The Launceston Steam Railway is a narrow gauge railway, in Cornwall, England. The railway operates from the town of Launceston to Newmills, where there is a farm park; it is NaNmiles long. The railway is built on the trackbed of the former standard gauge North Cornwall Railway.[1] [2]
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.
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 NaNmiles 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 NaNmiles length.
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.
All public train services are operated by the steam locomotives, whilst the internal combustion locomotives are used for maintenance work.
| Number | Name | Builder | Type | Works Number | Built | Origin | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lilian | Hunslet Engine Company | 317 | 1883 | Penrhyn Quarry | New boiler fitted in 1993 and tender added in 2008. Overhauled 2016 | |||
| Covertcoat | Hunslet | 679 | 1898 | Dinorwic Quarry | Cab and tender added at Launceston | |||
| Velinheli | Hunslet | 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 | 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 | 2004 | Originally constructed on a Hudson wagon chassis, rebuilt with a new chassis in 2010 |
| 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 | 5646 | 1933 | Grove Heath, Ripley, Surrey | |||||
| N. Bowman | 1986 | Inspection trolley | ||||||
| Launceston Steam Railway | 2004 | Inspection trolley | ||||||
| Launceston Steam Railway | 4w-4DER | 2010-17 | New build diesel railcar |
| 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 |
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.