The following press release was issued by the Barnstaple & Yeo Valley Railway Trust, marking the launch of both this appeal and the new website:
The Barnstaple & Yeo Valley Railway Trust (B&YVRT) has embarked on an
ambitious project to relay 730 metres (almost ½ mile) of track on part of the
original Lynton & Barnstaple Railway trackbed through Snapper Halt.
(The line was closed by the Southern Railway on September 29th 1935 and the
track was removed by the ‘demolition train’ in 1936 – 90 years ago.)
The cost of the project is estimated to be £150,000 – £206 per linear metre of
brand new railway. Each new hardwood sleeper will cost £30, all the new steel
rail required will cost £36,000.
An appeal was launched at the autumn meeting of the B&YVRT held in Barnstaple
on Saturday (26th) which was attended by almost 100 members. Chair of the
charitable organisation, Bruce Knights said “this is an ambitious plan for 2027 but
very definitely achievable. We have already made preparations for doing this,
with essential physical work on the ground carried out by willing volunteers. And
we have had positive pre-planning dialogue with the local authority – North Devon
Council. The track will be laid to a better standard than the original line and fully
capable of handling full size recreations of the engines and coaches which ran on
it.”
Donations – large and small – to support this project, will be welcomed by
B&YVRT. Supporters can buy a track screw (£10), a sleeper (£30) a length of rail
£250 or give whatever sum they are able. A ready-to-run metre length of track
costs £206. Giving is easy and can be made through the Trust’s website
www.byvrt.org.uk or by sending a cheque made payable to Barnstaple & Yeo
Valley Railway Trust to The Treasurer, Barnstaple & Yeo Valley Railway Trust,
Windswept, 27 Ruden Way, Epsom Downs, KT17 3LL
Each donation of over £500 – individual or corporate – will be recorded on a
‘Benefactors Board’ which will be placed at Snapper Halt.