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Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

Discussion in 'Narrow Gauge Railways' started by 50044 Exeter, Dec 25, 2009.

  1. Tobbes

    Tobbes Member

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    It'll be a lovely photo location come the restoration, then - though the L&B won't be short of those!
     
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  2. Mark Thompson

    Mark Thompson Well-Known Member

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    It certainly won't. Just the one mile it currently has, seems to have endless possibilities. In fact, it'll be difficult to find a part of the line which doesn't have photo locations in abundance!
     
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  3. Mark Thompson

    Mark Thompson Well-Known Member

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    Seems amazing, doesn't it? Although one does wonder just how long a leaf spring / steering rack would last under those conditions? Presumably the production team took along some mechanics, and plenty of spares!
     
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  4. Michael B

    Michael B Member

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    Interesting with several squirts to try and identify the 'consist' as the Americans call it. It appears to be LYN, 2472, 6992 (the one at NRM) and an indeterminate Open Centre - could be any one of 2465/6/8.
     
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  5. Michael B

    Michael B Member

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    They were built to the Brunel principle - I'm sure my 30-year-old Austin Seven (also 1934) would have had the original springs. King Pins working oval in the front wheel pivots were the chief problem when the dratted MoT came in - wheels were big - 19 inch and the worn King Pins were not dangerous, but, of course, the MoT was not about safety - the Civil Servants who invented the test based the rules on the need to have rules. Miles of happy motoring for every day transport on a completely shot 6 volt battery. Poverty denied a replacement - just had to be aware that the engine would stop if the lights were turned on before the engine warmed up. And there was the necessity to grind in the valves every 10,000 miles and be familiar with local scrap yards. (where little ever seemed to be scrapped) Second hand spares for 2/6d, but you might have to unscrew it yourself. Oh and people didn't steal anything not nailed down then. There were no locks to lock. The ignition key looked a bit like a nail file, but smaller.
     
    Last edited: Jun 5, 2022
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  6. H Cloutt

    H Cloutt Member

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    ... and there were a limited number of ignition keys. We had a shop near us that declared "Lost your Car Keys in the Beach - we've got plenty Two Bob each" Changed to "ten pence each" in 1971.
     
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  7. RailWest

    RailWest Part of the furniture

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    As an aside on old cars....

    Many years ago I had an old Ford. The exhaust blew one day, so next morning I left it at the local garage while I went to work on the 'bus. When I returned to collect it in the evening, I was told that they had not been able to start the car as the battery was flat, so they had man-handled into the workshop to do the exhaust and left it there to charge. A young mechanic was despatched to get it, only to return after a while to report that the battery was still flat.

    I went with him to see the car, got inside, put the key in the ignition and turned it, pulled the starter - and engine fired first time! Mechanic looked puzzled - turned out he had never seen a car with an old-fashioned 'pull the knob' starter! Now, some while previously the old on/off ignition switch had been replaced by a modern 3-position off/on/start type, but still wired as if it were still only a 2-way on/off - so when the mechanic had turned the key against the spring to the unused start position then it cut off the power :-(
     
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  8. Michael B

    Michael B Member

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    I'm not surprised - I was sent to do the audit of Chubbs in Wolverhampton, the lock and safe makers. I was staggered to be told that the car key lock trade (at Wilmot Breeden maybe at Wednesbury ?) used the same teeth combination on locks on numerous differently numbered keys. This was confirmed later (early 70s) when I worked for a Quarry Company in Bath which owned the Bath Stone mines and quarries and a good deal of Portland, amongst other locations all round the country, and we had a fleet of Minis. One day a chap drove off innocently in a car of the right colour. Was this attitude indicative of what led to the collapse of the British car industry ? We had two quarries at Buckfastleigh, one with the delightful name of Bullycleaves. The other was where the M5 is now. It was at the time that the Ashburton branch closed and the preservation society was trying to take it over. I was told by a chap who worked at the Quarries there that there was absolutely no reason why the M5 then being planned could not have been shifted a bit so that the railway between Buckfastleigh and Ashburton could stay, but pig-ignorance at the Department of Transport prevailed and they couldn't be bothered.
     
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  9. ross

    ross Well-Known Member

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    Because the complainants say there could be. And my experience is that it is better to accept that your opponent has a concern and you are looking at it seriously, rather than saying "yeah, no, You're wrong. I think this...." Been with the same woman for 30 years, and she hasn't killed me yet
    What benefit is it to Mr Jones if the pub down the road that he doesn't go to gains a few extra customers? Many people, my parents included, retired to Exmoor for the peace and quiet, not to be surrounded by inquisitive tourists (which they themselves had been).
     
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  10. Alan Kebby

    Alan Kebby Well-Known Member

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    Indeed some people will raise concerns which need addressing. Your proposed wording just sounded unduly negative by just talking about inconvenience to residents, rather than offering positive solutions. E.g ‘I understand there may be some concerns about increase in road traffic in Parracombe. However I do not believe this would be a problem as the main car park would remain at Woody Bay, and most passengers would still join the train there. If necessary restrictions on selling tickets at Parracombe could be put in place to ensure this was the case.’

    Mr Jones may not care. However the pub landlord, local suppliers to the pub, pub staff, all the locals that use the pub and want it to remain viable and open might care. It depends what the overall balance is of those it would benefit and those it wouldn’t.

    No offence to your parents, but I’m sure the planning officer would prioritise jobs and benefits for local people, rather than a quiet life for people who have chosen to retire to the area.
     
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  11. RailWest

    RailWest Part of the furniture

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    You may be correct on both counts. However....I would suggest that, human nature being what it is - especially with those behind the wheel of a car - there will always be those who will decide to 'try it and see' and drive to PE station anyway. (OK, I confess, done that myself in similar situations elsewhere.) Secondly, it would seem to be a strange situation for a railway heavily dependent upon the tourist trade to not sell tickets to passengers who turn up a particular station. (In that context, I have always been baffled by the ESR, who would sell a single from Cranmore to Mendip Vale, so that you could get off there and walk back to Cranmore, but if you wanted to walk to Mendip Vale then it would not sell you a single (on the train there ) to come back to Cranmore - maybe that has changed now?) I suspect that 'local concerns' at PE are issues which will need serious consideration in an attempt to find some sort of mutual tolerance ('agreement' may be too strong a word here!).
     
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  12. RailWest

    RailWest Part of the furniture

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    Looking briefly at the latest batch of Responses to the Sec 73 Applications ( I do wish the ENPA Portal would annotate them as either 'support' or 'object', then it would be much easier to find and analyse the various objections), I note that one objector claims that the proposed extension to Parracombe is 'potentially dangerous', but fails to explain how they came to that view. Another comment describes the applications as being a re-hash of an older 'discredited' plan - but in that case, how is that the so-called discredited plan gained planning consent 2 years ago?
     
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  13. Alan Kebby

    Alan Kebby Well-Known Member

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    As usual with these things, a lot of frivolous objections with no basis in fact, which should be swiftly dismissed by the planning inspector. Then that will leave the genuine reasonable concerns people have, which can hopefully be addressed and resolved to most people’s satisfaction.
     
  14. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    I believe that VAT may be a factor here, where being able to sell tickets to or from a destination makes a trip a "journey", but just selling a round trip incurs VAT - I suspect Killington Lane being a station serves a purpose there.
     
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  15. Alan Kebby

    Alan Kebby Well-Known Member

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    Yes you may have a point there. Although you could sell tickets from Woody Bay to Parracombe (and return). That would still be a journey, even if no tickets were sold in the opposite direction.

    After all, is it actually possible to buy tickets at Killington Lane now? The situation would basically be the same as it is now, just with a longer line and different station at the end.
     
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  16. Snail368

    Snail368 New Member

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    A thought comes to mind. If the lack of public conveniences in PE were indeed likely to cause a problem, then surely the same issue would arise for the existing bus service. Are there toilets at each bus stop? Surely not, and the bus journey would be longer in any case then the planned train journey from WB. Finally, of course there are toilets at WB (and indeed there would be toilets at Blackmoor Station too). So being logical about this, if the lack of toilets were an issue for the railway travelling to PE, then surely there would already be an issue for the bus service...
     
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  17. RailWest

    RailWest Part of the furniture

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    But when did logic ever become relevant when objecting to a planning application? The usual approach is to pile on as many objections as you can think of, and if that does not work then repeat them again in bold and shout LOUDER, on the basis that at least some people will take your message at face value without checking the facts. I'm just waiting for someone to suggest ripping up all railways everywhere on the basis that they were an instrument of imperial colonianism and hence a BAD THING....:)
     
  18. H Cloutt

    H Cloutt Member

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    I have just taken a look at the most recent comments on the ENPA website. There are objections from the Old Station House Inn and the Landowner of the land just past Parracombe.
     
  19. Mark Thompson

    Mark Thompson Well-Known Member

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    Haha! Seriously, though, I do feel let down by the level of objection put forward, so far, I really thought it would be less fanciful than some of the arguments submitted. There is one, which is impossible to read- it is a solid block of text, a good thousand words at least, with not one paragraph space, nor even, as far as I could tell, punctuation. Awful. As for stationary trains frightening the horses, because "they have never seen one", I have no words.
    Unfortunately, the Trust got off on the wrong foot by electing not to hold a consultation in Parracombe village hall. That much they tacitly admit, in the submitted Statement of Community Interest.
    That said, from my reading of the objectors submissions, and public access issues apart, it is beginning to look a bit like a storm in a teacup. IN CAPITALS!
     
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  20. Mark Thompson

    Mark Thompson Well-Known Member

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    I think we were all expecting the latter, and I was rather surprised with their rather lacklustre submission. However, I'm surprised at OSHI objecting to this, or have relations broken down that far with them? It's beginning to sound either like a game is being played, or that fresh faces and methods are sorely needed. 8ve just read their objection, and, whilst some of this is Germaine, and perhaps revealing, a fair amount of their statement is disingenuous. It's hardly a "hidden agenda" that this application is mainly to lock in place the consents already granted. If it is a secret, then it is a very open and transparent one.
     
    Last edited: Jun 6, 2022

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