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Launceston Steam Railway
Steam Engine at Newmills - geograph.org.uk - 1193294.jpg
Locale Launceston, Cornwall, UK
Terminus Launceston
Commercial operations
Name North Cornwall Railway
Original gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Owned by The Spice Settlement Trust Co. Ltd
Operated by The Spice Settlement Trust Co. Ltd
Stations 4
Length 2+12 miles (4 km)
Preserved gauge 1 ft 11 12 in (597 mm)
Commercial history
Opened 21 July 1892
Closed 30 January 1967
Preservation history
1965 Steam locomotive Lilian rescued
1983 Launceston Steam Railway opened
1995 Extension to Newmills opened

The Launceston Steam Railway is a 1 ft 11 12 in (597 mm) narrow gauge railway, in Cornwall, England. The railway operates from the town of Launceston to Newmills, where there is a farm park; it is 2+12 miles (4.0 km) long. The railway is built on the trackbed of the former standard gauge North Cornwall Railway.

History

Standard gauge railway

The first railway to reach Launceston was the Launceston and South Devon Railway, opened in 1865 from Launceston to Plymouth, and later absorbed into the Great Western Railway. In 1886 the London and South Western Railway 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 teacher, rescued the steam locomotive Lilian from the Penrhyn Slate Quarry in North Wales, and restored her to working order at his home in Surrey. 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 to Horsham and the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway. Purchase of the trackbed took several years, and the first 12 mile (0.8 km) 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 2+12-mile (4 km) 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, 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. 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

Number Name Builder Type Works Number Built Origin Notes
Lilian Hunslet Engine Company 0-4-0ST 317 1883 Penrhyn Quarry New boiler fitted in 1993 and tender added in 2008. Overhauled 2016
Covertcoat Hunslet 0-4-0ST 679 1898 Dinorwic Quarry Cab and tender added at Launceston
Velinheli Hunslet 0-4-0ST 409 1886 Dinorwic Quarry Privately owned by James Evans, ex. Inny Valley Railway. Stored at the Ffestiniog Railway where a new boiler is being constructed.
Dorothea Hunslet 0-4-0ST 763 1901 Dorothea Quarry Restored over 22 years by Kay Bowman, first steamed in November 2011 and entered passenger service in 2012.
89 Perseverance C. Parmenter 4wVBT 2004 Originally constructed on a Hudson wagon chassis, rebuilt with a new chassis in 2010

Internal combustion and battery electric

Number Name Builder Type Works Number Built Origin Notes
38 English Electric 2w-2-2-2wRE 761 1930 Post Office Railway On display in the museum
Motor Rail 4wDM 5646 1933 Grove Heath, Ripley, Surrey
N. Bowman 4wBE 1986 Inspection trolley
Launceston Steam Railway 4wDE 2004 Inspection trolley
Launceston Steam Railway 4w-4DER 2010-17 New build diesel railcar

Visiting locomotives

Number Name Builder Year Visited Location Notes
Lilla Hunslet 1998 Ffestiniog Railway
Pearl 2 A. Civil 2001 Golden Valley Light Railway
Dame Ann Exmoor Steam Railway 2004 Wales West Light Railway, Alabama
19 Sharp Stewart 2009 & 2019 Beeches Light Railway Darjeeling Himalayan Railway 778
Gertrude Andrew Barclay Sons & Co. 2009 Exmoor Transport
Lyd Boston Lodge Works 2010 Ffestiniog Railway
Roanoke Engineering 2010 & 2011 Private Vertical boilered tram locomotive

Rolling stock

The railway has four passenger carriages, all built on site and based on those built for the Manx Electric Railway, Torrington and Marland Railway and the Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway. There are also several ex. Royal Naval Armaments Depot box vans, slate wagons and tipping wagons.

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