The Lynton & Barnstaple Railway

Lynton and Barnstaple Railway

The Lynton & Barnstaple Railway opened as an independent railway in May 1898. It was a single track narrow gauge railway slightly over long running through the rugged and picturesque area bordering Exmoor in North Devon, England. Although opened after the 1896 Light Railways Act came into force,...

 maintained an exemplary safety record throughout its short existence from 1898 to 1935, with no passenger or member of the public having ever been injured or killed. There were, however, two accidents resulting in fatalities to railway employees.

On the morning of New Year's Day, 1910, Mr W. J. Hart, a platelayer

Platelayer

A platelayer or trackman is a railway employee whose job is to inspect and maintain the permanent way of a railway installation.The term derives from the plates used to build plateways, an early form of railway....

, was killed when hit by one of the crossing gates he was belatedly attempting to open at Braunton Road, which in turn had been hit by the locomotive hauling the 06:20 mail train to Lynton. The train had earlier travelled from Pilton Yard

Pilton railway station

Pilton Yard, in the village of Pilton, to the north of Barnstaple was, between 1895 and 1935, the main depot and operating centre of the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway , a narrow gauge line that ran through Exmoor from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth in north Devon...

 to Barnstaple Town

Barnstaple Town railway station

Barnstaple Town was an intermediate station on the L&SWR line to Ilfracombe. The station replaced Barnstaple Quay – opened in 1854, and renamed Barnstaple Town in 1886 – which had been located on the Junction side of the Commercial Road crossing, a short distance up-line...

 to collect the mail transferred from the L&SWR.

In the investigation that followed, it was discovered that parts of the interfacing to the Pilton signal box

Signal box

On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...

had been removed for repair, which had contributed to the accident.