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Lynton And Barnstaple Branch Railway

Hob Uid: 34825
Location :
Devon
North Devon
Barnstaple, Shirwell, Lynton and Lynmouth, Bratton Fleming, Martinhoe, Parracombe, Challacombe, Kentisbury, Goodleigh
Grid Ref : SS6367641006
Summary : 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. A small section of the track at Woody Bay Station, Parracombe (SS 6825 4641) was restored between 1995 and 2003, and narrow gauge passenger trains currently run along this section.
More information : (SS 71924883 to SS 55333335) 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)

SS 683 463 (Centre in this sheet). Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (2). 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.

The railway area is shown on a 1:2500 record map (3) referred to in the altered apportionment of Tithe Rent charge dated 3-Jan-1929.

The track has now been dismantled. The extent of the railway through this sheet from SS 6741 4500 to SS 7000 4734 is shown on the attached five copies of the 1904 Ordnance Survey. (4)

(See also SS64NE 33). (5)

SS 7115 4783. (Centred in this sheet). 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)
Sources :
Source Number : 1
Source :
Source details : The West Country. (D St J Thomas)
Page(s) : 106
Figs. :
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Vol(s) : 1, 1973
Source Number : 2
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Source details : Minchington W. 1976 Industrial Archaeology in Devon p.10 No. 38.
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Source Number : 3
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Source details : Map 1:2500 1929 (With Lynton Tithe Map) Devon Rec. Off.
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Source Number : 4
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Source details : Ordnance Survey 1904 1:2500 Devon Sheets 6:3, 6:4 & 6:7.
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Source Number : 5
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Source details : Sainsbury I.S. 16-Jun-93 RCHME Field Investigation.
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Source Number : 6
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Source details : Sainsbury IS, 14-Jul-1994, RCHME Field Investigation
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Source Number : 7
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Source details : RAF 106G/UK/1501 3308-11 13-MAY-1946
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Source Number : 8
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Source details : NMR OS/72065 181-84 15 APR 1972
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Source Number : 9
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Source details : Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Trust. Lynton and Barnstaple Railway. http://www.lynton-rail.co.uk. Consulted on 14 DEC 2007
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Monument Types:
Monument Period Name : Post Medieval
Display Date : Extant 1898-1899
Monument End Date : 1899
Monument Start Date : 1898
Monument Type : Railway
Evidence : Earthwork
Monument Period Name : 20th Century
Display Date : Extant 1900-1935
Monument End Date : 1935
Monument Start Date : 1900
Monument Type : Railway
Evidence : Earthwork
Components and Objects:
Related Records from other datasets:
External Cross Reference Source : SMR Number (Devonshire)
External Cross Reference Number : 2032
External Cross Reference Notes :
External Cross Reference Source : SMR Number (Devonshire)
External Cross Reference Number : SS74NW15
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External Cross Reference Source : National Monuments Record Number
External Cross Reference Number : LINEAR 1688
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Activity type : AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH INTERPRETATION
Start Date : 2007-04-01
End Date : 2009-07-01