Lynton and Barnstaple Grant

Baldwin is right that the website doesn't actually spell out why the Thorpe coaches had to go; but the reasons are what other posters have suggested.
Perhaps of future interest will be what will be done with the new build coaches. Currently, the heritage coaches (those built from remains of originals owned by the Trust) are being recreated as per the originals and in L&B livery. New builds will be in Southern colours, but no design has yet been decided on. Maybe an exercise in "what would the Southern have done if they hadn't closed the railway" is possible? Maybe they would have simply upgraded the originals (e.g. fitted loos, connectors between coaches). If the L&B ever gets back to its 19+ miles, the ability to wheel a snack/drinks trolley through the train (and for passengers to use a loo!) would be useful....

 

I had a look at the Exemoor Enterprises website and the highly detailed map, scrollable, of the line has been replaced by a Google maps version. Is the original version still available anywhere online?

 

I don't think so, but you could email them at Exmoor Associates (it was EA's site that used to have the scrollable map).

 

I must admit, I've wondered in the past what 2' gauge Maunsell or Bulleid coaches might look like!

There's also the question of diesel power for the L&B to consider. When the full line is reopened, the railway will surely require at least one diesel loco capable of pulling a full-length train over the whole line (albeit hopefully only for emergency use). If the line had stayed open after 1935, it is not impossible that the Southern might have looked at dieselisation to reduce operating costs. Perhaps we might have seen a miniature version of Bullied's 10201?!

 

Well, the L&B have recently brought their large diesel 'Pilton' back to Woody Bay and it is now refurbished and in operation. It is large enough I gather to rescue a train of heritage coaches. It's currently in a black livery (and I'd really like to see an early BR logo on the side!). Pictures are available on the L&B site.

 

Charles Wytock receives boiler certification - http://lynton-rail.co.uk/story/charles-wytock-steams

 

You are almost there. Pilton is able to run under its own steam (so to speak) up and down the line, but at this time the vacuum brake system still has to be fitted. Thus currently the diesel is not able to haul the coaching stock.

There is also a major problem with Pilton in the longer term. It is too high to pass beneath the various bridges which will appear on the extended route at Killington Lane and beyond. This has always been known and will eventually entail a necessary modification to lower the loco's cab roof.

Pilton's excessive height can be seen by viewing the image in the following link. Note the height of the two Hunslet diesels behind Pilton as a comparison.

http://www.lynton-rail.co.uk/files/embedded/Pilton130817/Pilton_130817_03.jpg

Chris

 

That is a lovely thought!
One possible source of inspiration for new-build coaches in a 1930s style would be the coaching stock which the LMS (NCC) built for the boat trains on the 3' gauge Ballymena & Larne lines in the mid-1930s. These had corridors (with connections), toilets, lighting, heating, etc., and were visually rather like a NG verison of early LMS mainline coaches. They were transferred to the Ballycastle line after a few years when the boat trains got cancelled, and finally ended up on the County Donegal. They are illustrated in various books on Irish NG (I couldn't quickly find a good online photo). Altogether they were rather magnificent, and somewhat like what a Southern Maunsell era coach for the L&B might have been like (with appropriate changes of design cues from LMS to SR).
I also have always rather liked the Bala Lake Railway coaches - rather like 2' gauge Mark I coaches. Of course the line is much shorter, and some of the Bala coaches are rather spartan inside (or were in the late 1980s when we used to have our family holidays near Bala). But fine vehicles none the less.
The County Gate layout by John de Frayssinet includes some "what-if" future developments of the L&B, including larger locomotives (possible project post-Lyn and Yeo?) and diesel railcars. The railcars include some rather fine Art Deco type styling - looks awesome on the models but might look rather dated on actual new stock (dated as opposed to classic, a hard balance to maintain!)

 

AXE, now fitted with L&B pattern couplings, has recently proven more than capable of hauling the three heritage coaches, and is expected to cope equally as well with four. ISAAC likewise, and LYN is due to be in steam in 2015. PILTON can indeed manage a full train and is now fully braked and available for service as required. PILTON will need to be modified to meet the loading gauge (the limiting height factor being Killington Road bridge once that is reinstated). The plan is to move the cab forward a foot or two. This is (relatively) straightforward to achieve and, by clearing the gearbox, will allow the floor to be lowered, and thus the roof too can be lowered.
Pilton shunting goods wagons, Woody Bay, 19th June 2014

 

The home page of the L & B website http://www.lynton-rail.co.uk/ shows that Rowley Moor House is now available to rent for some weeks this year.

Trains are not yet running at the bottom of the garden, but the Old Station House Inn http://www.oldstationhouseinn.co.uk/ (with all its L & B pictures) is just a short stroll up the road.

Mike Pearce