the original line?

I'll be most interested to learn what approach is taken to the new Lynton terminal building. Whether the L&B go with something fully in keeping with the 'Swiss Chalet' house style, or go 'full Caernarfon' remains to be seen. Whatever style is adopted, I'd dearly love to see some commitment to as close to 'net zero' as possible. This will be a structure with it's whole life ahead of it and some definite statement that the revived L&B fully intends to exist long into the future wouldn't go amiss.

I loved the VoR's inclusion of solar PV at Aberystwyth, but with the latest PV roof tiles, installations can be rendered functionally invisible, whilst, with good design, a buildings' running costs can be drastically reduced.

Some particularly notable UK building developments are already returning designs so brilliantly designed that not even ground source heat pumps are required. I doubt that could be the case for a public building like a station, but ignoring the significant economic benefits of the best of modern building techniques would IMO be a serious error with long term consequencies. Never mind having very low or no bills for hot water, or heating, there'd be scope for decent ongoing income streams to be had for EV charging at the line's parking facilities.

 

Personally, I suspect that even just the outline design of the building for the 'new' Lynton station is a long, long way off yet. Not being pessimistic, just realistic. You will need to design the building to cope with the expected number of visitors and their requirements. Given the ever-changing pattern of life these days, I suspect that it will need a few years for Phase 2A to 'settle in' once opened before anyone will be able to make reasonable accurate projections about the requirements for Phase 2B. Then you will need to factor in the actual location of the station, to what extent there is a demand to 'hide' the structure, whatever the latest 'environmental' demands will be etc etc. For example, will the local authorities even want car-parking at the station anyway (beyond some provision for disabled users), given that the whole ideas surely is to bring visitors by trains and keep their cars off ENPA roads (regardless of being EV or hydrogen or whatever)?

 

Looking at history (please correct if wrong) Charles Blackmore, of Court Place objected, so initially trains passed through and presume passengers and goods had to go from Woody Bay to Parracombe by horse and cart?.
Then after a year Charle's brother, who ran the Fox and Goose Hotel, with other villagers, got the halt built and tickets were sold at the Post Office.
It could be in future if most visitors use the new car park at Blackmoor to travel to Woody Bay and back (or onward bus to Lynton cliff railway), running mostly though trains at the halt could be a compromise to help get line approval with the existing Court Place owners?

 

*Caernarfon

 

I don't mean to step on any toes here, but I am now just confused about which sections of Killington Lane to Wistlandpound are not currently owned by the L&B family (for want of a better word).

If I'm interpreting the EA map correctly, it would appear to be four sections yet to be acquired:

South of Ivy Cottage along Parracombe Bank to Holwell
Bridge 57 (Rowley Cross) - Lower Rowley
North of the A399 to and through the Old Station House Inn
South of the Bridwick Farm to wherever the Wistlandpound Station site will be

Is this correct? If so, a magnificent achievement by all concerned in piecing the jigsaw back together through great engagement and good neighbourliness - well done, and all power to your collective elbows in continuing the good work. And thank you!

 

Dammit .... missed crap spelling on all three read throughs (my spell checker noticed i'd fouled up Aberystwyth!). Thanks .... and duly corrected.

Precisely the time to be thinking about baseline design considerations. On the GW-R Broadway Station turned out magnificently, but addressing a couple of issues ahead of building could've saved quite a bit of bother!

Looking at what the L&B are already achieving, I've developed a very high degree of confidence in the project and the folks striving to make it happen. Track records matter more than all the airy-fairy statements of intent in the world .... and to date, the L&B's track record has been an exemplary one, IMO.

 

Toby, your list highlighting the four sections is essentially correct. Your last item (S of Bridwick Farm to Wistlandpound Stn) is actually Bridge 53 to Bridge 52 where the Wistlandpound Stn will be located.

 

Great, thanks very much - magnificent progress!