Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

Latest progress from Group East, and carriage no.5:


The upholstery will be going in in very soon.
The group are looking to expand operations, to fill the requirements for the extension. Here is a link to the main article, which is otherwise rather tucked away:
https://www.lynton-rail.co.uk/trust/groups/pages/fridaywood-farm-workshop-update-july-2019
Can you help? They sound a great bunch, with a whole lot going on.

 

Absolutely stunning work they do, and so vital to the development of the railway.
But, a bit unfortunate that their news reports are hidden away amongst the more traditional area groups. There should be links to these coach news reports from the Latest News page.

 

Great work again by the East group. I don't remember seeing the lincrusta on the other carriages - was no5 different from the others? The only other difference I can see from the originals is the lack of blinds on no7 (maybe I've missed them!) Were there blinds on any of the other carriages?

There is a link on the home page of the railway to "carriage works updates"

Keith

 

The first line in the update (team hours) gives the most satisfactory explanation for why us lot have been left champing frustratedly at the bit for a progress update, with piccies, since March ..... poor us! .... It's been well worth the wait and the work is (as always) quite outstanding.

How does that old saying go? "Don't clap .... just throw money!" .... and boy, do the East Group use it well!

 

Hardly hidden away - there are links from the front page, and they do appear in the news section...

 

If I may make a constructive suggestion; I feel that there is something of an information overload happening on the L&B's homepage, and that it could perhaps do with slimming down a bit, or just coordinating differently. This isn't the first time someone has said they can't find something, when in fact it is there, just surrounded by other stuff. It's ok if you're familiar with the layout of a page, but then that somewhat defeats the object of a front page, which should be attractive and clear to navigate to the 'passer by'. Anyway, just my thoughts.

Anyway, well done with the carriages. The days when it was just No. 7, being worked on in the great outdoors, seem like a very long time ago. Hopefully when I've moved back down south, I'll be able to offer some practical assistance.

 

Yes. I do see what you mean, as part of the L&B web management team, we are trying to impart a lot of information to several groups of users, in a lot of ways, in one small space. There are, if memory serves, over 1,400 pages on the L&B website, going back at least 12 years, so navigation can be a little convoluted. Perhaps the front page should concentrate on tourist/casual visitor information, with a second, more detailed page for supporters/enthusiasts?

No promises, but we'll see what we can do. Thanks!

 

At last, an update from Chelfham:
https://www.lynton-rail.co.uk/story/chelfham-station-summer-progress-2019
The Eagle-eyed should be able to spot the cause of the recent issues around the site closure.

 

On another L&B-related thread, the 762 Club website has been updated today, with the latest news on YEO and EXE...

 

From the public area of the L&B website:
Reconstruction work on bridges 54 & 55 is now well underway (photo by John Barton)


This is bridge 54, looking towards Wistlandpound. Unfortunately, the footings for the the Lynton end abutment, nearest the camera, have proved to be in poor condition. This will have to be dismantled, and rebuilt from scratch using as much of the original material as possible.
More details and pictures here:
https://www.lynton-rail.co.uk/page/phase-iia-construction-commences
Great to see tangible, on-the-ground progress.

 

The link above doesn't work but this does https://www.lynton-rail.co.uk/page/phase-iia-construction-commences
As Mark says it's great to see a start on the next phase.
Ray.

 

A further report of the work completed on Tuesday 23rd July for the Phase 2a Reconstruction Project is now available on the L&BR website.

See >>> https://www.lynton-rail.co.uk/page/phase-iia-construction-commences

Alternatively you can go directly to the L&B website and on the Homepage click on the new black image labelled "PHASE IIA CONSTRUCTION NEWS" near to the top of the page in the right hand column.

 

Great to see the progress being made on so many fronts! Well done to all concerned.

 

latest update now online:

https://www.lynton-rail.co.uk/page/phase-iia-construction-news

 

This is excellent news, but I'm confused by why this work is being done first - I thought it was going to extend south from the existing line? Or have I got my wires completely crossed?

 

My understanding is that there are two main reasons for this:

1. North Devon County Council planning permission dictated that work on this section must begin within 3 years, or the planning consent would lapse. This condition has now been met (just!), meaning that the planning consent for this section can never lapse.
2. A grant to fund this work (or at least some of it) has been obtained.

I'm sure there is much going on in the background with regards to other sections.

 

Makes sense - very many thanks.

 

Also worth noting that one of the real problem sections (in terms of hostile owners determined never to sell) is just a little beyond the Killington Lane halt, in Parracombe. So, there'd be little point in doing work in that area just yet. Once the TWAO has been awarded, this may help persuade some landowners to agree to sell at a reasonable price, and/or powers that might be granted with the TWAO could make such opposition as there is, irrelevant.

 

Many thanks for this, Martin. Is there an estimate on when the TWAO may be granted?

 

I've not heard anything definite about that, sorry!