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Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

Discussion in 'Narrow Gauge Railways' started by 50044 Exeter, Dec 25, 2009.

  1. NeilL

    NeilL Well-Known Member

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    Severe thread drift alert. If we need a reenacting thread please create one.
     
  2. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    I do not count the good things that a state does as somehow offsetting its inherent evil. We wouldn’t with 1933-45 Germany; it nauseates me that we do with China despite the genocide currently being perpetrated there.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
     
  3. 2392

    2392 Well-Known Member

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    So to bring the thread back on line and about the L & B. How are Exmoor Associates doing with their acquisition of former L & B track bed, stations and any other land/structures. Do/are they keeping an eye out for adjoining land, to use as sites for any extra builds etc [by that I mean storage/maintenance buildings]?
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2021
  4. 61624

    61624 Part of the furniture

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    With the departure of Isaac, the L &B are down to a single engine for this season, it would seem. Mid-sized engines of the type they need are relatively thin on the ground - is it intended to hire something in till Charles Wytock is available?
     
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  5. DcB

    DcB Well-Known Member

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    If limited services restart Easter, depending on the pandemic?, surely Axe could run with 3 or 4 carriages if needed?
    This is from 2010 with the ex Thorpe park carriages, which are a bit lighter than the current carriages?.
    [​IMG]
     
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  6. Flying Phil

    Flying Phil Part of the furniture

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    On the EA website there is a very good map of the line which shows track bed sections owned by the L & B and EA. EA have said they are looking to buy more sections as they become available and are in discussions with other owners.
     
  7. 61624

    61624 Part of the furniture

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    I was under the impression the "Axe" is under overhaul ATM.
     
  8. Monkey Magic

    Monkey Magic Part of the furniture

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    I deliberately did not use the word 'good' to describe the changes but to point out that they represented a step change.

    Do you include the inherent evils of Colonialism when thinking about the British state?

    Back to the L&B.

    I think the L&B like all other lines will have to be nimble and flexible. At the moment they are talking about limited foreign travel because of concerns about transmission, so this could mean a boom for the UK tourism market, but of course that may well be subject to change as the pandemic changes. Of course a lot will depend on the speed of the vaccination program and I guess also about how confident people are about spending money on holidays if they are worrying about their jobs (and there the B word may also be a factor).
     
  9. Mark Thompson

    Mark Thompson Well-Known Member

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    Boris?
    Batflu?
    Beeble Bollege Oxford?
     
  10. DcB

    DcB Well-Known Member

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    The L and B website seems to indicate Axe is operational and has been updated with the removal of Issac.
    maybe the info has not been updated for Axe?
     
  11. Meiriongwril

    Meiriongwril Member

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    The recent newsletter implied that Axe could not pull 4 carriages. It also noted that CW now has a new boiler and so it might be ready later in the year.
     
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2021
  12. RailWest

    RailWest Part of the furniture

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    As for re-enactment, is that not what has been happing already between Woody Bay and Killington Lane for the past decade, namely re-enacting the L&BR ?? :)
     
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  13. Meatman

    Meatman Member

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    passenger services began in 2004,although not quite to Killington lane, thats some 17 years,everything was in place in 2009 including verbal agreement by enpa to apply to extend the line down to a halt opposite Heddon Hall,a piece of land was even bought to specifically accommodate the halt building,Killington lane bridge had been costed at£250,000 so at a push the line could have been extended by 2012 at the earliest and if the momentum had been kept going its easily possible that Parracombe Halt would have been reinstated by now
     
  14. DcB

    DcB Well-Known Member

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    There are sensativities with Parramore, best left to management to sort.

    Sad that Axe maybe is now too small for the L and B. Like the Alco at Boston Lodge an historically important ww1 loco which helped get the railway restarted.

    Looks like the first limited passenger service back at Woody Bay was with David Moore's Bratton loco back in 1995.

    Maybe, if several obstacles could be overcome, Axe could be moved to Cheflham or Snapper for a day to run on the demo lines in a similar EA fundraiser event?.
     
  15. SpudUk

    SpudUk Well-Known Member

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    We'd happily offer Axe a home on the opposite side of the Bristol Channel. I think you can even see Woody Bay from the top end
     
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  16. 61624

    61624 Part of the furniture

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    I'd be surprised if Axe couldn't manage 4 carriages on the present L & B but I doubt if it would cope on a longer run. Whatever, it entered traffic in 2009 so must have been withdrawn in 2019 for overhaul - which presumably did not proceed very rapidly in 2020 so I'd be surprised to see it in 2021. Charles Wytock, possibly, but Covid will not have helped and a new boiler will probably require more work than refitting the old one.
     
  17. Pete Thornhill

    Pete Thornhill Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Administrator Moderator Friend

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    Axe is indeed under overhaul, specifically Valve gear but it has been delayed due to COVID-19 although should be back in service in the first part of this year.

    It entered service in 2009 a the first steaming was November 2008 with the extended certificate certificate expiring May 2019. The boiler is in good condition hence the planned quick turnaround.
     
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  18. Small Prairie

    Small Prairie Part of the furniture

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    Axe is on the limit sensibly with 3 loaded coaches ....she'll hold her pressure with the injector on but 4 would be an overload .

    EA are always in talks with land owners and estate agents which is why thier "constantly " buying land ....they seem to have had a good run lately on deal closing and the next coming up.

    Theres alot of behind the scene stuff happening with the current killington extention but its not for public domain yet....sounds exciting but its just paperwork etc.
     
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  19. Axe +1

    Axe +1 New Member

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    Andy, your account of what could have been achieved by 2012 is neither factual or correct.


    "Passenger services began in 2004,although not quite to Killington lane, thats some 17 years,everything was in place in 2009 including verbal agreement by enpa to apply to extend the line down to a halt opposite Heddon Hall,

    Extending the line down to a halt opposite Heddon Hall was not at all feasible in 2008.

    Firstly, the land at Higher Bodley was owned by Exmoor Associates and no agreement could be reached regarding its transfer to the Trust at that time. The land was eventually tranferred from EA to the L&B CIC via a share exchange in 2015.

    Even so, extending the railway to Cricket Field Lane was impractical. Planning was required, followed by application for a TWAO. And Parracombe Parish Council, then as now, were not that welcoming towards the railway.

    And where exactly would the sizeable infill of many 100's of tons of spoil contained in Killington Lane and Parracombe Lane Head cuttings be removed to? The railway had no land available on which the spoil could have been temporarily deposited until needed to construct for example an embankment elsewhere.

    The cost would have weighed against an extension of less than a mile. The best advice from the authorities at the time was that the railway would have more success with grant funding for a longer length beyond Parracombe.

    And Cricket Field Lane, as a terminus, could not have accomodated the rebuilt L&B carriages and locos the size of Lyn.



    "a piece of land was even bought to specifically accommodate the halt building,"

    The piece of land I understand (known as the 'triangle') was not bought to accommodate a halt building but to provide a release siding as there was not enough room for a run-round loop.




    "Killington lane bridge had been costed at£250,000 so at a push the line could have been extennded by 2012 at the earliest"

    Nothing whatsoever is going to pass under Killington Lane Bridge without us first obtaining a TWOA. How much would that have cost the railway back in 2012?



    "and the momentum had been kept going its easily possible that Parracombe Halt would have been reinstated by now"

    We did not own Fairview at the time, so that would have also produced opposition on the route towards Parracombe Halt.
     
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  20. Meatman

    Meatman Member

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    Chris,
    firstly,i do apologise if my comment is neither factual or correct but i did get the information from old L&B magazines and EA news,page 19.The triangle of land opposite Heddon hall was purchased for 'a runaround loop and station halt' and 'the extension to cricket field lane will therefore be as beneficial to Heddon hall as it will be to the L&BR' also bearing in mind at this time the railway was running AXE and thorpe park carriages,not Lyn and full size carriages.The cost of extending the railway back then to Cricket field lane is about as relevant as it would be today in all honesty although back then planning may have been a little easier.
    The costings for Killington lane bridge were estimated at 250k and im sure we are all aware that planning and a twoa would have been needed as they are now, but,it could be argued, to do that on the shorter extension to Cricket field lane would have put the planning team in much better stead and to have a better understanding of the process to tackle larger planning / twao applications ,yes there may have been a problem with the infill of the cuttings and it would probably have had to have been used as landfill but no doubt it could have gone to Deepmoor as 'capping material' or ground up and sold as hardcore (i think there's planning approval to do just that),you may also argue that it is more cost effective to get planning and a twao for the route from Killington lane to Blackmoor gate but there is no guarantee that even if a twao is granted it will include compulsory purchase powers to get over any issues that may and obviously will arise,especially south of Parracombe halt,i also cannot understand why ,when the planning application was made,because of known 'implications' it wasn't argued that it should be split into two parts,ie.to Parracombe as part 1 and to Blackmoor as part 2.
    When i stated that the railway could have been to Heddon hall by 2012 i was allowing 3 years for planning ect at the earliest if all went well but it would have been there by now for sure.The land at Higher Bodley was purchased by EA at the trust's request and had the trust moved forward with an extension to Cricket field lane then, that land would have been made available then,the trust only asked for the land to be transferred in 2015 and it was. When things start moving some doors open up with the momentum and i merely suggested that had the railway extended to CFL then by now it would have been possible to have been at Parracombe .The trust bought Fairview a few years ago and had they kept it (as many suggested they should) to be used as the general managers accommodation,it also could have been used as a temporary halt,and if there wasn't enough room for a runaround loop one only has to think outside the box a little or look to the GWR for inspiration(narrow gauge auto coach,now there's a novel idea).
    ,the argument that there is no room for parking at the Parracombe end is a non starter as it would operate much the same as Killington lane does at present.At the end of the day Chris,this railway could have been extended by now,not only to Parracombe but could also have been heading towards Lynton which is probably going to be an easier option as i would be very surprised if they manage to start work to Blackmoor by 2025 given the opposition and arguments raised to some planning adjustments of the last 14 months,let alone any public enquiry that will arise with the twao,yes its nice to see a replica loco and replica carriages (with little bits of the originals built in) but its been 15 years now since the L&BR running line was laid and one has to start questioning why the railway is still within the constraints of Woody bay and Killington lane when it could have been extended by now
     

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