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Cornwall's Railways
This brief history describes the development of Cornwall's extensive railway network from the early horse drawn tramways through to the halcyon days of steam [and beyond]. The post-war period saw nationalisation and the devastating effects oof Beeching cuts. The book concludes with the impact of privatisation and a brief survey of preserved [steam] railways in Cornwall.
48 pages, Paperback
First published March 21, 1970
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July 27, 2026
Cornwall certainly has an extensive railway history beginning with the horse-drawn tramways through to the halcyon days of steam and beyond and Tony Fairclough charts it all succinctly in this splendid, excellently researched and very detailed short history.
It was the boom years of tin and copper mining, plus the arrival of clay and the need to transport coal from the docks to inland locations in order to feed the many mine pumping engines, when the Cornish railway network came to life. It was becoming virtually impossible to transport ore to the coast by pack horses and similarly to get coal into the countryside to run the whole operation.
Thus the first of the lines that were to transform the whole operation came into being. This was the Poldice to Portteath tramroad (as it was called) began operation as early as September 1812 with the first rail having been laid by Lord de Dunstanville on 25 October 1809.It was a four-foot gauge and was horse worked throughout to begin with and it continued until Poldice, initially an important and productive copper mine, was practically exhausted by 1856. It continued in use through to around 1865 when, by then little used, it was closed and later the tramplates were taken up and sold for scrap around 1882.
So the first steps were taken early for railway development but over the ensuing years Cornwall quicklt developed a whole host of rail lines around the county.Initially they were used primarily for haulage of materials but there were occasions when passengers were allowed to travel on them for a Mr Symons, who wrote a Gazetteer of Cornwall in 1884 did recall that in 1830 he rode in one of the cars to attend a tea party, even though there was no provision for the conveyance of passengers. As the railways developed his practice did continue for many years when passenger comfort was more readily catered for!
Before too long there was a whole host of minor (some major) railways crossing the Cornish countryside and Tony Fairclough gives an assessment of many of the more important ones as some were short and relatively minor when transporting materials between one mine and another. There was even one stopping off point that did not have a specific station but it still employed a stationmaster! What exactly his role was is unclear. And as the railways grew in importance there was even a stationmistress at one location, thought to be the first lady to do the job in the country.
The early railways were generally localised such as the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway, the Pentewan railway and the Hayle Railway. But as this mode of transport became more popular such as The Cornwall Minerals Railway took over some of the minor lines when a Fowey entrepreneur, JT Treffry, took over and began linking the north and south of the county. He was also involved in the building of viaducts for ease of criss-crossing the county and these caught on to such a degree that at one point there were as many as 25-30 dotted around the county.
Of course when tourism took over and the mining industry was fading, it was passenger services that became more important as holidaymakers flocked into Cornwall. And this was wehn Brunel's Great Wester Railway came into its own. Changes obviously came about when Dr Beeching arrived on the scene, nationalisation took place and much later privatisation and then preservation of some steam lines came about.
Tony Fairclough admirably covers the whole spectrum in this most absorbing book, complete with historic and up to date illustrations.
It was the boom years of tin and copper mining, plus the arrival of clay and the need to transport coal from the docks to inland locations in order to feed the many mine pumping engines, when the Cornish railway network came to life. It was becoming virtually impossible to transport ore to the coast by pack horses and similarly to get coal into the countryside to run the whole operation.
Thus the first of the lines that were to transform the whole operation came into being. This was the Poldice to Portteath tramroad (as it was called) began operation as early as September 1812 with the first rail having been laid by Lord de Dunstanville on 25 October 1809.It was a four-foot gauge and was horse worked throughout to begin with and it continued until Poldice, initially an important and productive copper mine, was practically exhausted by 1856. It continued in use through to around 1865 when, by then little used, it was closed and later the tramplates were taken up and sold for scrap around 1882.
So the first steps were taken early for railway development but over the ensuing years Cornwall quicklt developed a whole host of rail lines around the county.Initially they were used primarily for haulage of materials but there were occasions when passengers were allowed to travel on them for a Mr Symons, who wrote a Gazetteer of Cornwall in 1884 did recall that in 1830 he rode in one of the cars to attend a tea party, even though there was no provision for the conveyance of passengers. As the railways developed his practice did continue for many years when passenger comfort was more readily catered for!
Before too long there was a whole host of minor (some major) railways crossing the Cornish countryside and Tony Fairclough gives an assessment of many of the more important ones as some were short and relatively minor when transporting materials between one mine and another. There was even one stopping off point that did not have a specific station but it still employed a stationmaster! What exactly his role was is unclear. And as the railways grew in importance there was even a stationmistress at one location, thought to be the first lady to do the job in the country.
The early railways were generally localised such as the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway, the Pentewan railway and the Hayle Railway. But as this mode of transport became more popular such as The Cornwall Minerals Railway took over some of the minor lines when a Fowey entrepreneur, JT Treffry, took over and began linking the north and south of the county. He was also involved in the building of viaducts for ease of criss-crossing the county and these caught on to such a degree that at one point there were as many as 25-30 dotted around the county.
Of course when tourism took over and the mining industry was fading, it was passenger services that became more important as holidaymakers flocked into Cornwall. And this was wehn Brunel's Great Wester Railway came into its own. Changes obviously came about when Dr Beeching arrived on the scene, nationalisation took place and much later privatisation and then preservation of some steam lines came about.
Tony Fairclough admirably covers the whole spectrum in this most absorbing book, complete with historic and up to date illustrations.
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