Real Railways of Cornwall & Devon

The Cornish Main Line runs the full length of Cornwall from Plymouth (in Devon) to Penzance at the western tip. It was progressively built from 1859, connecting communities that had previously relied on coastal shipping. The line follows the coastline across the River Tamar via Brunel's famous Royal Albert Bridge, then threads through the heart of Cornwall serving towns that grew up around the railway.

The line we see today is the product of several railway companies that were gradually merged and standardised. The Cornwall Railway opened the Plymouth–Truro section in 1859, reaching Penzance by 1860. However, the westernmost section from Carn Brea to Angarrack predates even this — it was part of the original Hayle Railway, opened in 1837 to serve the copper mining industry. This makes some of the track bed around Hayle nearly 190 years old.

The line is electrified as far as Paddington (London) but runs diesel-powered services in Cornwall. CrossCountry and Great Western Railway operate the route, with St Ives Bay Line services branching at St Erth.

Hayle is one of the most historically significant railway locations in Britain — not because of its size, but because of its age and the industries it served. The town sits at the mouth of the River Hayle, where copper ore from the rich mines around Camborne and Redruth was concentrated before shipping. The railway arrived here before almost anywhere else in the West Country.

Hayle's railway story is deeply tied to the copper mining boom of the 19th century. When the mines began to decline, so did the town's railway traffic. The shift from heavy mineral traffic to passenger tourism shaped the modern Cornish Main Line.

The Helston Railway was an ambitious branch line that ran from Gwinear Road on the Cornish Main Line down to Helston — the most southerly town on the British mainland. Built to open up the agricultural district of south-west Cornwall, it was promoted by local businessmen and took seven years to construct due to difficult terrain and funding problems.

The Helston Railway Preservation Society has been working for over 20 years to restore the line. Their current operational section is between Prospidnick Halt and Truthall. Building a new station at Prospidnick and eventually extending back to Helston is an ongoing project. Trains typically run on summer weekends with both vintage steam and diesel traction.

Plymouth is the eastern gateway to the Cornish Main Line. The city sits at the confluence of the rivers Plym and Tamar, and the railways here have always been shaped by these water barriers. Brunel's famous Royal Albert Bridge (1859) crosses the Tamar at Saltash, carrying the main line into Cornwall. The surrounding Devon countryside has its own network of branch lines, some operational, some heritage.

The Tamar Valley Line is one of the few surviving rural branch lines in the UK — credited to its scenic value and role as a community transport link. It survived the Beeching cuts of the 1960s because the route had no parallel road connection, making it a social necessity.