The last narrow gauge railway adventure
The only steam railway in the UK where passengers travel in Victorian railway carriages designed in the 1890s.
A one mile return trip from Woody Bay Station to Killington Lane and back. Two miles in total taking approximately 20 minutes.
Steam trains through rolling countryside, with views out to wild moorland and the rugged coastline. Originally opened in 1898, and closed in 1935; what you can see today at Woody Bay is just the beginning of an exciting project to rebuild one of the world’s most famous and picturesque narrow-gauge railways; the legendary Lynton & Barnstaple Railway.
Background
The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (L&B) opened as an independent railway in May 1898. It was a single track, 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) narrow gauge railway and was slightly over 19 miles (31 km) long running through the rugged and picturesque area bordering Exmoor in North Devon, England. Although opened after the Light Railways Act 1896 came into force, it was authorised and constructed prior to that act. Therefore, as with all other railways, it was authorised under its own Act of Parliament and built to higher (and more costly) standards than similar railways of the time. In the United Kingdom it was notable as being the only narrow gauge line required to use main-line standard signalling. For a short period the line earned a modest return for shareholders, but for most of its life the L&B made a loss.[1] In 1923, the L&B was taken over by the Southern Railway, and eventually closed in September 1935.
The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Trust was formed in 1979; and a short section was reopened to passengers in 2004. This was extended in 2006; and the following year plans were announced to open 9 miles (14 km) of track, linking the station at Woody Bay to both Lynton (at a new terminus on an extension to the original line, closer to the town) and Blackmoor Gate, and to a new station at Wistlandpound Reservoir. The present track is now 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) narrow gauge.
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