Snapper Halt railway station
Encyclopedia
Snapper Halt was a station on the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway
, a narrow gauge line that ran through Exmoor
from Barnstaple
to Lynton
and Lynmouth
in North Devon
. The station served a rural area near the hamlet of Snapper
.
The halt opened in 1903 at the request of the village of Goodleigh, and closed with the line on 29 September 1935. Trains stopped here by request, but never after dark. From 1923 until closure, the line was operated by the Southern Railway
.
After closure, one of the coaches - 6991 - was placed on a short length of track at Snapper halt, and used as a summer house. It was truncated in the 1950s and was eventually burned in the mid 1960s.
Another coach - 6993 - was left further along the track. In 1959 this was removed by the newly resurrected Festiniog Railway
and has now run more miles as Buffet Car 14 in Wales than it ever did in Devon.
The station building - a simple concrete shelter - still stands and was fitted with a new tiled roof by EA Volunteers in February 2011, replacing the rusted corrugated iron roof that had been in place for many years. At the same time as the roof was replaced, the platform and trackbed were cleared of undergrowth to improve access for maintenance and management.
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,...
, a narrow gauge line that ran through Exmoor
Exmoor
Exmoor is an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England, named after the main river that flows out of the district, the River Exe. The moor has given its name to a National Park, which includes the Brendon Hills, the East Lyn Valley, the Vale of Porlock and ...
from Barnstaple
Barnstaple
Barnstaple is a town and civil parish in the local government district of North Devon in the county of Devon, England, UK. It lies west southwest of Bristol, north of Plymouth and northwest of the county town of Exeter. The old spelling Barnstable is now obsolete.It is the main town of the...
to Lynton
Lynton
Lynton is a small town in Devon, England. It lies on the northern edge of Exmoor and is located at the top of a gorge above Lynmouth, to which it is connected by the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway...
and Lynmouth
Lynmouth
Lynmouth is a village in Devon, England, on the north edge of Exmoor.The village straddles the confluence of the West Lyn and East Lyn rivers, in a gorge below Lynton, to which it is connected by the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway....
in North Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. The station served a rural area near the hamlet of Snapper
Snapper (disambiguation)
-Animals:* Lutjanidae, a family of fish known as snappers* Many other fishes from other families including** Australasian snapper, Pagrus auratus, also known as squirefish** Eastern nannygai, also known as red snapper, Centroberyx affinis...
.
History
The hamlet derives its name from the station, which in turn was named after the nearby Inn of the same name. The "Snapper" Inn had long become a private house by the time the railway arrived, and is now known by the name 'Glendale'. It is widely believed that the Inn and the hamlet derived its name from La Snappe, which was first shown recorded here in 1256 and means boggy land, inferior pasture or winter pasture.The halt opened in 1903 at the request of the village of Goodleigh, and closed with the line on 29 September 1935. Trains stopped here by request, but never after dark. From 1923 until closure, the line was operated by the Southern Railway
Southern Railway (Great Britain)
The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...
.
After closure, one of the coaches - 6991 - was placed on a short length of track at Snapper halt, and used as a summer house. It was truncated in the 1950s and was eventually burned in the mid 1960s.
Another coach - 6993 - was left further along the track. In 1959 this was removed by the newly resurrected Festiniog Railway
Ffestiniog Railway
The Ffestiniog Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park....
and has now run more miles as Buffet Car 14 in Wales than it ever did in Devon.
Present day
In December 2010, Exmoor Associates (EA) - a private company dedicated to securing L&B trackbed for eventual use by the revived railway - completed the purchase of Snapper Halt and 700 yards of the original trackbed, including bridge 15 - a cattle creep - which is still in situ.The station building - a simple concrete shelter - still stands and was fitted with a new tiled roof by EA Volunteers in February 2011, replacing the rusted corrugated iron roof that had been in place for many years. At the same time as the roof was replaced, the platform and trackbed were cleared of undergrowth to improve access for maintenance and management.