Newquay and Cornwall Junction Railway
Encyclopedia
The Newquay and Cornwall Junction Railway was a broad gauge
railway intended to link the Cornwall Railway
with the horse-worked Newquay Railway. It opened a short section to Nanpean
in 1869, the remainder being built by the Cornwall Minerals Railway
who took over the company in 1874. Its main traffic has always been china clay
.
proposed to also construct a line from the Cornwall Railway
west of St Austell
to St Dennis
, where it would connect with the horse-drawn Newquay Railway. While the plans were being laid for this new line, which would provide a route for the china clay
produced in the district to reach the harbours on the coast, the Cornwall Railway opened a station at Burngullow to tap into this traffic.
An Act of Parliament
for the Newquay and Cornwall Junction Railway was obtained on 14 July 1864 but construction proved more difficult than expected due to the hardness of the ground, and funds were not forthcoming to enable the whole line to be built. The 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from Burngullow to Nanpean was opened to goods traffic on 1 July 1869, it being built to the same broad gauge
as the Cornwall Railway. The offices for the company were at Par
and shared with the Lostwithiel and Fowey Railway.
In 1872 it was agreed to lease the line to the newly formed Cornwall Minerals Railway
which would complete the connection to the Newquay Railway. It would also convert both this and the Par Tramway for steam engines, and connect these together and with quays at Fowey
. The lease took effect from 1 June 1874 but the company never received everything that it had been promised and took legal action against the Cornwall Minerals Railway. The Newquay and Cornwall Junction Railway directors stopped meeting in 1885.
The Great Western Railway
took over the operation of the Cornwall Minerals Railway from 1 October 1877 and was amalgamated with this company on 1 July 1896. In the meantime, the line had been converted to standard gauge
along with all the other lines west of Exeter
over the weekend of 21 May 1892, finally enabling through trains from Burngullow to St Dennis Junction.
The railway has only ever carried goods traffic. The line no longer extends to St Dennis, but the original line still carries china clay from Parkandillack to Fowey.
, also contracted to operate the railway. The Cornwall Minerals Railway operated the same or similar locomotives, but these were withdrawn when the Great Western Railway took over operation. An engine shed was provided at Burngullow. It is unclear how many locomotives were operated but two have been positively identified.
Present day trains are usually powered by EWS
Class 66
locomotives.
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
railway intended to link the Cornwall Railway
Cornwall Railway
The Cornwall Railway was a broad gauge railway from Plymouth in Devon to Falmouth in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The section from Plymouth to Truro opened in 1859, the extension to Falmouth in 1863...
with the horse-worked Newquay Railway. It opened a short section to Nanpean
Nanpean
Nanpean is a village in the civil parish of St Stephen-in-Brannel in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated on the B3279 road approximately four miles northwest of St Austell in the heart of 'clay country', the china clay quarrying area of mid-Cornwall.Nanpean church was built in 1879...
in 1869, the remainder being built by the Cornwall Minerals Railway
Cornwall Minerals Railway
The Cornwall Minerals Railway operated a network of railway lines in Cornwall, United Kingdom. Based at St Blazey, its network stretched from Fowey to Newquay and lasted as an independent company from 1874 to 1896, after which it became a part of the Great Western Railway.-Authorisation:The...
who took over the company in 1874. Its main traffic has always been china clay
Kaolinite
Kaolinite is a clay mineral, part of the group of industrial minerals, with the chemical composition Al2Si2O54. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina octahedra...
.
Chronology
- 1864 Newquay and Cornwall Junction Railway Act
- 1869 Line opened
- 1874 Taken over by the Cornwall Minerals RailwayCornwall Minerals RailwayThe Cornwall Minerals Railway operated a network of railway lines in Cornwall, United Kingdom. Based at St Blazey, its network stretched from Fowey to Newquay and lasted as an independent company from 1874 to 1896, after which it became a part of the Great Western Railway.-Authorisation:The...
- 1892 ConvertedGauge conversionIn rail transport, gauge conversion is the process of converting a railway from one rail gauge to another, through the alteration of the railway tracks...
to standard gaugeStandard gaugeThe standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge... - 1896 Amalgamated with Great Western RailwayGreat Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
History
Late in 1861 the promoters of the Lostwithiel and Fowey RailwayLostwithiel and Fowey Railway
The Lostwithiel and Fowey Railway opened in 1869 as a broad gauge railway and links the port of Fowey in Cornwall with the Cornish Main Line at Lostwithiel...
proposed to also construct a line from the Cornwall Railway
Cornwall Railway
The Cornwall Railway was a broad gauge railway from Plymouth in Devon to Falmouth in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The section from Plymouth to Truro opened in 1859, the extension to Falmouth in 1863...
west of St Austell
St Austell
St Austell is a civil parish and a major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the south coast approximately ten miles south of Bodmin and 30 miles west of the border with Devon at Saltash...
to St Dennis
St Dennis, Cornwall
St Dennis is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is situated on the B3279 between Newquay and St Austell.St Dennis had a population of 2,696 in the 2001 census. A quarter of the male population is employed in the extraction of china clay.The village is famous for...
, where it would connect with the horse-drawn Newquay Railway. While the plans were being laid for this new line, which would provide a route for the china clay
Kaolinite
Kaolinite is a clay mineral, part of the group of industrial minerals, with the chemical composition Al2Si2O54. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina octahedra...
produced in the district to reach the harbours on the coast, the Cornwall Railway opened a station at Burngullow to tap into this traffic.
An Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
for the Newquay and Cornwall Junction Railway was obtained on 14 July 1864 but construction proved more difficult than expected due to the hardness of the ground, and funds were not forthcoming to enable the whole line to be built. The 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from Burngullow to Nanpean was opened to goods traffic on 1 July 1869, it being built to the same broad gauge
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
as the Cornwall Railway. The offices for the company were at Par
Par, Cornwall
Par is a town and fishing port with a harbour on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated in the civil parish of Tywardreath and Par and is approximately east of St Austell. Par has a population of around 1,400.....
and shared with the Lostwithiel and Fowey Railway.
In 1872 it was agreed to lease the line to the newly formed Cornwall Minerals Railway
Cornwall Minerals Railway
The Cornwall Minerals Railway operated a network of railway lines in Cornwall, United Kingdom. Based at St Blazey, its network stretched from Fowey to Newquay and lasted as an independent company from 1874 to 1896, after which it became a part of the Great Western Railway.-Authorisation:The...
which would complete the connection to the Newquay Railway. It would also convert both this and the Par Tramway for steam engines, and connect these together and with quays at Fowey
Fowey
Fowey is a small town, civil parish and cargo port at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, United Kingdom. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,273.-Early history:...
. The lease took effect from 1 June 1874 but the company never received everything that it had been promised and took legal action against the Cornwall Minerals Railway. The Newquay and Cornwall Junction Railway directors stopped meeting in 1885.
The Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
took over the operation of the Cornwall Minerals Railway from 1 October 1877 and was amalgamated with this company on 1 July 1896. In the meantime, the line had been converted to standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
along with all the other lines west of Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
over the weekend of 21 May 1892, finally enabling through trains from Burngullow to St Dennis Junction.
The railway has only ever carried goods traffic. The line no longer extends to St Dennis, but the original line still carries china clay from Parkandillack to Fowey.
Locomotives
The contractor who built the line, William West of St BlazeySt Blazey
St Blazey is a small town in Cornwall, United Kingdom.St Blaise is the civil parish in which St Blazey is situated; the name St Blaise is also used by the town council.St Blazey is situated east of St Austell...
, also contracted to operate the railway. The Cornwall Minerals Railway operated the same or similar locomotives, but these were withdrawn when the Great Western Railway took over operation. An engine shed was provided at Burngullow. It is unclear how many locomotives were operated but two have been positively identified.
- Newquay, an 0-4-2ST which had previously worked the South Wales Mineral Railway.
- Phoenix, a tank engine which may have come from Roland BrotherhoodRoland BrotherhoodRowland Brotherhood was a British engineer. He was born in Middlesex in 1812 and died in Bristol in 1883. He married Priscilla Penton in 1835 and they had 14 children, one also called Rowland who played cricket for Gloucestershire, another called Peter...
, an engineer at ChippenhamChippenham, WiltshireChippenham is a market town in Wiltshire, England, located east of Bath and west of London. In the 2001 census the population of the town was recorded as 28,065....
.
Present day trains are usually powered by EWS
EWS
DB Schenker Rail , before 2009 known as English, Welsh and Scottish Railway is a British rail freight company. EWS was established by a consortium led by Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation in 1996 by acquisition of five of the six freight companies created by the privatisation of British...
Class 66
British Rail Class 66
The Class 66 is a six axle diesel electric freight locomotive developed in part from the British Rail Class 59, for use on the railways of the UK. Since its introduction the class has been successful and has been sold to British and other European railway companies...
locomotives.
Further reading
- Papers relating to the Newquay and Cornwall Junction Railway can be consulted at The National Archives at Kew. The minute books are believed to have been destroyed but an index to them is held.