Budleigh Past and Present

Colin Yeats, left, and Leo Dolling with children from Budleigh’s St Peter’s School Two former British Railways employees were kind enough to welcome nearly 30 children from St Peter’s CofE School during a visit to Fairlynch on 9 November 2017. The KS1 children, accompanied by teacher Elizabeth Stubbs and adult helpers, had been studying changes in transport as a class subject. The Museum's railway display in the Local History Room, with its many artefacts, saved when the branch line and station closed in 1967, proved to be an effective teaching aid for the children.  Naturally there was fun involved when they were allowed to wear the station master’s cap, and there was a rare chance for some to hold the ceremonial spade used by Lady Gertrude Rolle on 6 November 1895 to cut the first sod for the building of Budleigh Salterton Station.  For Yettington’s Colin Yeats who had worked on the Budleigh branch line railway it was the second...

Plenty more copies of The Museum’s newly re-edited publication The Budleigh Salterton Railway have now arrived in local shops. At 40 pages, in a slightly larger font size and in full colour, the new edition has been welcomed by railway experts, including author Alan Young who kindly contributed technical advice. “It looks good,” he commented. “I hope it flies off the shelves.” The original text, easily understood by the general reader, has been retained but some additional images have been used, including some which are not in Fairlynch Museum’s collection. On sale here, on Budleigh High Street  The Budleigh Salterton Railway makes a brilliant Christmas present for anyone interested in the area’s past as well as railway enthusiasts.   And here, at the Tourist Information Centre on Fore Street It retails at £4.50 in the shops. Fairlynch is most grateful to Budleigh Salterton Tourist Information Centre a...

©  Michael Downes 2015 November's Object of the Month as featured on Fairlynch Museum's noticeboard, with some accompanying verse! Click on the image to enlarge it. Locomotive 21C114, seen above,  was renumbered 34014 in November 1948. It was rebuilt at Eastleigh, Hampshire in March 1958, having run 573,677 miles.  In its rebuilt form it completed a total of 837,477 miles before being withdrawn in March 1965, Original loco nameplates, as they are known by railwayana enthusiasts, are highly prized and Fairlynch Museum was lucky enough to acquire this fine cast brass specimen, named after our town. Loco nameplates are named after famous people, places, and events.  

Nearly 70 Budleigh Salterton children gained first-hand knowledge of the town’s now vanished rail links when they met two former British Railways employees during a visit to Fairlynch Museum.  Yettington residents Colin Yeats, pictured above, left, and Roy Letten both worked on the Budleigh branch lin e railway until it was closed in 1967.  Both are seen in the photo here with children who were accompanied by their teachers and support staff.  And here are more photos to show you some 'interractive' - hate that word - aspects of the visit.   “We’re really grateful to Colin and Roy for giving up their time,” said Fairlynch volunteer Kate Somerby, who had organised the visit to the museum by Key Stage 1 pupils from the town’s St Peter’s Church of England Primary School.  “It was a very special expe...

Isn’t it frustrating   - and sometimes embarrassing - when you try to remember a name of someone you met, and just can’t manage it. Photos in museum collections can be just as annoying when only a few of the faces have been properly identified, or when names have been misspelt.   So it was a pleasure to meet former Drake’s School pupil Michael Adams when he called at the Museum recently, helpfully  providing some missing names of his friends from over 70 years ago.  Amusingly, one of these turned out to be a young Roy Letten, a former British Railways employee who sold the last ever tickets at Budleigh Salterton station on 4 March 1967. Here he is, in a photo which I’m going to use in the new edition of Fairlynch Museum’s booklet The Budleigh Salterton Railway.   In the school photo seen above,  Roy is fifth from the left, in the middle row. Now in his eigh...

  Budleigh Salterton railway station in action. The branch line between Exmouth and Sidmouth Junction closed in 1967 after 70 years Can anyone tell me who owns the copyright for this fine colour photo of Budleigh Salterton railway station which I’ve just bought? My fellow-trustees at Fairlynch voted me the job of reprinting a cha rming little booklet The Budleigh Salterton Railway which   has been a popular item in the Museum shop over the years. Sadly there are no more copies.   However our excellent printer Ben Noyes at Copyrite in Exmouth quoted a good price for an all-colour production, so I’m on the hunt for as many suitable images as possible.    Wikipedia provided this drawing of what it describes as a “US-style railroad truck with journal bearings in journal boxes .” Lots more railway terms that I’ve never heard of. I’ve never considered myself to be a trainspotter. I’m pretty ignorant about bogies, angle cock...