Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

Now now Mark..... let's not be uncharitable.... not before any appeals process is comprehensively exhausted at any rate.

Odd that the 'widespread local opposition' has thus far encompassed so few outside Mrs Grob's immediate circle.

Odder still she seems able to command media attention in so disproportionate a manner. Not the 'getting an argument heard', which is a good thing for democratic processes, but the radio news report headline at about 17:25 could almost have been written by the lady in question and broadcast to order, as once again, no real evidence of the sort of "widespead opposition" being implied was presented. Some non-Grob local opposition is bound to exist, as is local support, but the far-fetched NIMBY nonsense is being allowed to drown out sensible broadcast debate .... and for that, the lady is as blameworthy as the appalling news editors now in vogue at the BBC.

The upside of all the dotting of i's and crossing of t's is a far more robust plan than might otherwise have been anticipated at this stage.

The real winners will be the working folk of the district as the local economy is dragged out of it's overlong soporific state.

Congratulations to all at the L&B and EA on a difficult and protracted job well done.

 

well said.

 

Great news to hear all round, I was always confident it would get through eventually, it was just a matter of when. But as others have said on here, let's get all excited over track laying just yet, now comes the real challenge which quite literally putting our money where our mouths are. It'll be no small task to raise the required finances involved to build this 5 mile extension, and ideally you really want all the planning permissions such as the all important TWO at least before you've reached a fair way into fund raising, that way once the money is in place the project can get going into full swing.

I'm guessing the ideal scenario would be for the construction of the extension itself to not be a protracted one and is completely within a specific timeframe. As well as this it would be fair to assume they'll want the new station building and locomotive/carriage sheds up and operational by the time the extension is completed too, as I believe that is their ideal location for the railway's new headquarters. None of this will come cheap but with the right planning and initiative I'd say it's perfectly doable.

Course then there's the matter of additional carriages and possibly motive power that will be needed to run this greatly expanded railway, but that can be tackled at a later date.

 

Louise Grob does have a media background. Older Nat Pres members may well remember her as the "Nescafe Gold Blend Girl" back in the nineties.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/3342564/Pioneers-who-blazed-a-trail-to-the-West.html

 

Your right Mark this is just one more stage in the process and there is still a lot to do before anyone gets to lay some track and run trains, I might have to have a drink on this result tonight.

 

Some where between £16 to 20 million has been suggested as a ball park figure, not much in the grand scheme of things.

 

The provision of sufficient locomotive and passenger stock is included in the budget and plan for this phase, alongside the infrastructure.

 

You sure about that, sounds like a lot of money to me! But then again I suppose compared to other such big civil projects you can see going on elsewhere, not too bad an estimate I suppose, and I recall the money return in the long run will be a fair size won't it?

 

Thought as much, I'm sure I heard the plan was to get four more of the heritage carriages built double time when need for more carriages arises, and locomotive wise the railway is arguably already in a good position for this coming change.

That said perhaps another engine to help bolster the fleet, say a certain Manning Wardle from Wales, wouldn't go amiss. Either that or just build more of them, but that endeavour would take up a lot of time and money, and of course would they be completed in time for the extension's opening?

But again as I said before, no need to rush on this matter, there are more pressing matters to handle first.

 

I've already had a couple, hence an intemperate post a short while ago! Trouble is I get so wound up hearing utter rubbish spoken about the Trust and its aims, but unable to fire back for diplomatic reasons.

 

Not being familiar with imposed conditions, whether stock is to be classed as an intrinsic component of the project is unclear to me. I'd imagine that a couple of additional locos, plus ten carriages would add around £5 million to the overall bill.

The numbers are pure conjecture on my part, but my cost estimate is built around comparable new build locos and a figure I recall for matching "heritage" style carriages.

The options for securing funding may be less than pre-Lemming Sunday, but I'd imagine we're talking committed funding, as opposed to a pile of hard cash in a vault.

 

I recently bought £500 worth of shares, and can only recommend that we all do the same. Put our money where our mouth is

 

Only need 40,000 supporters at that price then!

Will

 

With discussions on going about the building of the next two Manning Wardles, the smart money is that where castings are required then four sets of everything will be done at the same time to help reduce the long term build costs for all four Manning Wardles.

The next big money project has to be the purchase of Blackmoor to get that up and running as a profit center for the whole project, while that won't fund the rebuild itself, the publicity valve of owning it can not be underestimated.

Looking forward to the day when I can go and order a Devon Red steak (medium rare) with local veg and a local pint as well.

 

Shares in what?

 

The L&B Blackmoor Company plc appeal. Had you not heard of it?

 

Link
http://www.lynton-rail.co.uk/content/investor-certification-form

 

Nope. You seem to have invested in a pub.

 

A pub AND the land around it in which to build a new station and facilities for the engines and carriages to be stored and maintained, to be precise... One must only look at the bigger picture involved here.

 

It's complicated isn't it? You can buy shares in three different companies, and donate to the trust.