Helston Railway
Encyclopedia
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Helston Railway was a (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...
) railway branch line
Branch line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...
in Cornwall
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...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It opened in 1887 and closed in 1962. The line branched from the Cornish Main Line
Cornish Main Line
The Cornish Main Line is a railway line in the United Kingdom, which forms the backbone for rail services in Cornwall, as well as providing a direct line to London.- History :...
at Gwinear Road railway station and ran 8.5 miles (13.7 km) south to Helston
Helston
Helston is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately 12 miles east of Penzance and nine miles southwest of Falmouth. Helston is the most southerly town in the UK and is around further south than...
Infrastructure and stations
When the line was opened in 1887 there were just two stations at Praze-an-BeeblePraze-An-Beeble
Praze-An-Beeble , sometimes shortened to Praze, is a village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is located between the nearby towns of Camborne and Helston in the civil parish of Crowan....
named just Praze and Nancegollan. In 1905, a halt was opened at Truthall (later known as Truthall Platform), approximately 2 miles north of Helston and close to the hamlet of Trannack.
In the late 1930s with the advent of World War II, Nancegollan station was upgraded with an increased capacity goods yard and a new signal box complete with a lever frame that had been relocated from the Cornish Main Line at St Germans. A second (metal) bridge was also built at this time to carry the road over the new goods yard access lines.
Signalling and operation
Throughout its life, the line was run as two sections with signal boxes at Helston and NancegollanNancegollan
Nancegollan is a village in Cornwall, England, UK....
, the latter station being the only passing loop on the branch in its final years. Originally, Praze also possessed a passing goods loop but this was converted to a siding in the early 1950s and controlled from a nearby ground frame.
The branch had a good service pattern right up until its closure, with a single journey taking approximately 25 minutes. The speed limit over the line was 30 miles per hour (48.3 km/h) and trains were commonly worked by 45xx locomotives. In its final years, early Class 21
British Rail Class 21
The British Rail Class 21 was a type of Type 2 diesel-electric locomotive built by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow for British Railways in 1958-1960....
and Class 22
British Rail Class 22
The British Rail Class 22 or "Baby Warship" was a class of diesel-hydraulic locomotives designed for the Western Region of British Railways and built by the North British Locomotive Company. They were very similar in appearance to the Class 21 diesel-electrics...
diesel locomotives were used to haul passenger and goods trains.
Traffic
Goods traffic on the branch was heavy, and ensured the survival of the line for a further 2 years following its closure to passengers on November 3, 1962. The primary traffic was agricultural, whist during the war years, and particularly during the D-DayD-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
preparations, Nancegollan saw extensive military traffic.
The line also had heavy passenger use from holiday-makers, but it was not enough to finance the intended extension of the line through to The Lizard
The Lizard
The Lizard is a peninsula in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The most southerly point of the British mainland is near Lizard Point at ....
.
Closure
The Helston branch was listed for closure in the Beeching PlanBeeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
. On 3 November 1962, the line was the first in Cornwall to close to passengers. Goods traffic continued for a further two years. Final closure came on October 4, 1964 and the rails had been lifted by mid-1965.
The line today
Although overgrown, much of the alignment of the line remains. Most of the bridges, including the Cober viaduct, are still in serviceable condition as property of the Strategic Rail AuthorityStrategic Rail Authority
In existence from 2001 to 2006, the Strategic Rail Authority was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up under the Transport Act 2000 to provide strategic direction for the railway industry....
.
The former station at Helston has been covered by housing development and all the buildings have been demolished. The only traces of the railway remain in the form of the granite wall from the head shunt and the former GWR goods shed which has been converted into a dwelling. Heading north from Helston the first visible trace of the railway is the stub of a bridge on the edge of the Water-Ma-Trout industrial estate.
At Nancegollan, a business park stands on the site of the former station, although the bridges remain in situ. At Praze, a house has been built on the station site and two road bridges either side of the approach have been demolished. The cuttings near to Gwinear Road have been in-filled.
Future prospects
Since 2005, Helston Railway Preservation CompanyHelston Railway Preservation Company
The Helston Railway Preservation Company is a heritage railway that aims to rebuild the Helston branch line that linked Gwinear Road on the Cornish Main Line to Helston, Cornwall, England.- Overview :...
has undertaken extensive restoration work on the southern-most part of the line, between Water-Ma-Trout, Helston and Nancegollan.
As of July 2010, about 0.5 miles of track has been laid, another 0.25 has been cleared of vegetation pending track-laying, and permission has been applied for, for a further 0.25. Rolling stock has been delivered to the new station at Trevarno, and it is hoped that a passenger service may one day be in operation, between Truthall and Trevarno.