The Lynton and Barnstaple - an inspiration to us all

Woody Bay 23.6.1980

Woody Bay 30.7.2006

Killingon Lane 30.7.2006 (All copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

FACEBOOK - LYNTON AND BARNSTAPLE RAILWAY

'Perchance it is not dead but sleepeth'. So proclaimed the board left at the buffer stops at Barnstaple Town station back in 1935, on the day the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway closed. It was an act of pure genius.

For many years the line was sleeping, deeply. Railways were in decline, enthusiasts dared not even contemplate reopening railways. We were heading towards a future of robots, colonies on Mars and twelve lane motorways.

And then slowly railways WERE reopened, by enthusiasts and mainly for enthusiasts. And in time the preserved lines, as they were then called, became tourist attractions and the general public took to them as steam vanished from the Network.

They rebranded themselves as heritage railways and began to offer more than just rides, with some lines offering services for people to get from A to B.

Somewhere in that period a few brave souls decided the L&B's time was coming, that it could be nudged from that deep sleep. And why not? It sat in a prime holiday area, ran through fantastic countryside and was just about intact. And after a quiet start with a few dead ends it finally began to return, once Woody Bay had been secured. Very very small steps, but a head of steam is building up, and the line now unashamedly proclaims that its long term aim is to rebuild the whole route. We don't need to be shy of our aims any more! A step towards this was the formation of Exmoor Associates, a group that exists purely to obtain stretches of the line as they come on to the market. This will then ease extension of the line. 

For now the line offers a trip of about a mile, but there are big plans falling into place. The line is now about to acquire Blackmoor (Gate) station. Snapper Halt and Chelfham Viaduct have both been restored to a degree by the line.

The L&B model has inspired others, not least the New Somerset and Dorset Railway, which aims to restore the whole 100 miles of that line.

We are moving towards a transport paradigm shift. Road traffic will give way to rail traffic as the oil vanishes. Rail has a huge energy efficiency over road, it has only been cheap and easy (and heavily subsidised) oil that has skewed this. As the oil (and the cars and lorries) vanish we will all switch to rail. Where does this leave the L&B - and the rest?

The heritage railway per se is doomed, for the same reason roads are. Some are already aware of this and are morphing into community railways. What few if any are aware of is that the particular skill set they already possess will be priceless in an oil-free future. Our non-electrified railways won't be diesel worked, but will use steam. Fashion and modernity will vanish as our fossil-fuel sunbsidised economy simplifies. The best use of assets will be the long-term. There's no reason why locomotives and coaches can't last over 100 years - because some already have! Railways will become the heart and lifeline of every community. 

As for narrow gauge light railways - their golden age is now only a decade or so away. An ideal solution in less heavily populated areas the brief interregnum, when cheap oil allowed roads to steal the light railways' traffic away, will soon come to an end, and we all need to be ready to get the rails down as quickly as we can - not only between Lynton and Barnstaple but throughout these islands. The L&B will once again become a virtuous model and will pick up from where it left off, only this time without subsidised road traffic to compete against.

Lynton and Barnstaple history

A future route - Lynton to Minehead

to ilfracombe!!

Nº34069 Hawkinge running into Mortehoe & Woolacombe Station from Ilfracombe, with an up train. Some time during the 1950s. (Photographer unknown)

FACEBOOK - REVERSING BEECHING - THE ILFRACOMBE LINE

Devon suffered greatly from the Beeching cuts and seemed to be mortally wounded for decades after much of the rail network was brutally slashed mainly in the 60s. The Ilfracombe line - a magnificent steeply graded double track main line - did struggle (just) into the 70s, closing on 5 October1970. It was the final nail in Devon's railways, and very nearly the last Devon closure (which was the Kingswear line in 1972, though that line never really closed as such, just turned into a 'heritage' line overnight).

Even in 1970 the closure was seen as ridiculous and soon attempts were being made to reopen the line, which stayed intact until 1975. But the scheme collapsed in a mess of financial shenanigans, and the line was ripped up. The heart had been ripped out of both North Devon's railways and holiday trade.

Some people claim this tainted rail revival in North Devon which should really be a centre for heritage rail. Bideford station, Instow signal box and Torrington station are being or have been restored, and there is the fantastic Lynton and Barnstaple line up on Exmoor, but really the whole area has a lot of catching up to do ....

But now we have Combe Rail, a group dedicated to rebuilding the Ilfracombe line. I like to think I played a small role in helping launch this as it grew out of the Ilfracombe Facebook group, which now has over 800 members!! Hopefully many will join the new organisation and help make this happen sooner rather than later. 

So North Devon is stirring. There is even the chance of a 'Race to Barnstaple' as the Lynton and Barnstaple, Torrington and Ilfracombe lines rebuild back to Barny. There is also the other important route to Barnstaple, the line from Taunton, once a busy partly double track cross country route which cut a lot of time getting to Ilfracombe from here in Bristol. A tiny part of this line has been rebuilt of course, as part of the West Somerset's Taunton facilities. So far there is only a Facebook group, but how long before this line also has an active group promoting its early reopening? I'd love to see a fourth runner in the Race to Barny!

As Climate Change hits harder and harder (and warmer!) and as oil supplies tighten our coastal resorts are going to see a boom in visitor numbers. They are already inventing themselves as ideal short break destinations - but to really cash in on this they have to offer easy rail connection.

The Ilfracombe line revival is part of that process ....

In deep sleep 1973 (source)

transformation at woody bay

(25.6.1980)




26 years later! (30.7.2006)

The Lynton and Barnstaple was one of Britain's finest railways and should never have been closed.

It's taken decades but the line is at last reappearing, and what a fantastic job they're doing of it! Not only is the stretch around Woody Bay now operating again, but other sections of the route have been purchased for eventual rail use. The intention is to rebuild the whole line - anything less would be a disgrace - and even to extend the line further into Lynton to connect with the Lynton to Lynmouth Cliff Railway. In fact the L&D has been a huge influence on the drive to rebuild the Somerset and Dorset Railway, which now also has a group dedicated to restoring the entire route and not just silly little bits of it!