You are currently viewing the Canada version of the site.
Would you like to switch to your local site?
51 MIN READ TIME

Lostwithiel to St Blazey and back A branch and main line ‘circular’

The level crossing gates remain open to road traffic as the evening shadows lengthen at Lostwithiel station on Friday, 23 September 1960. The crew of Collett ‘4575’ class 2-6-2T No 5572 await the arrival of a connecting down main line service, before themselves setting off down the branch to Fowey. Note the china clay wagons stabled in the sidings adjacent to the bay platform, and beyond them is the water tank for the station supply.
R C Riley

Having already considered the history of the two branch lines to Fowey - see Steam Days, October 2020 - and how between the Victorian era and summer 1968 they co-existed and formed a through route, this article is intended as a ‘circular’ trip from Lostwithiel via Fowey to St Blazey, with reversal there to return via the 1879 doubletrack spur to Par station and then former Cornwall Railway metals via the summit at Treverrin tunnel and then down to Lostwithiel. Such a journey was only available to the general public from 16 September 1895, when the Great Western Railway revived the former broad gauge Lostwithiel & Fowey Railway (L&FR) as a standard gauge route, and until the section of ex-Cornwall Minerals Railway (CMR) branch between Fowey and St Blazey lost its regular passenger service from Monday, 8 July 1929. The infrastructure described is that of the British Railways steam days, but with an eye on earlier times and, at times, the post-steam era.

Lostwithiel station

Read the complete article and many more in this issue of Railway Magazine
Purchase options below
If you own the issue, Login to read the full article now.
Single Digital Issue 1437 - December 2020
 
$6.99 / issue
This issue and other back issues are not included in a new subscription. Subscriptions include the latest regular issue and new issues released during your subscription. Railway Magazine
Annual Digital Subscription $46.99 billed annually
Save
44%
$3.92 / issue
6 Month Digital Subscription $24.99 billed twice a year
Save
40%
$4.17 / issue
Monthly Digital Subscription $5.49 billed monthly
Save
21%
$5.49 / issue
PRINT SUBSCRIPTION? Available at magazine.co.uk, the best magazine subscription offers online.
 

This article is from...


View Issues
Railway Magazine
1437 - December 2020
VIEW IN STORE

Other Articles in this Issue


Railway Magazine
Rail should be at the forefront of Prime Minister’s decarbonisation plans
MANY of you will have heard about Prime Minister Boris
Headline News
RAIB highlights Network Rail safety concerns over Margam fatalities
A REPORT from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch
More support for digital signalling
THE DfT has allocated an extra £1.2million to accelerate
Railways remember the fallen
POIGNANT tributes were paid to railway employees who
First Vivarail Class 484 arrives on Isle of Wight
THE first train of an order for five two-car Viviarail
‘Future at risk’: Stark message from Eurostar and HS1 CEOs
THE future of the Eurostar operation along with the
Northern Powerhouse Rail ‘transformation’ plans handed to Government
WORK on the planned Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR)
PM Johnson’s ‘Ten Point Plan’ disappointing
PRIME Minister Boris Johnson’s ‘10-point’ decarbonisation
RMT leader Mick Cash steps down
MICK Cash, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime
Leicestershire bridge ‘most hit’ in Britain
A 15ft-HIGH railway bridge across one of Britain’s
Stonehaven reopens - fund tops £142,000
THE line between Stonehaven and Arbroath was reopened
Will ‘Amtrak Joe’ be good for US rail?
THE election victory of Joe Biden as the 46th President
Harsh criticism for DfT over ERMA delays
A TRANSPORT Select Committee (TSC) hearing led to stern
No service or staff cuts planned - for the moment
FEARS of service or staff cuts on the back of the pandemic
Retailers hampered by port congestion
RETAILERS that have already had a bleak time in 2020
Pure fluke - metro train saved by whale tail
RARELY do minor accidents on metro systems make global
Transport for London gets a further Government subsidy
TRANSPORT for London (TfL) will receive around £1.7billion
SIDELINES
Ivanhoe Line campaigner dies
East-West rolling stock procurement gets underway
THE East West Railway Company (EWRC) has entered a
DfT prepares for Direct Awards
THE DfT has begun to prepare for 10 direct awards
OBITURARIES
A RETIRED Army major who enjoyed a second career as
Highland Chieftain nameplate bought for record amount
THE sale of seven nameplates once carried by LNER HSTs
Hull and Grand Central suspend services
THE two East Coast open access operators - Hull Trains
Paxman’s diesel engine factory closes
PAXMAN diesel engines have been assigned to Britain’s
TOCs reduce some services in November
FEWER than expected passenger numbers led to most train
Bank Holiday engineering to disrupt WCML in 2021
NETWORK Rail has announced engineering projects will
SIDELINES
FIRE involving scrap tyres at a go-kart track next
Features
IT’S AS EASY AS… 1 3 2
Train operator TransPennine Express has completed the introduction of three new types of train, a pledge made when it retained its franchise.
THE MIDDLETON RAILWAY ALWAYS A LEADER
In 2020, the Middleton Railway commemorated its pioneering role in the establishment of railway preservation back in the 1960s. Oliver Edwards looks at the history of the railway, its rolling stock and its future.
Driving through the changes on the ECML
In this final instalment, covering more than 40 years as a train driver on the East Coast Main Line, Newcastle-based Mick Ingledew tells Fraser Pithie about the period from National Express to LNER and the introduction of the ‘Azuma’ trains.
Destination Bala!
The narrow gauge Bala Lake Railway in Mid-Wales has long held an ambition to extend its services from its current terminus into the heart of Bala town itself. This goal is now within touching distance as Gary Boyd-Hope discovered.
A BRIEF GHOSTLY ENCOUNTER…
The RM’s annual spooky story comes from the pen of Russell P Carrof
CENTENARY OF UNKNOWN WARRIOR’S LAST JOURNEY
Last month marked the centenary of the return of the body of the Unknown Warrior, who is buried in Westminster Abbey. Keith Fender tells this poignant story.
Regulars
The CHRISTMAS GIFT THAT ARRIVES EVERY MONTH
Treat a friend (or yourself!) to their favourite magazine subscription this Christmas. Check out our fantastic range below, there’s something for everyone!
FROM THE RAILWAY MAGAZINE ARCHIVES
Pullman cars on display
The RCTS: then and now
RARELY a volume of the Railway Observer passes without
Readers’ Platform
Send your letters to: The Railway Magazine, Media Centre
Railways in Parliament
BARONESS Kennedy of Cradley asked Her Majesty’s Government
Panorama
Panorama is brought to you in association with Porterbrook
CHRISTMASGIFTGUIDE
ByMGBall
Reader Services
Visit www.railwaymagazine.co.uk or turn to p32 in this
Prize crossword
£100 worth of Nostalgia Collection books to be won
Track Record
Steam & Heritage
Call: 01507 529589 email: gboyd-hope @mortons.co.uk
Industrial Steam
Call: 01507 529589 email: gboyd-hope @mortons.co.uk
Steam Portfolio
Single-chimney ‘King’ No. 6023 King Edward II is seen
Narrow Gauge
Call: 01507 529589 email: railway@mortons.co.uk
Metro
Call: 01507 529589 email: railway@mortons.co.uk
Freight
Call: 01507 529589 email: railway @mortons.co.uk
Heritage Trams
Call: 01507 529589 email: gboyd-hope @mortons.co.uk
Classic Traction
Call: 01507 529589 email: classic.traction @btopenworld.com
Railtours
Call: 01507 529589 email: gboyd-hope @mortons.co.uk
World
Call: 01507 529589 email: railway@mortons.co.uk
Network
Call: 01507 529589 email: railway @mortons.co.uk
Traction & Stock
Call: 01507 529589 email: cmilner @mortons.co.uk
Stock Update
Call: 01507 529589 email: railway @mortons.co.uk
Traction Portfolio
Operations
Call: 01507 529589 email: railway @mortons.co.uk
STSAM DAYS
TRAINS of thought
This issue of Steam Days sees us enter a new and exciting
Hest Bank Where the West Coast main line meets the sea
Situated on Morecambe Bay just three miles north of Lancaster,Barry C Lanerecalls happy visits to this station, firstly in 1954 and then regularly throughout the remaining steam years, the location becoming increasingly popular with trainspotters towards the latter days of steam.
STEAM DATS In Colour
191: Inter-regional trains to Kent and Sussex
The 1948 Locomotive Exchanges The express classes
A process of evaluation through ten weeks of operation across four regions and involving five classes and ten individual locomotives,Andrew Wilsonexamines the tests and outcome of the passenger designs used in the 1948 exchanges.
The Peterhead Harbour of Refuge Railway
A safe haven from the worst North Sea conditions,Keith Jonesreveals the railway story behind the construction for a Harbour of Refuge, a 70-year project that included the use of hard labour at a prison yard and quarry, and a passenger service to take convicts between these two sites
Tail Lamp
Sir: It may be wondered by some why the relatively
Chat
X
Pocketmags Support