Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

My understanding is that tourist sites need to be attracting a certain level of visitors before the local council is permitted to install a brown sign. I am sure that either Toobes or 35B will come up with the answer for you.

As for general signage, again, that will be down to a planning application, and then I think it will only allow up to a certain size

 

During the Phase 2A signalling design stage there was much discussion about the need - or not - for a passing-loop at PE. A draft 'business case' based on projected traffic levels etc suggested that its only real need would be for Galas and occasional 'high days' - at best about 15% of the time. It would be 'switched out' most of the time, not least 'cos of problems with staffing levels, yet would still require regular maintenance. Personally, I never really saw any convincing need for it.

The original concept, to be honest, was IMHO just a 'nice to have' idea from a group of people which then took on a life of its own and became a 'private project' without any Board control (meaning no disrespect to those who did a nice job on preparing the equipment). I was told later that subsequent surveys identified the potential need for extensive - and expensive - excavation and buttressing work on the Up side, coupled with other issues about passenger access etc.

I would suggest therefore that, to all intents and purposes, what you will see at any future PE station will be little more than the running line and a platform, although perhaps with some improved provisions for passenger comfort and shelter. There might be - if space permitted - a short dead-end siding (worked by a small GF) on the up side, provided on the basis of being a 'nice to have' place to (say) shunt an engineering train out of the way or put off a defective wagon etc. But that would be it - at least, in my view...

Others may have different views, of course

 

Thanks, Andy. Its good to have that exactly located. It does seem strange though, given the large amounts of work undertaken on that stretch, ie rebuilding bridges 54& 55, plus all that clearance undertaken down to 53, that fencing wasn't done at the time, although like you say, I'd be very surprised if the cutting hadn't been fenced at least.
I saw that Anne Belsey mentioned on Exmoor NG that the fence posts have been at WB for some considerable time, now. (Insert Oliver Hardy exasperated look).

 

If I have my maths correct, the running time between Blackmoor and Woody Bay will be about 12 minutes at 20 mph, so why install a passing loop? That said, of course, as Railwest has suggested, having somewhere to place a wagon or something could be useful.

Over in France, there are a couple of heritage lines that have such a spur, and when the line is operating, they shut a van or two into it on the first train of the day to act as the facilities and then on the last train they pick them up and take them back to the depot to be cleaned and made ready for the next time they are needed.

 

An application has to be made to Highways England for tourist signs on A roads managed by them, which I should imagine the A39 and A399 are.

Cost is on the owner of the attraction/museum/monument ......currently quoted on the govt website as maybe between £8,000 and £20,000 per single A road sign depending on design, location and possible future maintenance which is done by Highways England once the sign is installed, and rising to £17,000 to £40,000 for a motorway sign.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-brown-tourist-signs-on-roads-the-highways-agency-manage

 

I'm not belittling the locals' concerns about the poor road access at Parracombe, but based on a sample of one family visiting the area (mine), we made a point of driving into Parracombe to look for the station precisely because it is closed. We didn't find it, and gave up, but that's beside the point. Had the station been open, we'd have gone there by train, and that would have been one *less* car in the village that day.

 

“We hold these truths to be self evident”, errr, to coin a phrase.

 

Ok, then we need to demolish OSHI pub and rebuild it eisewhere on the site. We really MUST rebuild the L&B, not just rebuild a new tourist attaraction that happens to follow (in part) the old alignment but deviates at the slightest sign of difficulty....

 

no, we should not go down that road.....we are rebuiding the heritage line....

 

I refer you to the quote in Martyn's post here
People need to be much more careful about what they say online as it can (and in this case has) been used against the railway.

Calling someone a nimby is not conducive to good community relations.

 

We would also need to demolish a significant part of the newish house that was built by the previous owners as part of that sits on the original alignment too

 

There was a suggestion - which, of course, could still be implemented - that exactly that sort of thing could be done at Wistlandpound. A van, designed to incorporate toilets etc - could be taken Up to WD on the first train of the day, left there, and then taken back to WB on the last Down train.

As an aside...it is quite common on heritage railways that have a very simple, basic 'country' terminus (eg Mendip Vale on the ESR) of little more than a platform and run-round loop, to find the odd siding or two off the loop. Usually used as somewhere to store unwanted/unloved stock (often euphamistically described as 'awaiting restoration') out of the way and sight of more public areas. It also provides a 'cripple siding' facility in the event of a needing to detached a failed coach before the return journey.

In the case of WD, I understand that the Board did not want any sort of 'extra storage' there precisely to avoid the possibility of it ending up as a home for rake of rusting ruins that would blight the locality. There was also the fear that its relatively remote and unsupervised location could attract vandalism or other unwanted attention. However the need for some sort of cripple facility was recognised so, to avoid the expense of having to provide an extra point simply to serve a siding that might only be accessed once or twice a year, and also avoid the need to widen the trackbed further to accommodate it, I proposed simply to extend the length of the dead-end spur further towards BF. The engine running-round its train would use the first part of the spur, the second (dead-end) part being reserved for any cripple, the two being separated by a simply padlocked wheel-stop.

Maybe one day I shall be able to get the plans out and dust them off again ?

 

That depends on whether or not a viable operation is the end game.

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And we already have planning permission for Blackmoor, based on what exists today.

Let's see what is presented at the AGM.

 

Already been thought on and a design, self contained water storage and waste, based on a V23 underframe which we now have the drawings for. 2 unisex loos, one which should meet the disabled access criteria if level access can be obtained.
Also, small coffee/tea wagon.
And a classroom carriage for schools.....

 

Thanks, Dave, for bringing me up to date on this.

 

Well quite - I think what you’ve put forward is *viable*, a complete heritage approach is *viable*.

So it come down to who supports what rather than ‘that obviously won’t work’.

Which is, again, part of the difficulty. There’s no obvious only way forward so everyone has been too free for too long to push their own pet preference.

Time to get a grip. Slowly, and carefully. If that means people walk away because they’ve finally been told what they want isn’t happening so be it (whatever the decision is) but we can’t indulge competing visions anymore in my view.

 

When the Bluebell extended to East Grinstead they paid for the brown signs that were installed around the town.

 

I do get your point of view, and maybe it is time for everyone to look at what the objects of the trust have been all along. The other issue is, of course, if you say to people who are doing all the work that their dream is not going to fly, and they walk away from this. Then, who is going to make it happen? A bunch of armchair enthusiasts?

As I see it, we need to come together, and we should be able to be a broad church in achieving the long-term aims. Those of us who have been here from the very beginning have one view, while others who have only joined in say the last ten years or so will have a different view.

Everyone must obtain a basic understanding of the history of the railway, but once you understand that, you then need to read this https://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/MoT_Requirements1950.pdf
To understand just how a modern-day heritage railway is built and run.

As I see it, before we even start, there is a major difference between what was and what can be; there is a certain amount of compromise on all sides that needs to be accepted, and that is without any external interference from subsequent government regulations

I would argue as well that this has only happened due to weak or unfocused leadership