Work Progress: April 2016

By adminNews

Spring has arrived bringing with it at last some decent weather. This has allowed our volunteer team to recommence their work at Snapper Halt. The tasks currently in hand are detailed below.

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1.  Hopefully one day L&B trains will again be regularly stopping at Snapper Halt where passengers will be greeted with a fine display of flowering spring bulbs.
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2.  Late last year we reported that work had commenced on improving the footpath between Goodleigh Road and Snapper Halt platform. Here is the current state of work looking down towards the platform.
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3.  And here is the view looking up the partially rebuilt section towards Goodleigh Road.
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4.  And here is a third view from the platform surface which shows the remaining work required to complete the project.
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5.  The ex-LSWR lamp column planted last year has received its top coat of SR green paint. On the left, the lamp column is seen as it existed when found in an Architectural Salvage Yard in Oxfordshire offered for sale. The column was purchased, and collected, then sand blasted and primed by one of our supporters. Transported to North Devon, the lamp column now adorns the precise location of the identical column removed following closure of the original railway in 1935, and correctly replicates the original lamp column in having a single ladder arm pointing towards Barnstaple.
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6.  And here is the view along the platform. The pair of poles (seen on the left) remain from the work undertaken last year to remove the power line clear of the trackbed. It is hoped to remove the poles later this month.
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7.  The bad winter weather didn’t stop Rob (our Volunteer Co-ordinator) from progressing work in his home garage. Here he produced a pair of L&B style ‘mile posts’ for the two required along the current section of trackbed at Snapper Halt. Each post was duly planted at the relevant points along the trackbed to mark the distance from Barnstaple Town Station…….
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8.  And after painting…….
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9.  The numerals are added to replicate the same style as they were pre-1935.
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10.  Over the winter period Rob also perfected his manufacturing technique producing resin copies of ex-railway cast iron signage. The above image shows a genuine cast iron sign we need for Snapper Halt…….
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11.  And here is a photo of Rob’s latest resin replica sign. Replica signage is used to minimise the threat of theft as the original cast iron railway signs have a high financial value.

Purchasing the many pieces of the former Lynton & Barnstaple Railway back together is very hard work, and we only have limited funds with which to do it. If you would like to help us with
future acquisitions, please spare a few moments to view the “Support Us” page on this website.

Photo credits: Rob Sadd

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2 thoughts on “Work Progress: April 2016”

  2. I sincerely hope I am around long enough to one day walk down that path from the gate, stand on that little platform in the dappled sunlight listening for the distant beat of the locomotive coming up from Barnstaple, which will take me up to Exmoor. This is such stuff as dreams are made on.

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