New: Historic Train Book

20th October, 2026

The Lynton & Barnstaple Railway is the only heritage line to operate its services entirely in heritage carriages - and those vehicles are perhaps the finest narrow-gauge carriages ever built.

Tony Nicholson's new book is generously illustrated with superbly-reproduced photos both archive and modern and also contains detailed plans for the modellers. It tells the story of how the carriages came to be purpose-built for the L&B and later repainted and renumbered by the Southern Railway.

After the Railway closed in 1935 the wooden coach bodies were sold off for re-use as barns on North Devon farms and summerhouses in North Devon gardens. Remarkably, these relics were gradually rediscovered and re-acquired to rebuild into the handsome vehicles you can ride in today. That they were rebuilt by volunteers in Essex on the other side of the country is a story in itself: this is a Railway with nationwide and indeed worldwide appeal. 

The book is a 52-page A4-sized softback and can be bought at Woody Bay station or via mail order for £16.50, including postage, at the link below.

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