£22.00
Roger Langley, D. Birch, J. Gabb
Publication Date: 2024
Format & Edition: Paperback, First Edition
Pagination: 116 Pages, Illustrated
Condition: New
Genre: Great Western Railways
Status: In Stock, Limited Edition
Synopsis
The Hayle and West Cornwall Railways Penzance to Truro 1834-1865 by Roger Langley, David Birch and John Gabb.
The first railway development in West Cornwall were instigated by copper mine owners seeking an alternative to poor roads. The first was the Poldice Tram Road, opened in 1809. Even though it was a commercial success, there were no more developments until the Redruth and Chasewater Railway in 1824. A third venture was the Hayle Railway, enacted in 1834 as a horse tramway and in 1836 re-enacted as a 4ft 8.5 inch locomotive line. The Hayle Railway was completed in 1838 and connected mines around Redruth and Camborne to the harbours of Hayle and Portreath on Cornwall’s Atlantic coast.
In 1836, two years after the Hayle tramway, Penzance citizens proposed an ambitious expansion of its harbour, combined with a rail connection to Truro. This would have made the Hayle tramway obsolete. In response Hayle changed their tramway to a standard gauge railway in 1836. That scuppered Penzance’s plans and what followed was a succession of proposals by them for a West Cornwall Railway between Penzance and Truro, culminating in 1846 with its acquisition of the Hayle Railway.
This book closes in 1866, when the Associated Companies took control of the West Cornwall Railway, and later by the GWR.
This illustrated book provides a history of the Hayle Railway and West Cornwall Railway.
Chapters
Hayle Railway Construction
West Cornwall Railway Construction
Operations:
Directors and Staff
Locomotives
Rolling Stock
Freight
Passenger Services
Incidents and Accidents
Broad Gauge Threat
Remains of the Hayle Railway and its Branches:
Hayle to Redruth Line
The Portreath Branch
The Tresavean Branch
The Roskear Branch
The North Crofty Branch