The Hayle Railway was an early Cornish

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

 railway, built 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...

, and opened in 1837. The railway served the engineering works and copper quays at Hayle

Hayle

Hayle is a small town, civil parish and cargo port in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated at the mouth of the Hayle River and is approximately seven miles northeast of Penzance...

 with the copper mines of Redruth

Redruth

Redruth is a town and civil parish traditionally in the Penwith Hundred in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It has a population of 12,352. Redruth lies approximately at the junction of the A393 and A3047 roads, on the route of the old London to Land's End trunk road , and is approximately west of...

 and Camborne

Camborne

Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth....

 carrying ore to the port and coal to the mines, before the construction of the Saltash Bridge and the direct rail route out of Cornwall.

The Hayle Railway ran east from Hayle harbour to Redruth Junction, and from there north to Portreath

Portreath

Portreath is a civil parish, village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is situated approximately three miles northwest of Redruth....

 harbour and south to Tresavean and the Lanner mines.