ARAIL replacementbus se rvicewas
immediately launched on theSevern
ValleyRailwayafter alocomotivewas
derailedby afallen tree,blocking the
line near Alveley.
BR Standard4MT4-6-0 No.
wasrunning lightengine from
Bridgnorthto Bewdley beforepublic
services startedonJuly 22, when it
collided with the tree.
No.75069wassaidtohavereceived
damageto the frontbogie ,cylinder
draincocks and frontfootplating and
as we closedfor press,was awaiting a
full inspection. Nobodywasinjured.
Thetrack also sustained minor
damagerequiringreplacementof
sleepers and chairs and needed
tampering back into alignment
beforetrains ranagain.
SVR officials hurriedly arranged
avintagereplacementbus service
usingaCrosville BristolLodekka
between UpperArley Village (a short
walk from the station on the east
side of theriver) and Bridgnorth
station.Forthe rest of the dayand
the next one,trains ranonly between
Bridgnorth andHighley,where
the Engine House visitorcentre
remained open.
To compensate visitors,officials set
up an addedattractionat Brid gnorth.
Throughout the day, theywere
invitedto join the driver and fireman
foraride on thefootplate of pannier
No.7714.
Fallentreederails
SVRlocomotive
Passengers boardtherail replacement
bus serviceto Arleyat Bridgnorth
onthemorning of July22.PAUL
APPLETONFarewell to PeterRampton,who ownedBR’slaststeam line
THE heritagesectorisinmourning
following the death of global narrow
gauge locomotivecollectorandVale
of RheidolRailway(VoR) founder and
chairmanPeterRampton.
Peter, who diedon July3atthe age
of 85, set up the BreconMountain
Railway withthe la te Tony Hills,laying
the first track in 1979.
In 1988, BR decidedto sell theVoR,
consideredby manytobesomewhat
of an anachronism in view of the
factthatsteam haulage had ended
on the main linetwodecades before.
Tony and Peterboughtthe line inApril thefollowingyear.
It wasthe second pieceofthe
operational nationalrail network to
be Privatised –the first beingDevon’s
Paignton to Kingswear line,which
never closed,but wassold to the
DartValleyRailway in 1972 and is
nowthe DartmouthSteam Railway &
RiverboatCompany.
In 1991, the Brecon partnership
split,with Tony Hillskeeping the
Brecon line andPeterRampton
taking theVoR. However, Tony
remained as manager of theVoR
until 1996.Peter, aprivateperson, built up
apersonalcollection of around 20
or morelocomotives from around
the worldathis Surreyfarm, which
always remained strictly off limits
to enthusiasts who accordingly
speculated, oftenwildly,about
the identities of theexhibits
contained therein.
He founded thePhyllis Rampton
NarrowGaugeRailway Trustas
acharit ywith the statedaim of
‘education/training environment/
conservation/heritage’, andwhich
is the 100% shareholder of theVoR. Under hisownership,Peter
setaboutrestoring the lineto its
GWR glory, withanew museumat
Aberystwyth station.
AstatementfromCEO RobGambrill
posted on the line’s websiteinl ate
July read:“Peterwasthe drivingforce
behind our amazingrailway.His
passion and drivetosee theVale of
RheidolRailway restoredto its former
glorywill remaintestamenttoaman
whose legacywill liv eonfor many
years to come.One of life’sgreat
eccentrics,the worldisalesser place
without him.Rest in Peaceold friend.”Theinitialwork undertakenbytherailway’s ‘Thursdaygang’toexposethe
originalfoundationstotheLyntonabutment of Bridge 54 was completedwith
theaid ofa32-tonneexcavator.L&BLynton &Barnstaple
heading west again
ByRobin JonesAFTERmanyyears ofconsolidation
and behind-the-scenes planning
and land purchases,the Lynton &
BarnstapleRailway hasbegunrestoring
original trackbedinr eadinessforanew
pushwestwards.
Contra ctors I&H BrownLtd are
on siteatBridges 54 and 55, near
Kentisbury, west of the initial medium-
term target of BlackmoorGate station
(nowthe OldStation HouseInn) with
acompletion target ofSeptember.
Thereconst ruction of thetwo
original bridgesfollows ahuge
amountofe ffor ttoobtain planning
permission and carry out much
designwork.
TheworkonBridge 54 involves
exposing the brokenremains of one
abutmentand enlarging the wing
walls with newfoundations and
masonry, while the other abutment
requires somerepairsto masonry
and newconcretebacking.Anew
deck with steelworkand concrete
will followwith steel handrailsto
matchthe original designeither side.
This bridgewaspartially blown up
as atrainingexercise in theSecond
WorldWar,along with sundryother
structures on the line.
Afte rthe abutments arecomplete
the new deck on the embankments
will becompleted upto the work
ready to receiveballast and trackwork.
I&H Brownhas appointedStoneman
Engineering ofWillandto fabricate
steelworkfor th enew deck structures.
On Bridge 55–atall cattle creep
–the SouthernRailway-installed
concreteand steel deckwassuspect.
It hasbeen removedand anew deck
and handrails as on Bridge 54 will
be provided.
This work has been part-sponsored
by agrant from Leader 5with the
remaining 60% being fundedby theLynton &Barnstaple Railway Trust’s
owncoffers; an appeal has been
launched cunningly entitled‘Bridge
the Gap!’withatarget of £160,000.
While therailway had hoped
to startpressingforwardfromits
current Killington Laneterminus to
Parracombe and BlackmoorGate,
under thetermsofi ts planning
permission imposedby the Exmoor
NationalPark Authority, it is not
allowedtostartrebuilding that
section until itowns all the land and
can showithas the necessaryfunds in
place. At present, railway officials are
still talkingto four landowners and are
negotiatingto buy the inn.
However, work beyond Blackmoor
Gate co mesunder the jurisdiction of
NorthDevonCouncil and planning
approval forthe mileto the planned
new terminus at Wistplandpound
Reservoir wasgrantedin2016.
However, with theconstraints of
preparing designworkand complying
with planningconditions,plus
difficulties withapreviouscontractor,
work wasdelayedfromanintended
startinJ anuaryuntil June 14–just
beforethe three-year planning
permission deadlineexpired.Thebridge reconstruction will be
followedbymoreclearancework
further along the line andfencingto
the trackbedowned by the railway.
Thealignmentdesig nisbeing worked
on which will enable the preparation
and laying of actual ballasted
trackbed inashortwhile,followed by
railsindue course.
Meanwhile,the Lynton &Barnstaple
Railwayisp reparing its applicationfor
aTransport&WorksAct Orde rwith an
intended submission date in February.
ChairmanPeterMilessaid:“The
railwaythathas been asleepforso
long iscertainlywaking up now;
excitingtimes ahead!”
➜Anyone wishingtodonate tothe
restoration of the trackbed between
BlackmoorGate andWistlandpound
is invitedtosendacheque payableto
Lynton&BarnstapleRailwayTrust,c/o
JonPain, 26 Oaklands, Bideford, EX
3HW.Alternatively,you maydonate
online.Those using internet banking
should transferto Sort Code:
30-90-49AccountNo.:26386460; or
withPaypal,gotowww.lynton-rail.
co.uk and click on theappeal button.
In both cases,pleasestate ‘Bridge
Appeal’asareference.6 Heritagerailway.co.uk indusonwww.facebook.com/heritagerailway
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