The
Lynton & Barnstaple Railway (continued). This
page concludes our coverage of the club's visits to various sites
on this famous railway on Wednesday 9th April 2014, arranged by Chairman
Mark Jones. As noted in the introduction to Photo
Gallery 89, these sites are not open to the public and our visits
were arranged in advance with the landowners, especially the nascent
railway. These photographs are presented as a record of the day and
as an illustration of how work on rebuilding the L&BR is progressing
– but please do not trespass on the sites depicted here. |
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Above:
The modern L&BR now owns Chelfham station and its environs,
and is busy preparing the site for the eventual return of track
and trains. As before, Chelfham will be an important location on
the line with a passing loop and two platforms. At the time of our
visit, two new running-in boards had just been cast and installed,
the one illustrated above being that on what will become the northbound
platform for Lynton. 9th April 2014. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above:
A view of the Chelfham's diminutive station, which will soon
have its white-painted 1960s lean-to addition removed in the not unreasonable
interests of authenticity. The running-in board in the picture above
can just be seen in the left of this view. The postbox in the station
wall is of 'Victoria Regina' vintage and appears still to be in use.
9th April 2014. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above:
On station open days, it is possible to walk a section of
the trackbed north of Chelfham which the railway has purchased and
cleared. This is the view looking west along the old line towards
Chelfham and Barnstaple. 9th April 2014. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above:
The railway has purchased and restored the former station
master's house at Chelfham, which it operates for members on a timeshare
basis. The delightful architectural styling is typical of the original
L&BR; if this had been a public house, it might have been described
as 'brewer's Tudor'. 9th April 2014. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above:
The station master's house affords a commanding view of Chelfham
Viaduct, which is immediately to the west of the station, on the Barnstaple
side. The modern railway owns this also, having purchased it some
years ago from the British Rail Property Board, no doubt for a token
sum of £1. The viaduct has now been fully restored and awaits
the return of narrow gauge trains. 9th April 2014. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above:
A view of Chelfham Viaduct from the lower part of the station
master's garden. The viaduct takes the line over the Stoke Rivers
Valley and was built to the design of L&BR architect FW Chanter
using over 250,000 Marland bricks; Marland is situated south of Torrington
on what eventually became the North Devon & Cornwall Junction
Light Railway. 9th April 2014. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above:
This is the view west along the trackbed towards tiny Snapper
Halt, with Barnstaple Town just one stop further on. Again, this land
is now owned – and has been cleared by – the modern L&BR.
9th April 2014. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above:
The mighty Snapper Halt in all its glory! Note the running-in
board to the left of the tiny passenger shelter. Before the L&BR
acquired this property and cleared the mass of vegetation which had
engulfed it, this little building could have been mistaken for a dense
thicket of vegetation. It was certainly like that when the club's
Webmaster found it with some friends on a tour of the line from Exeter
back in 1975. 9th April 2014. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above:
While the intending lady passenger lends a sense of scale
to Snapper's station building, no one appears to have told her that
she is a few years too early for the next train to Barnstaple. 9th
April 2014. (Jeff Vinter) |