Killington Lane railway station

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Killington Lane is a temporary terminus about one mile South West of Woody Bay on the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (L&B), the narrow gauge line that originally ran for 19 miles through Exmoor from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth in North Devon.

The L&B originally opened in 1898, and closed in 1935.

Perchance it "is not dead but sleepeth" - Inspiring the L&B Project

As described by JW Dorling, writing in The Railway Magazine a month after the event, on Monday 30 September 1935, the day after the railway closed, Barnstaple Town stationmaster Harold Ford and Porter Guard Walkey laid a wreath of bronze crysanthemums on the Barnstaple Town Station stop block. Sent by Paymaster Captain Thomas Alfred Woolf, R.N. (Retd.), of Woody Bay.

The wreath bore a black-edged postcard, hand-written on both sides:

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TO BARNSTAPLE & LYNTON RAILWAY WITH REGRET & SORROW FROM A CONSTANT USER AND ADMIRER

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Perchance it "is not dead but sleepeth"

Captain Woolf died on 12 May 1937, aged 55 and is buried in Martinhoe Churchyard. Each September, at the Woody Bay Steam Gala, a wreath of bronze crysanthemums is carried on the pilot loco, and afterwards, laid on the Captain's grave in remembrance, and as thanks for his inspirational words.

The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Association was founded in 1979, intending to restore the line to its former glory, serving tourists and the local community alike, making the Captain's prophesy a reality.

Headed by the Association (now the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Trust), a number of groups, and over 1500 volunteers, run The L&B Project, researching, restoring, rebuilding and operating the railway, from its base at Woody Bay station.

Killington Lane opened to passenger services on 27 May 2006, as the rebuilding continues southwards towards the former Halt at Parracombe.

Passengers embark at Killingon Lane, Spring 2006

The station has been built alongside rather than actually on the original formation, allowing passengers to watch as work progresses in excavating the cutting (which, like several others, was filled in by the Council after the line closed in 1935) leading to Bridge 65, which, once rebuilt, will take the line under Killington Lane itself.

The planned platform shelter, styled on those used elsewhere on the original line (such as at Snapper} is, like the carriage shed at Woody Bay, intended to be transportable, so the station can be moved to each new railhead as the reconstruction continues.

Killington Lane station is at: grid reference SS67044582