Accucraft trains L&B LEW User Manual - page 8
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The Accucraft L&B ‘Lew’
Lew was built in 1925 to a similar design to the previous Manning Wardle
locomotives constructed for the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway, the main difference
being a redesigned cab to eliminate a smoke trap, and give more room to the crew.
Following the L & B tradition, she was named after one of the local rivers with a
three-letter name. She was sold at auction along with other L&B equipment in
November 1935, two months after the railway closed. However, she was purchased
by the contractor dismantling the line and was used on these trains until July 1936. In
September 1936, the loco sailed from Britain on the SS Sabor – believed to have been
destined for a plantation in Brazil. Despite the efforts of many enthusiasts, no proof
of the locomotive’s current whereabouts or eventual fate has been discovered. The
Ffestiniog Railway has recently completed a replica of the loco and christened it
‘Lyd’, thus continuing the tradition of three-letter river names and we are pleased to
say that in association with the F.R. we are producing a limited edition of this loco as
well.