Stanley C Jenkins MAprovides a travelogue style account of the no longer possible round-trip from Lostwithiel that traversed the branch lines of Fowey and the southernmost section of the Newquay line, and then returned from St Blazey station via Par and the main line.

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

Opened on 4 May 1859 as a wayside station on the broad gauge Cornwall Railway, across the years Lostwithiel has been widely regarded as one of the most attractive stopping places on the West of England main line. Initially independent, by Act of 1861 the Cornwall Railway was operated under a joint committee and this arrangement continued through to July 1889, when the company was swallowed up by the GWR. A broad gauge junction existed to the south/west end of Lostwithiel station from opening of the Lostwithiel & Fowey Railway, a 5¼ mile long branch line, on 1 June 1869. In truth, that goods-only operation only ran as far as Carne Point, about ½ mile short of the town of Fowey, and it proved to be relatively short-lived, just 10½ years, as it failed when in competition with the CMR’s core route through St Blazey to Fowey. Thereafter, it saw no use from 1880 until resurrected by the GWR as a standard gauge route in 1895, complete with a new junction at Lostwithiel, the main line through Lostwithiel having itself been converted from broad to standard gauge in May 1892.

Situated beside the tranquil river Fowey and surrounded by beautiful woodland scenery, Lostwithiel station was of classic Great Western design, its timber-framed buildings being fully within the Brunelian tradition - they were built by Messrs Olver & Sons of Falmouth, a well-known Cornish building firm. Originally a two-platform station, the main booking office and waiting room facilities at Lostwithiel were situated on the up side of the line, with a smaller building on the down platform. In 1895, however, the down platform became an island, with an additional face for Fowey branch trains, and an enlarged station building. The up and down platforms were linked by a plate girder footbridge, the latter structure being roofed in typical Great Western fashion.

In architectural terms, Lostwithiel’s main up-side buildings conformed to a more or less standard Cornwall Railway ground plan, featuring a recessed central portion that formed a small loggia for waiting travellers. The building sported a low-pitched roof with tall chimneys and a projecting platform canopy, the general effect being vaguely Italianate. Similar buildings could be found at Saltash, St Germans, Penryn, and elsewhere, although most Cornwall Railway stations were stuccoed rather than timber buildings.

The down-side buildings incorporated extensive canopies to provide shelter for passengers waiting on both the main and branch platform, while the signal cabin was a brick and timber structure with small-paned windows and a gable roof. It was sited at the north end of the down platform, from which position the signalman oversaw the adjacent level crossing, which prior to the 1950s was for the main road east from Lostwithiel towards Liskeard and Plymouth. The station was equipped with water columns on each platform, and these were fed from a stilted tank behind the Fowey branch bay. At night, the platforms were illuminated by traditional gas lamps, although electric lights on concrete posts were erected during the BR era.

A pair of south-facing down side sidings existed behind the branch platform, along with two lengthy north-facing sidings at the south end of the site, all these being largely used by rakes of china clay wagons. For the most part these arrived from the west and had to reverse at Lostwithiel if serving Fowey. Across the tracks, Lostwithiel’s main goods facilities were concentrated on the up side of the running lines to the south of the passenger station. The usual coal wharves, cattle pens, and loading docks were provided, together with a 1½ ton hand crane, while the goods shed was another standard Great Western design, with large arched entrances in its end gables for road and rail vehicles, and a central trans-shipment platform. The building was of timber construction with a low-pitched slated roof and projecting office accommodation.

Neatly encapsulating our rail journey of a little over 14 miles - south along the river Fowey, and then west to Par Sands and St Blazey, for reversal and a much shorter journey home on the main line - this Bartholomew half-inch scale map dates from 1903, when such a journey was possible by public passenger services. In addition to the railways, and some mineral lines north of St Blazey, it also offers an insight into the terrain encountered and the roads that pre-dated the railways and in the early 19th century held back transportation for the area’s minerals, not least those reaching Fowey for export. Developed as a natural deepwater port for ocean going vessels, the long term lack of a waggonway to Fowey saw Par harbour created, along with rail and canal links, allowing relatively small coastal shipping to be served until Fowey was reached by rail, by which time growth in the china clay industry justified the need for both ports.

Nearby, on a site contiguous to the goods yard, a range of traditional stone industrial buildings formerly served as the Cornwall Railway’s main locomotive and carriage works. Opened in 1859, these premises were extended in 1864 to provide maintenance facilities for the small fleet of 4-4-0STs and 0-6-0 goods engines used by the Cornwall Railway. Motive power was supplied by Messrs Evans, Walker, and Gooch until 1867, and then the South Devon Railway until that concern became part of the GWR in 1876. The Ordnance Survey map of 1905 uses the term ‘Carriage Works’ for these buildings, and the premises were closed in 1920, after which the maintenance work carried out at Lostwithiel was transferred to St Blazey. Historic England notes the remaining Grade II-listed structure as ‘former carriage works and locomotive shed’ and states its build as ‘random slatestone rubble with brick dressings; partly weatherboarded

The track layout at Lostwithiel grew steadily throughout the years until, by the 1930s, that in the station area was surprisingly complex. In addition to the three platform roads and the goods yard, north of the level crossing and its 1893 built signal box there were up and down goods loops, together with a number of marshalling sidings for china clay traffic and a rail-connected milk depot on the up side. The last-mentioned facility, which had been installed around 1932 to serve a Nestle’s milk depot, received milk from the surrounding area for despatch to London in glass-lined tank wagons

Like many country stations, Lostwithiel featured some well-tended gardens, and in summertime its platforms were enlivened by colourful floral displays. The gardens incorporated several palm trees that in later years grew to a remarkable height in Cornwall’s generally frost-free climate. In terms of passenger traffic, Lostwithiel was a relatively busy station. In 1913, for example, it issued 40,151 tickets, while in 1929 there were 46,134 bookings, together with 122 seasonticket sales. These healthy traffic statistics remained constant for many years, and in 1936 the station was still dealing with 39,608 bookings per year, while the number of season tickets issued had risen to 390.

A BMW Isetta bubble car takes refuge under the up side entrance canopy at Lostwithiel station in 1962. Given its abandoned appearance, the Hertfordshire registered Austin Seven Mini on the right appears to be the photographer’s mode of transport. Sadly the station building was allowed to fall into a dreadful state and would eventually be demolished in 1982 to be replaced by a rather plain stone built structure. However, palm trees still line the platforms and the semaphore signalling remains in use.

Brian Morgan/Kidderminster Railway Museum