Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

I don't know about this, but presumably the Station House Inn would qualify as 'a major building', acquisition of which would mean that Blackmoor Station was added to the property portfolio together with land around it. It would certainly seem to be a more compelling case for the TWAO if Blackmoor Station were owned by the 'L&B family' rather than having to explain how your plans could be accomodated without it.

 

i have heard it said or read somewhere that TAW was turned and run for a week facing the opposite direction but you would need an expert like @Michael B to say if that was correct

 

I seem to remember (can't find it now) that an operating condition will ensure there is no shunting or reversing permitted at Parracombe, so using the turntable as a sector plate will be no help if that is what you have in mind.

 

I wasn't aware of any potential scenario at Parracombe requiring anything beyond reinstating the wayside facility of yore. If a staged reopening necessitated reversal short of Blackmoor in the short term, perhaps a run round facility (along the lines of Killington Lane) at some convenient temporary site, closer to the point where the line crosses the boundary of ENP might serve to minimise any nuisance to the line's neighbours in the village, without Parracombe losing those benefits the reopened line will bring?

If the situation at Parracombe is as sensitive as seems the case, could a more modern approach to PW within earshot of the village be the sort of conciliatory gesture needed to allay any local concerns?

 

I hate to be that guy who suggests you ask someone else, but I've never yet asked Williamson's for a railway colour they didn't make! It'll probably be gloss though so would need some satin varnish over the top, or just wait for it to fade naturally. I reckon you'll struggle to find any paint that actually says "LSWR brown" on the tin in a satin/eggshell finish - happy to be corrected! If the satin finish is most important I'd probably look at somewhere like Johnstones (trade) who do a variety of finishes and send them a colour match of something you reckoned looked the right colour, we're in mixing paint by hand territory for your era anyway so there's a bit of leeway.

 

With respect, IMHO it is neither sensible nor practical to keep speculating in public about 'possible ideas' which currently are clearly outwith the existing ENPA planning condition constraints. The situation at Parracombe is sensitive enough already without potentially adding fuel to someone's fire....

 

Isn't Martyn dismissing a speculated idea...?

 

I fail to see how the acquisition, or not, of the OSHI will have any significant effect on a decision about the TWAO.

The restored L&BR's presence at Blackmoor will consist essentially of (a) the new Depot north of the main road and (b) the rebuilt station (comprising a passing-loop and two platforms) south of the main road. The land required for the former is already in railway ownership. With regard to the latter, AIUI there is sufficient space to build that on a new alignment a short distance to the west of the old platforms without needing to own the OSHI site. Although the acquisition of the OSHI could be a "nice to have" addition, the railway should be capable of operating without it. After all, there are other heritage railways allowed to operate at places where the old station has passed into private hands and so a new one has been needed (eg Gotherington).

 

Sorry, I should have made it clearer perhaps that my comment was not aimed specifically at Martyn, I just happened to reply to the latest post on the subject.

 

That'ts fine @RailWest - my point was narrowly that the less you need to explain, the better.

 

Exactly

 

Had a really interesting chat with Mike from EA at lunchtime. It seems there are several sections of trackbed which are potentially available. The latest one is the section which was withdrawn from sale last year, but is now going ahead again. The full overhaul of "Rusto", or more properly "Brunel" is almost complete, and apparently she looks superb.
Plans are advancing to rebuild the original goods shed at Bratton, which would be large enough to give EA a decent base and meeting room in immediate area. The current tenant of BF is more than happy to allow track to be laid into the station area, and up to the overbridge, to allow "Brunel" somewhere to show itself off.
This all sounds very positive, but be prepared to dip, at short notice, should several sections of trackbed become available almost simultaneously!
Next issue of Trackbed Trails due out in a couple of weeks.

 

Excellent news - and evidence, if it were needed, that success begets success. News of the awakening appears to be spreading!

 

Yes, there's nothing like a site visit and a personal chat.
Re funding, although the appeal for Bratton Fleming was very successful, it didn't quite manage to reach the full amount required (a big ask), and some precious EA war chest balances had to be used. So they will need our help for any more bits of trackbed.

I did a blog entry on EA, which you can read here:
https://haylesabbeyhalt.blogspot.com/2021/10/cyclops-reports.html

It's about two thirds of the way down the page. No doubt there will be another opportunity to meet everyone involved next year. The wife loved it, which was a surprise. And then there's the stunning scenery too.

 

Thats the blog I did a plug for, remember?
And yes, the scenery. I took Mrs T. there a couple of years back, and she was bowled over by the sheer beauty of it, and something else, too- there's something haunting about that landscape, an aura which defies analysis. It just gets you, doesn't it?

 

I wonder if the allegation that carriages and wagons were turned to equalise wear is true. I know it has been stated in print and hence passed into L & B folklore. But does it stand up to scrutiny ? I spent a lot of time measuring and drawing carriages from 1964 onwards when there were at least 10 bits still around the Devon countryside, and that involved analysing the available historical photographs. The results appeared in 'Measured and Drawn' along with sketches of the end of each coach in 1935 on pp46 and 47. Whereas there are inevitably gaps in the information - some carriages caught the camera a lot, some hardly at all, these pictures suggested that only half the carriages were ever turned after the opening, two of them once one way and then back. Of the un-handbraked coaches only 2471 had its lighting generator north. This evening I did the same for wagons. Of course the eight Howard built bogie vans and wagons of 1927 had brakes on both sides so it is impossible to tell with these. but with the other 16 4W vans and wagons, and the bogie wagons I found that there was only evidence of one being turned and this was 47039, a 4W box van sometime between about 1930 and 1935. The 15 remaining wagons stayed the same way round throughout the railway's existence.
I think the turntable was used for maintenance purposes. There at least three occasions when a vehicle was photographed sitting on the turntable, including one of Van 23 in 1924, probably after being inspected for damage after the derailment in August of that year near Snapper.

There was a story that a Manning Wardle engine was turned but that it was soon turned back again - probably they found it difficult to keep the tube plate covered on the 1 in 50 persistent northwards gradient. As to Excelsior, there are pictures of it on what became bridge 21 (L & B Album p13, Celebration p19) and constructing the quay (Branch Line to Lynton picture 34, L & B story p4, Celebration p20) with the engine facing the Barnstaple terminus. But it was turned by the summer of 1898 during the contractor's 12-months maintenance. (The Legendary . . . . p9)

 

I received an email today from an old schoolfriend who is aware of my interest in the L&B. He told me that in the latest edition of Private Eye magazine he had noticed an advertisement for the share offer which aims to raise funds for the L&B to purchase the Old Station House Inn at Blackmoor Gate. That property was originally the L&B Blackmoor Railway Station.

I explained to my friend that financial service regulations do not permit me to advise or encourage him to invest in such shares, but I am allowed to draw his attention to the offer in the same way that the advert in Private Eye had done.

I suggested he might wish to look at the website https://www.lynton-rail.co.uk/ and that he could then click on the underlined text which says 'SUPPORT THE ACQUISITION OF THE OLD STATION HOUSE INN'

You too might wish to follow that link.

Please feel free to share these details with others.

Mike

 

Is this the same share offer which has been open for several years or a new one? I registered my interest two years ago but in the end did not subscribe at the time.

 

I'm certainly not about to claim any level of expert knowledge (and cheerfully bow to your own, which is recognised by all, sir!). In that case, the obvious question becomes what earthly use was one solitary turntable? Great for getting the right light for official photos, s'pose, if a tad extravagant!

Perhaps the original theory about wheel wear wasn't reflected in operational experience, once the line was up and running? Traffic mightn't have ever reached levels hoped for in the original shareholders' prospectus, but if there's one thing the L&B certainly didn't want for, it was reverse curves!

AIUI, turning any L&B stock entailed moving the Calthrop-Jones coupler's "chopper", so a simple spin on the TT wasn't all it took to actually use a turned vehicle.

 

It is indeed the same share offer. You will appreciate that I am not permitted to encourage you or anyone else to invest...
Mike