£30 million plan for a moorland railway
RAIL enthusiasts have revealed the prospect of a massive £70 million economic boost to North Devon if an historic steam railway across Exmoor were to be reopened.
The vision of a £30 million project to reinstate nine miles of the Lynton to Barnstaple Railway from Lynton to Wistlandpound has been unveiled by the trust which runs the heritage rail attraction.
The narrow gauge line opened in 1898, but closed in 1935. In 1980, a small group began working towards returning trains to Exmoor.
The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Trust - whose volunteers have already reopened a mile of track for train rides with next to no grant aid - presented its ambitious proposal to a gathering of the region's movers and shakers at its Woody Bay Station HQ.
Trust chairman Keith Vingoe said extending the line to Wistlandpound, near Blackmoor Gate, would throw open the window of opportunity, endowing North Devon and the national park with a major attraction, more employment, tourists and revenue.
"I see this as Exmoor's Eden Project and if we could get the capital to fund it, returns would be enormous," he said.
"Our calculations show there would be a £70 million return for the local economy within five years.
"The transport benefits are obvious and the trust would seek to provide a park and ride facility to encourage visitors to leave their cars and catch the train to Lynton."
A number of influential people, including Devon County Council Leader, Councillor Brian Greenslade, representatives of First Great Western and high profile businessmen such as Trevor Stanbury of The Milky Way Adventure Park, near Clovelly, gathered at the station to hear more.
"Basically we said 'if we have managed to do all this without you, think what we could do with you,'" added Mr Vingoe.
The £30 million would pay for the entire project, including relaying track, buying land and reinstating infrastructure such as bridges, plus the purchase of four locomotives and 12 carriages.
"We currently own several stretches of track bed and are negotiating with at least two landowners at present," said Mr Vingoe.
"Our organisation is totally not-for-profit, but we carry in excess of 40,000 passengers per year, have a turnover of £200,000 and have already created something people said was almost impossible."
The ultimate aim is to reopen the entire line all the way to Barnstaple. Chelfham viaduct is still intact and three years ago Edward Nuttall Ltd donated labour and resources to build a small bridge enabling the line to extend to its preset limit at Killington Lane.
Said Keith Vingoe: "Our intention is to put it all back. It may not happen in my generation or the next, but all it takes is muscle and money. Our philosophy is, if they could do it in 1895, we can certainly do it today."
n The announcement coincided with figures released by community regeneration group Lyn and Exmoor Vision, which painted a bleak picture for the future of local business unless current trends were reversed.
The Exmoor area economy, it said, was dominated by small businesses and of 300 surveyed, a third failed to grow in the past year and five per cent reported falling turnovers.
Ninety-one per cent of business owners believed improving and maintaining local infrastructure was the top priority.
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