The Launceston Steam Railway is a gauge

narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

, in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The long railway runs from Launceston to Newmills, where there is a farm park. It is built on the trackbed of the former

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

North Cornwall Railway The North Cornwall Railway (NCR) also known as the North Cornwall Line, was a standard gauge railway line running from Halwill in Devon, to Padstow in Cornwall, at a distance of via Launceston, Camelford and Wadebridge. The line was opened ...

History

Standard gauge railway

The first railway to reach Launceston was the

Launceston and South Devon Railway The South Devon and Tavistock Railway linked Plymouth with Tavistock in Devon; it opened in 1859. It was extended by the Launceston and South Devon Railway to Launceston, in Cornwall in 1865. It was a broad gauge line but from 1876 also carried ...

, opened in 1865 from Launceston to Plymouth, and later absorbed into the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

. In 1886 the

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exete ...

opened its railway from Halwill Junction, extended to Padstow in stages in the 1890s, and later part of the Southern Railway. The two Launceston stations were side by side: the Great Western closed in 1962 and the Southern in 1966.

Narrow gauge revival

In 1965, Nigel Bowman, a

trainee A trainee is commonly known as an individual taking part in a trainee program within an organization after having graduated from technical and higher courses. A trainee is an official employee of the firm that is being trained to the job they we ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, rescued the

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

''Lilian'' from the Penrhyn Slate Quarry in

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

, and restored her to working order at his home in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. He then set about looking for a site to build a railway for ''Lilian'' to run on, and settled on Launceston in 1971, after considering a stretch of trackbed from

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

and the

Lynton & Barnstaple Railway The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (L&B) was a single track, narrow gauge railway. It opened in May 1898 and ran for slightly more than through the area bordering Exmoor in North Devon, England. Although it opened after the Light Railways ...

. Purchase of the trackbed took several years, and the first of track opened on Boxing Day 1983. Permission to operate the railway was granted by The Launceston Light Railway Order 1982. The railway was extended progressively, the latest opening to Newmills in 1995 bringing the line to its current length.

Route

The LSR starts at a new station just west of the original LSWR station, which is now an industrial estate. Launceston station is the main station on the railway, and the sheds and engineering facilities are located here. The line runs from the station through a cutting, passing under a road bridge and aqueduct carrying a mill

leat A leat (; also lete or leet, or millstream) is the name, common in the south and west of England and in Wales, for an artificial watercourse or aqueduct dug into the ground, especially one supplying water to a watermill or its mill pond. Othe ...

, before crossing the River Kensey on a two-arch viaduct. The line is now on an embankment and crosses a bridge over a farm track before arriving at Hunt's Crossing, where it is planned to lay a

passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains o ...

. After Hunt's Crossing the line crosses two farm crossings and then reaches Canna Park which was the temporary terminus before the extension to Newmills. From Canna Park there is a fairly short run to Newmills, the terminus. Adjacent to the Newmills station is the Newmills Farm Park.

Locomotives

All public train services are operated by the steam locomotives, whilst the internal combustion locomotives are used for maintenance work.

Steam locomotives

Internal combustion and battery electric

Visiting locomotives

Rolling stock

The railway has four passenger carriages, all built on site and based on those built for the

Manx Electric Railway The Manx Electric Railway ( Manx: ''Raad Yiarn Lectragh Vannin'') is an electric interurban tramway connecting Douglas, Laxey and Ramsey in the Isle of Man. It connects with the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway at its southern terminus at Derby Cas ...

, Torrington and Marland Railway and the

Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway The Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway was a gauge narrow gauge railway in Cardiganshire (now Ceredigion) in Mid Wales. It ran from (later renamed ''Llandre station'') on the Cambrian Line, through the village of Tal-y-bont, Ceredigion, Tal-y-bont ...

. There are also several ex.

Royal Naval Armaments Depot A Royal Naval Armament Depot (RNAD) is an armament depot (or a group of depots) dedicated to supplying the Royal Navy (as well as, at various times, the Royal Air Force, the British Army, and foreign and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth f ...

box vans, slate wagons and tipping wagons.

References

External links

The Railway website
* {{coord, 50.641, -4.365, display=title, region:GB_scale:5000 Heritage railways in Cornwall Museums in Cornwall Railway museums in England 1 ft 11½ in gauge railways in England Standard gauge railways in England Launceston, Cornwall