Following the opening of the Devon and Somerset Railway to Barnstaple, there were calls for an extension to serve the twin towns of Lynton and Lynmouth,[2] which were popular with holiday-makers.

[1][2] Due to the difficult terrain, one scheme suggested a 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) narrow gauge, already in use by the Festiniog Railway Company and elsewhere, to ease construction.

Through his enterprise it is that the "lift" was made in 1888, to be cursed by conservative and artistic souls, but blessed by unwieldy bodies and rheumatic limbs; he has also favoured the railway, now a fait accompli, and the pier which seems so much wanted.

Declining tourism during the First World War, improved roads, increased car ownership further depleted the line's income until it was no longer economic.

A guidebook published in 1921 described the situation:The railway which has made this corner more accessible is of narrow gauge, requiring a change of carriage at the Town station, Barnstaple.

[1] The L&B had an exemplary safety record, and no members of the public were killed or injured during its 37-year existence, although accidents at Braunton Road and Chumhill did claim the lives of three track workers.

Chellam) is reached by a fine viaduct over the tributary stream, where 2 miles (3.2 km) east stands Stoke Rivers, through which the above round might be extended.

The railway has next to wind around the deep hollow in which lies Parracombe (Fox and Geese Inn) [sic], where, near the halt platform, can be seen the tower of the old church, another of those said to have been built in expiation of Thomas à Becket's murder.

At the last station, Wooda Bay,[a] two miles (3 km) behind this place and its neighbour Trentishoe, the line has reached a highest point of about 1,000 feet (300 m).

Beyond this, it crooks down the valley of the West Lyn (best glimpses on right hand), past Caffyn's Down Halt (for the golf links), ending some half-mile behind Lynton, and over a mile by the zig-zag road from Lynmouth.

[4]As well as several foot- and cycle-routes which can still be followed today, the hostelry in Parracombe mentioned in the article remains a popular venue (although the geese are now singular).

Baldwin was selected as they could deliver the loco – based largely on standard components – more quickly than domestic suppliers,[9] who had a backlog of orders, caused by a national engineering dispute over the 8 hour working day resulting in a lock-out by employers from July 1897 until January 1898.

[2] Although bought at the auction (it is believed by Barwicks of London) by December 1935, Lew was working for Sidney Castle, the dismantler of the railway.

This work was completed by July 1936 and in September, Lew was moved by rail to Swansea and loaded onto the S.S. Sabor destined for the state of Pernambuco, Brazil.

The coaching stock was solidly constructed, and offered levels of accommodation far in advance of anything else at the time – certainly compared to any other narrow gauge railway.

[1] The body for coach 17 was built in 1911, by local firm Shapland and Petter, and mounted on a steel underframe constructed by the railway in its own workshops at Pilton.

[1] Marginally longer than the earlier coaches, it contained both smoking and non-smoking accommodation for first and third class passengers, as well as the brake van space.

The Southern Railway introduced several new items of goods stock, and also purchased two ex-War Department travelling cranes for the line.

With the take over by the Southern and arrival of Lew, the livery was slowly changed to Maunsell Green for locos and passenger stock, and umber for the goods wagons.

Snapper Halt was purchased in 2010 and Bratton Fleming in 2020 by Exmoor Associates – a private company dedicated to securing trackbed for the restoration of the railway.

A total of 7 planning applications were submitted to Exmoor National Park Authority[13] and North Devon Council[14][15] in February 2016, with approvals granted by March 2018.

Although there has been minor development on parts of the route, and Wistlandpound Reservoir has flooded the track bed close to its midpoint, much is still in open countryside, with many sections identifiable.

An 0-4-0WT Maffei named Sid, owned by several L&B members, was also used on the L&B steam service until the end of 2013, when it was sold off to a railway museum line in Sweden.

3023, built in 1953 for use in a South African Platinum mine – arrived at Woody Bay from Boston Lodge in December 2013, principally for use hauling the restored original L&B heritage coaches.

[17] The Trust owns three industrial diesel locomotives, one of which Pilton, can be used as backup for Axe and Isaac, and another, Heddon Hall, is often used for maintenance trains.

Following a ten-year restoration, Coaches 7 and 17 returned to Woody Bay on 15 April 2013, to re-enter passenger-carrying service on 10 May 2013 after an absence of 78 years.

[17] A Lynton and Barnstaple Manning Wardle type replica, named Lyd, is operational on the Ffestiniog Railway in North Wales.

Lyd first moved under its own steam on 5 August 2010 and then underwent running-in trials[18] before visiting the L&B in September 2010 with former L&B coach 15 and Ffestiniog Railway observation car 102.

A modern version of the Baldwin, Lyn – looking externally similar to the 1898 original, but employing several advanced steam technologies, including roller bearings, welded tanks, Lempor exhaust system,[19] and a high-pressure boiler[20] – was completed in 2017.

Although much of the track bed survives intact, several obstacles – including Wistlandpound Reservoir – must be overcome if the greater part of the route is to be restored, fulfilling the hopes expressed in a card left at Barnstaple on the day after the line closed – Perchance it is not dead, but sleepeth...[23] In October 2007, the railway announced plans for reinstating enough trackbed to reopen 9 miles (14 km) of track, linking the station at Woody Bay to both Lynton (at a new terminus on an extension to the original line, closer to the town) and a new station at Wistlandpound.