THE Launceston Railway Circle visited the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway on Saturday, May 20.

The circle was pleased to have been able to accept the invitation for members to visit the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway at Woody Bay Station, always known to its many admirers simply as the ‘L&B’ and is often described as the premier narrow-gauge railway in England, which opened in 1898 and closed in 1935, long before the Beeching axe of the 1960s.

The L&B was set up in 1979, it was not until 1995 that the opportunity arose to purchase Woody Bay Station, with the first passengers carried out on July 17, 2004.

The Woody Bay Station is the highest point on the route at 1,000ft above sea level with great views of the countyside of Exmouth and green fields of farmland and open views of the sea from the line and even on a clear day passengers can see South Wales.

Members were given a tour of the shed and workshop by the general manager and after lunch had a ride on the steam train and were able to visit the shop to speak to the driver and fireman and other volunteers working at the station.

The members who were able to visit the L&B had a very good ride in the re-constructed enclosed carriages and were lucky it did not rain.

Roger Webster, treasurer, who arranged the visit and Les Whaley, chairman, thanked the general manager for making the visit so pleasant and wished them luck for future expansion.

The circle’s next summer visit will be to the West Somerset Railway on Wednesday, June 21, for more details contact Roger on 01566 779896