Welding at Bishops Cleeve.
Two more pictures have come in about work last Wednesday.
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| Welders at work |
The welders came in earlier in the week, to weld every other joint on the stretch between the foot crossing (half way between Manor Lane and Bishops Cleeve) and the start of the CWR just outside Bishops Cleeve itself. This would continue on from similar work southwards from Gotherington a while back. It was made possible by the completion of the slip repair, which covered a couple of the joints in question.
The purpose of the welded joints - thus achieving 120ft lengths - was to halve the number of fishplated joints, and thus give a smoother ride, fewer dipped joints, and less fishplate greasing to do. The work also reduces the pounding that joints give on this stretch of the line, which has seen at least one other slip repair, and one done years ago by BR. It's all preventative medicine.
To allow the welders to work, we needed to identify the joints to be done, remove the fishplates, and unclip two sleepers on each side.
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| Re-clipping near Bishops Cleeve. |
The job for a small team on Wednesday then was to recover the redundant fishplates, and re-insert the clips around each of the 30 odd welded joints.
This is what the hut looked like at the end of today. Pretty much complete, but it isn't yet, of course.
Back at Winchcombe there were some preparations for the gala this weekend, and we saw 2807 bring the Queen Mary, and attach the gunpowder van.
We also spent an hour on the Usk hut.
This was a dual meeting, to inform stakeholders of progress at the level of both EA, and the supporting charity Barnstaple and Yeo Valley Railway Trust. (B&YVRT). Three trustees of the LBRT also attended from Woody Bay, which was good to see.
Outside the meeting room (at GrowForward, under the viaduct) was a casting of a brand new conrete fence post, a copy of an original SR post which was displayed alongside. A wooden mould was used. So far just the one sample has been produced, but a rate of 10 a week, or 500 a year was thought to be possible.
There was a 'guess its weight' competition to raise funds. The first guess was 5Kg - we think it might be rather more than that...
Many of these concrete posts are still in situ from SR days in the 1930s, so they certainly last. Far better than treated softwood posts people often use, which seem to have a life expectancy of just 10 years.
The EA newsletter Trackbed Trails had informed us a few weeks ago of the acquisition of a parcel at the southern end of Twitchen Lane, that part of the railway which was converted to a country lane to allow milk tankers to reach a farm. So this lane is now owned at both ends, with parcel 40 at the north end, and new parcel 38 at the southern end. During the meeting a second new acquisition was revealed, that of parcel 27 at Mill Lane, just south of Bratton Fleming.
The blocks on the diagram are all the same size, and not to scale. Actual parcel lengths vary considerably.
The latest acquisition is 366m long, and ends at a missing bridge over Mill Lane. (see pictures below)
That leaves essentially two parcels to go to reach Bratton Fleming, where a goods shed is being recreated, to house i.a. a small Ruston diesel shunter and a carriage.
Actual running is not anticipated.
The other side of Bratton Fleming is in the hands of the L&B, but has been leased to a local resident. It is safe, but not accessible.
The Mill Lane parcel is not suitable for a track walk, but the bridge end is visible from one of Devon's famously tiny lanes.
It's the bit on the left, a high embankment surrounded by barbed wire. The road ahead leads to the southern part of Bratton Fleming.
Looking the other way, downhill. On the corners of the abutment you can see the typical white Marland bricks used by the L&B on many of its bridges, including the well known white Chelfham Viaduct.
Just a quiet shot of the beautiful valley landscape aroud the L&B. This is a tributary valley of the Yeo.
The trackbed leading away from the bridge, at a steady 1 in 50 uphill. Next stop: Bratton Fleming.
Back to the Chelfham meeting of EA, and the B&YVRT. The latter name is quite a mouthful, and some wags now refer to it as 'Beaver'. Three parcels of land have been acquired since the last meeting in September 2025 (Scout camp, Twitchen Lane and Mill Lane), and EA is on a bit of a roll here. Several others are reported to be with solicitors, but as a precautionary measure nothing can be revealed until each deal is signed. There seems to be quite a bit of community support for the reinstatement, certainly in the valley of the Yeo.
For the B&YVRT Bruce Knights introduced himself as new chairman, with a definite timeframe of 2 years. During this period he has 3 goals:
1. The B&YVRT is to be come a track builder (not an operator of services, he underlined). The acquisition of the route through the scout camp has given the Trust critical mass (almost 3 miles of through trackbed) and it is now time to put some track down. This track does not have to be continuous; rather the plan is to follow the idea of the canal restorers, and build those sections that are possible, and deal with the more difficult sections at a later date.
There is interest in a small 2ft gauge diesel shunter, if anyone has one?
2. Rebuild the relationship with the LBRT at Woody Bay. People, he said, are not interested in old issues, they want to see progress in rebuilding the L&B.
3. Widen the membership support base, currently a modest 480. The practical gang on the ground has only a handful of volunteers. A membership total of 5000 would be much more appropriate, and a great deal of funding is also required to deal with the reinstatement. Recent land purchases have depleted cash reserves, so we may expect an appeal by September.
Stakeholder meetings have been held since September, mainly with North Devon Council, who are very supportive. A pre-application is with the planners to lay further track at Snapper, from Yeotown to bridge 16, opposite the southern end of the scout camp section. This will be in 50lb rail, strong enough for engines from the LBRT if so desired.
There's a target to acquire 6 more sections within the next 12 months, so increasing the through-owned stretch from 3 miles to 4 1/2 miles. Eyebrow raising stuff ! The aim is to get back to Barnstaple, a plan colloquially known as 'B to B'.
Bruce Knights stressed that there is no intention to run a railway at this stage, although there might be an annual open day over a section of track, with people bussed in from elsewhere. (Car parking being practically non-existent in the Yeo valley)
We also heard that the Highways would repair frost damage to the tops of the viaduct parapets. From personal observation we would say that the waterproofing also needs to be renewed, as there are clear traces of running water, even little stalagmites, and abrasion of the corners of the piers.
The next meeting date is September 26th, this time at Loxhore village hall.
After the Chelfham meeting a walk was arranged along the newly acquired section through the scout camp. Parking was predictably difficult here, until a friendly member of the scouts offered their own spaces inside the camp, which we gratefully accepted.
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| Supporters walk the newly acquired section in the scout camp. |
Along the first part of the scout camp approach road (actually the old trackbed itself) the road will be widened we learned, to accept the railway next to it.
In the latter half of the 718m acquired (beyond the post in the distance) EA will own all of the trackbed, as well as the land around it, currently mostly jungle, up to the abutments of bridge 16.
This is the view across the river Yeo (just visible in the centre) across the abutments of bridge 16 to the curving patch of grass that is the section from Snapper Halt.
We also had a quick recce of Bratton Fleming station, where the replica goods shed is being built. The project is expected to be completed within the next 12 months.
The station building is still not in use, due to ongoing refurbishment, and as such has received a double council tax bill as an empty building. That was quite a nasty surprise. The intention is to rent out the station, and receive an income. (not an extra tax bill!)
This is the current state of the replica goods shed. The foundations are in, and the basic steel structure is up. The corrugated iron roof is on, including insulation underneath. There will be a single track inside it for half of its length, and a siding alongside.
In the foreground is a pile of cleaned white Marland bricks, which will be used for 6 courses around the base of the building. They have been recovered from the cutting south of Chelfham viaduct, where they were dumped after the (earlier) removal of the parapets, since restored. The bricks were painfully cleaned of mortar by a volunteer, and many cut in half (as at Broadway...) to make short headers.
This sideways view shows the future workshop area, occupying half of the length of the building.
This last shot at Bratton Fleming is taken from the road over rail bridge, and shows how the building fits into the landscape.
BTW, the B&YVRT have a superb print for sale of Bratton Fleming station, which shows i.a. the spur that leads to the goods shed.
On our last day we had a mooch around Barnstaple, which still has its original main line station building, next to which was the old L&B terminus. The area is now occupied by a very large car park, so maybe one day?
Like so many of our towns Barnstaple shows signs of suffering, and a tourist railway terminus close to the town centre would surely be a huge fillip.
The quayside area along the river had a number of attractive buildings, one of which was this white Marland brick construction, which turned out to be congregational school rooms built in 1894, four years before the L&B came to the town.
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