The Lappa Valley Railway is a minimum gauge railway located near Newquay in Cornwall. The railway functions as a tourist attraction, running from Benny Halt (50.3756°N -5.0412°W) to East Wheal Rose (50.3623°N -5.0416°W), where there is a leisure area with two miniature railways.
In 1843, Joseph Treffry suggested building a tramway between Par and Newquay, with a branch line to the East Wheal Rose silver lead mine, which at the time was entering its most prosperous period. Treffry spent six years trying to overcome public opposition to the tramway and was forced to modify his intended route. The Treffry Tramways were eventually built from Newquay to St. Dennis with the branch line to East Wheal Rose, and the first load of ore left East Wheal Rose on 26 February 1849 in horse-drawn tubs. 1874 saw the Treffry's network of tramways taken over by the Cornwall Minerals Railway, who introduced steam locomotives to the line.
The Great Western Railway took over the Cornish Minerals Railway in 1896, and incorporated the East Wheal Rose branch into a new railway from Newquay to Chacewater via. Perranporth. This new railway was opened in 1905, and enabled passengers to reach the market town of Truro much quicker than they had before. The Newquay to Chacewater branch line also proved popular for holidaymakers. The railway closed on 4 February 1963 under the Beeching cuts.
The Lappa Valley Steam Railway was established by Eric Booth in the 1970s. The trackbed was cleared of the thick undergrowth that had grown since the closure of the railway in 1963, and gauge track was laid for 1miles between Benny Halt and East Wheal Rose. A brand new steam locomotive Zebedee was built for the line by Severn Lamb, arriving in early 1974 with 4 locally-built carriages. The railway opened to the public on 16 June 1974. A large boating lake was dug at East Wheal Rose in 1975 to drain the area, and the whole East Wheal Rose area landscaped. More locomotives arrived from Longleat in 1976, with more carriages also being built at the time. In the 1970s a gauge railway was laid around a smaller boating lake, whilst a third railway, of gauge, running a further NaN0NaN0 along the old trackbed was opened in May 1995.
In 2014 a new owner acquired the railway and made various improvements. A new visitor attraction called the 'Engine Shed' opened in 2021.
At East Wheal Rose, the gauge Newlyn Branch Line and gauge Woodland Railway depart from the top station on the Newlyn Branch Line, where there is another children's play area.
There are two lakes, the biggest being the boating lake, the second smaller lake being the wildlife lake, a crazy golf course and many children's play areas. Also there are a gift shop and licensed café, and a brick path maze depicting the first steam locomotive built by Richard Trevithick, along with many walks through the valley.
| Number | Name | Gauge | Type | Builder | Built | Origin | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zebedee | Severn Lamb | 1974 | Built for Lappa Valley | Rebuilt from in 1990. | |||
| 2 | Muffin | Berwyn Engineering | 1967 | Longleat House | Arrived in 1976 | |||
| 3 | Ruby | Exmoor Steam Railway | 1997 | Formerly named Dennis, built for Brocklands Adventure Park | Arrived July 2015 | |||
| 4 | Ellie | Exmoor Steam Railway | 2006 | Originally built for a private line, was regauged from 12 1/4 inch gauge | Arrived August 2017 | |||
| 50 | City of Truro | B-B DH | Alan Keef Ltd | 2023 | Built for Lappa Valley | [1] [2] | ||
| City of Derby | BR Class 23 'Baby Deltic' | Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway | 2003 | Markeaton Park Light Railway | Arrived September 2016 | |||
| Arthur | 0-4-0DM | RA Lister and Company | 1952 | Worked at Longleat for a number of years | Works Number 20698 | |||
| Duke of Cornwall | 4w-4wPH | Severn Lamb | 1981 | Carlyon Bay, St Austell | ||||
| Eric | Alan Keef | 2008 | Built for Lappa Valley | Named after the founder of Lappa Valley | ||||
| The Duke | Alan Keef | 2014 | Built for the Wells Harbour Railway | Arrived in 2021 | ||||
| Howard | Alan Keef | 2005 | Built for the Wells Harbour Railway | Arrived in 2021. Steam Outline. | ||||
| 4-4wPH | Mardyke | 1980 | HST | |||||
| 4w+4wPH | Mardyke | 1982 | Model of Advanced Passenger Train |