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Lynton and Barnstaple Locomotives

photograph reproduced with kind permission of Exmoor Heritage Postcards.

N°760 Exe, one of the three original engines, towards the end of herworking life. Note how near to the ground the cylinders are. Because of this the 2-6-2Ts were fitted with Joy valve gear, generally considered to be inferior to Walschaerts valve gear for outside cylinder engines but of benefit on a narrow gauge line where the wheels are small and the cylinders low. Both applied on the Lynton and Barnstaple!
When the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway first opened for traffic there were three 2-6-2T locomotives available. These were built by Manning, Wardle and were given names, Yeo, Exe and Taw, but no numbers. It became apparent during the first year of operation that three was an insufficient number so the decision was made to buy another. However, it just so happened that there was an engineering strike in Britain at the time which meant that delivery of a fourth engine could not be until some time ahead. The Railway decided to look elsewhere and subsequently placed an order with the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, USA, for a 2-4-2T which was built and delivered in a remarkably short time. This locomotive, with its American style and manners, was named Lyn but was never fully accepted by the drivers and fitters who looked on it with some suspicion and treated it warily, despite better handling on the tight radii curves due to the shorter wheelbase!

After absorption into the Southern Railway the engines all gained numbers, Yeo bcoming N°E759, Exe N°E760, Taw N°E761 and Lyn N°E762 (although they were also referred to in some documents with the prefix 'L' rather than 'E'). The Southern Railway spent a lot of money upgrading the line's infrastructure and, at the same time, ordered a fifth locomotive, once again from the original supplier, Manning, Wardle. This entered traffic in July 1925 and was named Lew and given the number E188. Despite the improvements to the line traffic levels were low and in 1935 the line was closed with the responsibility for passengers passing to the Southern National Omnibus Company, a subsidiary of the Southern Railway. All five locomotives were included in a sale of the line's assets at Pilton depot on 13 November 1935. The locos were sold, just ten years old Lew for £52 and exported to Brazil, the others for scrap: Yeo, Taw and Lyn for £50, Exe (which had a steel firebox) for £34. Rumours have circulated for many years that Lew still exists in Brazil, but there is no evidence of this and it is highly unlikley that the locomotive has survived until today.
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  • 760 Exe
    Blackmoor Gate
    N°760 Exe at Blackmoor Gate station.
    Photograph: Mike Morant collectio.
  • 762 Lyn
    Pilton works
    N°762 Lyn outside Pilton works in early Southern Railway days. As built she had a handsome copper capped chimney, but after a visit to Eastleigh returned with this plain stovepipe. Fortunately none of the other locomotives ever visited Eastleigh!
    Photograph reproduced with kind permission of Exmoor Heritage Postcards.
  • 188 Lew
    Pilton Yard
    N°188 Lew, the youngest of the locomotives, also in early Southern livery in Pilton Yard.
    Photograph reproduced with kind permission of Exmoor Heritage Postcards.
  • 762 Lyn
    Pilton Yard
    N°762 Lyn in the later, bolder, Southern livery. Note that the nameplate has been moved to the cabside - the original position when the engine was built.
    Photograph reproduced with kind permission of Exmoor Heritage Postcards.

Replica Manning Wardle

A replica of the 2-6-2T Manning Wardle tanks, named Lyd, was built by the Ffestiniog Railway at their Boston Lodge works. It is out of gauge for the FR and unsuitable for operations on the Welsh Highland Railway though has appeared at the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway that re-started passenger operation on 17 July 2004.

  • 190 Lyd
    York
    The partially built locomotive is seen here whilst on display to the public during Railfest 2004 at York.
    Photograph by Colin Duff.
  • 30190 Lyd
     
    For a while Lyd was painted in early Bitish Railways lined livery as N°30190.
    Photograph by Peter Richards.
  • 190 Lyd
    York
    Lyd as Southern Railway N°190.
    Photograph by Peter Richards.

Technical Details

 

Introduced:
Driving Wheel:
Pony and Trailing Wheels:
Weight:
Water Capacity:
Cylinders (2):
Boiler Pressure:
Length:
Rigid Wheelbase:
Tractive Effort:

Exe, Lew, Taw, Yeo

1898
2 ft 9 ins
2ft
27 tons 5 cwt
550 galls
10½ in x 16 in
160 lb sq in
27 ft
6 ft 6 ins
7,270 lbs

Lyn

1898
2 ft 9 ins
1 ft 10 ins
22 tons 0 cwt
664 galls
10 in x 16 in
180 lb sq in
28 ft
5 ft 0 in
7,418 lbs

Data

Name Builder SR N° # Built Withdrawn
Yeo Manning, Wardle E759 1897 Nov 1935
Exe Manning, Wardle E760 1897 Nov 1935
Taw Manning, Wardle E761 1897 Nov 1935
Lyn Baldwin E762 1898 Nov 1935
Lew Manning, Wardle E188 1925 Nov 1935

#     Recorded in some reports as using the prefix 'L'.

This page was last updated 31 May 2007

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