Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

Doesn't it do the opposite of those things? It shows the railway isn't able to extend from it's current location, it splits the existing volunteer base, it splits the existing rolling stock across two separate railways and increases the infrastructure costs without a comparable increase in income, and runs the risk of not increasing visitor numbers at all whilst adding to the number of cars on the road traveling between the two sections. I just don't see it having any benefits beyond the potential planning ones

 

But, the reinstatement of the L and B is in the local plan - so anyone who buys a house in the area should have been told about it either in their search or by the Estate Agent. If you have lived there a long time then you should have made your feelings known when the local plan was being drawn up.

 

IMHO that just about sums it up (almost) in a nutshell.

Even if you assume that Stages 2 and 3 proceed to time, according to the Construction Plan, once the section from BR to WD is complete (and presumably operational shortly thereafter), there is a planned 2.5 years gap before it get joined to the the WB -KL-PE stretch. That is subject to various processes which could be delayed by matters outside of L&BR control.

If it could be clearly demonstrated with little or no scope for uncertainty that the time to 'close the gap' between the two sections would be no more than (say) 12 months, then I would be more relaxed about the idea. Otherwise, I share the concerns already expressed.

 

Completely bonkers too. Running round at each end takes longer than the journey!

 

Dunno whether it's apocryphal, but there were tales of cows sent to market on the (other) L&B necessitating sending two calves, in order for said calves to balance wagon on the return journey. The odd "steps wagon" to permit passengers to access the far side carriage doors certainly existed, but not really so different to arrangements on carriages 15-20 on the Ffestiniog.

I do know they managed to get an elephant into a Wüppertal 'Schwebebahn' car on one occasion ..... Bob alone knows why ..... but it found its own way out, between stops. Knowing how the Germans overreact, I'd bet you're not even allowed on with a horse these days!

 

An elaboration on the tale is that a cow was put on the monorail to balance a piano and the calves had to be borrowed on delivery to get the cow back to its owner.....

 

Surely you'd want a concert grand balanced by two uprights?

 

Suddenly there, I got a fleeting picture of Laurel and Hardy on a staircase, with a piano, heading for Listowel station.
Incidentally, how on earth did we all end up on this tangent?

 

I heard that the farmer turned up at Listowel with a fox, a goose and a bag of grain. Now, the fox and goose couldn’t travel together because …

Tom

 

Remember 'The Plank' film? Just wait until they try to get the Pilton turntable down the trackbed and under Churchtown bridge

 

Funny, but I only watched that again about a week or so back. I reckon a couple of Morris Minor pickups and a dustcart should manage it ok.

 

I have just received my L&BR Newsletter No. 76 April 2022 (and Magazine). It is the 'Tail Lamp' that intrigues me: 'There is some exciting and long-awaited news which will follow shortly but we are forbidden to say anything now!' Well it must be three weeks at least since this was published so I'm wondering if the 'embargo period' has passed? It surely cannot be the WB Tea Cabin, as welcome as that is, can it? What we would all like to see is Bridge 65 started asap, but that is not yet permitted. Talk of a return to Parracombe is premature and contentious, but if Bridge 65 can be started then largely unnecessary since the ENPA planning approvals will then remain in place (like those for the work beyond BR). What is required is for us all to save our pennies and hope that someone comes along to deliver a fat cheque to the L&BR Trust to enable work to start.
I've just had a thought: it doesn't concern The OSH at BR, does it??

 

We can but hope, although we'll have to wait and see!

 

The members pages seem to be updated more frequently these days - so we ought to get the news there when the embargo is lifted.

 

I would suggest that the "Two Centre" approach is showing that the Railway is growing, there are more opportunities for volunteers, The rolling stock is increasing and will have space to actually run, The visitors will have two places to spend money at and the larger operation will attract more visitors. Blackmoor Gate has good car parking facilities I believe. Whilst there will be more cars travelling to the railways, they will be parked, whilst people are on the trains for longer at the two sites. It might not be the ideal approach but there are several advantages......but we all want to see the reborn L&B getting built and enjoyed.

 

I don't want to get into it over this, we clearly disagree, but:

1. I really don't see how there will be any more opportunities for volunteers, but if there are, will there actually be anymore volunteers to fill them?
2. Rolling stock isn't increasing - I don't think any new coaches are in the pipeline and the next item out of EAST will be van 23 which won't add to passenger capacity. If the railway is operating a double the length but it two completely separate sections, then you'll have to split the existing coaches between the sites
3. Visitors may have two places to spend their money, but my hunch is the vast majority will be one and done - they're not going to pay twice to go on two railways a few miles apart from
4. each other

I agree that we all want to see the L&B restored, I have since I was about 6 years old and sat having a cream tea watching the 16mm Manning Wardle trundle around the railway in Fairview's garden, but it has to be done right - the consequences of it not are very real!

 

Me too. My grandmother knew the old line (everywhere we went around Exmoor when I was a sprog, people knew her .... I've never understood why she didn't up sticks and move thataway!).

Whilst a two part line is 'suboptimal'*, I'd be a lot less exercised over matters if the 'Parracombe Phase' either came up short of, or made it clean through the village to it's temporary terminus. Like @SpudUk, I really don't think we ought to be downplaying the local sensibilities. This isn't just a question of 'neighbourhood relations', it's also a case of whether those seeking reinstatement can be relied upon to negotiate and act in good faith. There are long term considerations for all parties need to be borne in mind.

I know it's fashionable in some circles to ignore all advice, overlook any assurances and to base decisions on confirmation bias alone ..... that doesn't make it a good idea.



* yes ..... that is both a horrible word and an understatement!

 

Once again, I find that the comments from SpudUK seem IMHO to sum up the situation very succinctly. I suspect that Flying Phil and I will just have to 'agree to disagree' - no problem with that

>>>I really don't see how there will be any more opportunities for volunteers, but if there are, will there actually be anymore volunteers to fill them?

A very good question, and I fear there are many who fail to recognise that potential problem. Furthermore it is not just sheer numbers, but also the skills and interests that they offer - eg not much use in having a dozen or more station staff if you do you not have enough qualified drivers, guards etc to actually run trains.

Ironically, when we started to look at the signalling design for Phase 2A, one of the things became apparent quite rapidly was the possible dearth of qualified signalmen to man the signal-boxes at WB and BR (and possibly even PE) in the immediate future. An initial assessment suggested that in fact about 75% of normal services could be operated as out-and-back from BR without the need for WB to manned as a block-post, so a lot of work then went into what changes would be needed to the signalling installation at WB to enable it to be properly 'switched out' for long periods. It has proven to be an S&T equivalent of getting a quart into a pint pot, with many ramifications which have yet to be resolved. For various reasons it is not simply the case that WB can remain unaltered, despite what some people may think will be the case for any extension.

 

The latest newsletter states that coach 9 is next to be built (it had been planned to build coach 1, but no. 9 makes more sense in Covid times). Much timber has been recovered from various sites and van 23 is more or less complete (at least until the underframe is delivered). Also, the construction of Yeo and Exe is underway.

I don't have any insight into the plans to run two sections of the railway concurrently, it doesn't seem particularly practical. I would imagine, if it were built, that perhaps the Wistlandpound section would only be used on limited days in the short term.

 

I thought that to be rather a pointless 'teaser' that would merely lead to a lot of speculation, and perhaps some disappointment if it turns out not to be quite as 'exciting' as one would hope. What if it all 'fell through' at the last minute ?