MMO42 - Lynton and Barnstaple Branch Railway (Monument)

A dismantled narrow gauge railway running between Lynton and Barnstaple. The 19.5 mile length of track was in operation between 1898 and 1935. The earthworks of the track can be seen on aerial photographs and at ground level in places.

SS 7192 4883 to SS 5533 3335. The Lynton and Barnstaple, the West Country's only genuine narrow gauge (1 foot 11 1/2 inches) passenger-carrying railway, covering a distance of 19 miles was opened on 16 May 1898. In 1922 it was sold to the Southern Railway and the last train ran on 29 September 1935. [1] Lynton and Barnstaple Railway. The only narrow gauge (1ft 11 1/2") passenger railway in Devon, this 19 1/2 mile line operated between 1898 and 1935. The engineers were Sir James Szlumper and F.W. Chanter. [2] The railway area is shown on a 1:2500 record map [3] referred to in the altered apportionment of Tithe Rent charge dated 3rd January 1929. The track has now been dismantled. The extent of the railway is still evident from SS 7000 4734 to SS 9191 4879. From SS 7032 4953 to SS 7045 4775 the trackbed has been destroyed by the modern road and from SS 7185 4868 to SS 9191 4879 it is overlaid by houses and gardens. [4] (See also MDE11177). [5] The trackbed of the dismantled railway is still evident from SS 7000 4734 to SS 9191 4879. From SS 7032 4953 to SS 7045 4775 the trackbed has been destroyed by the modern road and from SS 7185 4868 to SS 9191 4879 it is overlaid by houses and gardens. [6] The trackbed of the Lynton and Barnstaple Branch Railway is visible on as earthworks on a number of aerial photographs from the 1940s onwards. Examples are listed below. In some areas the banks appear to have been incorporated into property and field boundaries, or ploughed out completed. [7-8] Between 1995 and 2003 a small section of the track from Woody Bay Station (SS 6825 4641) to Killington Lane (SS 6724 4570) was restored by the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Trust. Narrow gauge passenger trains have been running along this section of track since 2003. There are plans to restore further sections of track in the future.[9] The embanked line was crossed by a pipeline in 2000 at ss67634634 but the ground works were not observed (Whitton). [10] George Newnes, the publisher, was influential in the development of the Lynton to Barnstaple narrow gauge railway. The Bill for construction was passed in 1895 and the line opened on 11th May 1898. The arrival of the railway spurred on a later phase of development in the town, enabling a more eclectic mix of building materials to be transported in. This later development produced a significant legacy of Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts detail, at present somewhat underplayed. Although the railway closed in the 1930s it is an essential element of local history, and a passenger carriage from the line is preserved in the National Railway Museum. The station was some distance from the town centre. [11] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [13] The railway is included in an illustration within an advertisment for the Exmoor Forest Hotel. [14] The opening of the Lynton to Barnstaple narrow guage railway in 1898 helped to give Lynmouth acces to the wider rail network and stimulated growth in neighbouring Lynton. [15] George Newnes was influential in the development of the Lynton to Barnstaple narrow gauge railway, an ultimately less successful enterprise than the Cliff Railway. The line opened on 11th May 1898 but it stopped inconveniently short of the town and had closed by 1935. [16] The 2004 Conservation Area Appraisal for Parracombe mentions the remains of the Lynton and Barnstaple railway trackbed, including surviving bridge abutments and a former railway station. [17] The arrival of the The Lynton to Barnstaple railway line in Parracombe did not have a great influence on its development nor signal a revival in the fortunes of Churchtown, and left little in terms of architectural legacy in Parracombe. The line of the track can, however, still be traced though Churchtown and surviving traces of railway represent an important element of Parracombe history. [18]