Camborne railway station explained

Camborne
Native Name:Kammbronn
Native Name Lang:kw
Symbol Location:gb
Symbol:rail
Borough:Camborne, Cornwall
Country:England
Coordinates:50.21°N -5.298°W
Grid Name:Grid reference
Manager:Great Western Railway
Platforms:2
Code:CBN
Classification:DfT category E
Original:Hayle Railway
Pregroup:Great Western Railway
Postgroup:Great Western Railway
Years:Opened
Events:1843
Footnotes:Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Camborne railway station (Cornish: Kammbronn) serves the town of Camborne, Cornwall, England. The station is 313miles from the zero point at measured via and .[1]

It has been in use since 1843 and is currently managed by Great Western Railway. Services are provided by GWR and CrossCountry.

History

The Hayle Railway opened on 23 December 1837. It was designed to move goods to and from local mines and the harbours at Hayle and Portreath but a passenger service started on 26 May 1843. The West Cornwall Railway took over the Hayle company on 3 November 1846. It extended the line westwards to Penzance railway station and opened a new, more convenient, Redruth railway station on 11 March 1852. Later that year the line was continued eastwards to a temporary station at Truro Highertown, and was completed to a station at Newham Wharf in 1855.[2]

The station buildings have been replaced by some in the style used by the Great Western Railway circa 1900. The railway was originally just a single track with a passing loop in the station. In 1895 a second line was laid to the east, and in 1900 to the west. Goods sidings were originally laid on both sides of the station, with a goods shed behind the westbound platform. The sidings on the north side of the station were removed in 1937 which allowed the eastbound platform to be lengthened. The sidings on the south side, along with the goods shed, were taken out of use in 1965 and this platform was also extended in 1980.[3]

Stationmasters

Description

It is located on Trevu Road in Camborne, adjacent to a level crossing and the Railway Hotel.

Platform 1 is for westbound trains to Hayle, St Erth and Penzance. There is parking alongside this platform and at the end the car park is an old railway goods shed, although it is no longer used for its original purpose. Platform 2 is served by eastbound trains to Truro, Plymouth and London.[13] The main station buildings are situated on platform 2, which is the one nearest the town centre. There is a small car park behind the station buildings, which contain a booking office, café and waiting room with toilets. A level crossing passes over the line at the east end of the two platforms.

Services

Camborne is served by most Great Western Railway trains on the Cornish Main Line between and with two trains per hour in each direction. Nine trains a day run through to with eight trains returning from Paddington, nine on Fridays. This includes the Night Riviera overnight sleeping car service and the mid-morning Cornish Riviera.

CrossCountry operate three trains a day to and from with one continuing to and two to . One train returns from and two from Glasgow Central; all via Birmingham New Street (on Sundays, there is one train to Edinburgh, one to Manchester Piccadilly and one to). CrossCountry also provide one service in each direction from Plymouth-Penzance.

Signalling

Signals in the area are controlled by a signal box at Roskear Junction to the east of the town, where the signalman can oversee an adjacent level crossing. This was opened circa 1895 and contained 29 levers. The lever frame has been removed and the box now contains individual switches on the block shelf. Its signals are identified by the code letter 'R'.

A signal box at Camborne station had been built on the eastbound platform next to the level crossing in 1895 and but closed on 8 June 1970, since when the signalman at Roskear Junction has monitored the level crossing at Camborne by CCTV. The reason for retaining this signal box was that it also controlled the goods branch line to North Roskear, but this closed in July 1983.[14]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Padgett, David . Munsey . Myles . Railway Track Diagrams 3: Western & Wales . 6th . June 2018 . 1989 . Trackmaps . Frome . 978-1-9996271-0-2 . map 11A .
  2. Book: Jenkins, SC. Langley, RC. The West Cornwall Railway. Oakwood Press. 2002. Usk. 0-85361-589-6 .
  3. Book: Cooke, R A. Track Layout Diagrams of the GWR and BR WR: Section 10, West Cornwall. R A Cooke. 1977. Harwell.
  4. . 1835 . 1835-1910 Clerks Vol.5 . Great Western Railway . 543 . 5 July 2021.
  5. News: . Camborne. . The Cornish Telegraph . England . 1 September 1880 . 5 July 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  6. News: . Camborne. The Station-Master Leaving . The Cornish Telegraph . England . 25 July 1889 . 5 July 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  7. News: . Presentation to Mr. L.C.W. Reed . Cornubian and Redruth Times . England . 3 June 1905 . 5 July 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  8. News: . Camborne's New Stationmaster . Cornishman . England . 18 June 1919 . 5 July 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  9. News: . Retired Camborne Station-Master . Cornishman . England . 9 December 1937 . 5 July 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  10. News: . Former Camborne Stationmaster . Cornishman . England . 26 February 1948 . 5 July 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  11. News: . Late Mr. L. Mott . West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser . England . 1 October 1959 . 5 July 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  12. News: . Station-Masters Retire at Camborne and Redruth . West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser . England . 2 September 1965 . 5 July 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  13. Book: Jacobs, Gerald. Railway Track Diagrams Book 3: Western. Trackmaps. 2005. Bradford-on-Avon. 0-9549866-1-X.
  14. Book: Pryer, GA. Signal Box Diagrams of the Great Western & Southern Railways, Volume 16: GWR Lines in West Cornwall. 2000. GA Pryer. Weymouth. 0-9532460-5-1.