It is gratifying that no fewer than a dozen steam locomotives and no less than seven carriages that were constructed in 1897 – including one which formed part of Queen Victoria’s 1897 Diamond Jubilee train – remain extant.
These items of rolling stock tell a story and provide educational experiences – be it in a museum, operating on a heritage railway or, as in one example, holiday accommodation reminiscent of the ‘camping coach’ of old but with modern refinements.
The two most complete ‘original’ Lynton & Barnstaple Railway (L&BR) carriages have been included here. Other L&BR coaches such as No. 7, which operates at the revived L&BR at Woody Bay have been omitted as they are re-creations using parts of several bodies. Stock on the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland has also been excluded on grounds of space.
LOCOMOTIVES
■ Built for Messrs Dunn & Shute of Newport Town Dock, Trojan was purchased by the Alexandra Docks Railway in 1903, gaining the number 1340 when it entered GWR stock following the Grouping in 1923. Withdrawn in July 1932, it was sold to Netherseal colliery at Burton-on-Trent, before passing to paper mill Alders (Tamworth) Ltd in 1947.
