The Helston Railway () is a heritage railway in Cornwall which aims to rebuild and preserve as much as possible of the former GWR Helston Railway between Nancegollen and Water-Ma-Trout on the outskirts of Helston. It is operated by the Helston Railway Preservation Company using members of the Helston Railway Preservation Society.
The Railway was a long railway branch line and is the southernmost branch line in the United Kingdom. It opened in 1887 and was absorbed by the Great Western Railway in 1898, continuing in existence as the Helston branch, and closing to passengers in 1962 and to goods in 1964.
It was built to open up the agricultural district of south-west Cornwall, joining Helston to the main line railway network at Gwinear Road, between Penzance and Truro.
Its predominant business was agricultural, but in summer it carried holidaymakers, and its terminus at Helston was the railhead for a pioneering road connection service to the Lizard. During the Second World War there was considerable goods traffic at Nancegollan, sponsored by the Admiralty.
The current Heritage Railway has won a number of awards including: The Ian Allan Publishing Heritage Railway of the Year 2010, The Heritage Railway Association Publication & Media Award 2012 and The Heritage Railway Association Small Groups Award 2019.
Original railway
The line ran from Helston, in south-west Cornwall, to a junction with the main line of the Great Western Railway at Gwinear Road The connection there faced Penzance.
The line was in length. As a purely local line running through difficult terrain, it was heavily curved and graded. Although Helston is an important town, most of the intermediate area was dedicated to agriculture, with sparse population, and the terminus at Helston was some distance from the seaside.
The main line at Gwinear Road gave direct access to London and the rest of England, on the route that is now known as the Cornish Main Line.
History
Before the advent of the railway, Helston was an important centre for tin and copper mining, as well as being the hub of an area of considerable agricultural production. Local businessmen observed the success that followed the opening of early railways elsewhere in Cornwall and further afield, and from 1825 a succession of schemes for tramroads and railways were put forward, many of them oriented towards Falmouth or Penryn and the River Fal estuary because of the harbour facilities there (and later, the arrival of the Cornwall Railway, enabling onward transport of minerals by coastal shipping). All of these schemes fell by the wayside due to the high cost of crossing the difficult terrain; after the collapse following the Railway Mania in the mid-1840s, money became increasingly scarce, and moreover the shallower seams in the mines began to become worked out, reducing the profitability of local mines.
In 1879, a rough survey was made of the proposed route and it was estimated that the railway could be constructed for £80,000, with the most expensive portion being a viaduct over the River Cober. The Helston Railway Company was formed later that year, with a share capital of £70,000, with the object of building a standard gauge railway to Helston, not from the Falmouth area but from Gwinear Road on the West Cornwall line. The Great Western Railway was friendly towards this line, and they agreed to work the line when built.
The line received its Act of Parliament on 9 July 1880, and work was expected to start in the spring of 1881. The first sod was cut at a ceremony on 22 March 1882 and it was hoped that the line would be completed in about eighteen months to two years. The intended stations were Praze, Nancegollan, Prospidnick and Helston. In January 1883 the directors inspected the line, Prospidnick bridge was described as a massive granite structure high. Roads had to be diverted and new roads made, and the estimated cost was nearly £1,000.
Work proceeded, but the original contractor found himself in difficulties early in 1884 and work stopped for a period;, but it resumed under Lang & Son of Liskeard.
Even as late as 1886, there was debate over the site of the Helston station; the site actually adopted, in Godolphin Road, was some distance to the east of the town centre. Some interests had proposed instead a location nearer the town; however the incremental cost would have been considerable and the proposal was finally dropped. The station was built as potentially a through station, with the idea of extension to the Lizard. This idea was revived from time to time, but was never acted upon.
The line was opened for the first service train on 9 May 1887.