Caradon
Hill Railways
The Companys And the lines |
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The
success of South Caradon mine gave rise to a network of railways and tramlines
that linked the heights of Bodmin moor to the coast at Looe.This transport
infrastructure enabled mines to grow by providing an export route for the
ore and import route for coal and timber. LCR provided the backbone to
this system a which fed down through the LLUC ( later a railway) to the
LHC quays. The Kilmar Railway extended the system to include new sources
of granite traffic whilst the KJR allowed the locomotive haulage to be
introduced to the depths of Bodmin moor.
This web page summarises the key lines and companies that supported the mining industry around Caradon Hill. |
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The line finished its days under the control of the GWR who lifted the rails in 1917. Before the 1860's the railway
was gravity worked with horses pulling the wagons up the gradient from
Moorswater and the loaded trucks running back downhill. Its first steam
engine was obtained in 1861 and from 1862 the line was jointly operated
with the LLUC railway to provide a through service from Bodmin moor to
the Sea at Looe.
Today much of the trackbed
lies clearly visible on the open ground of Bodmin moor and the section
from Crows Nest Village to Minions forms part of a public
footpath. Unfortunately little remains to be seen of the route from
the moors to Liskeard.
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The discovery of rich reserves of copper by the Clymo brothers in 1837 on Caradon hill changed the purpose, character and fortune of the canal in a massive way. The canal became part of the industrial boom that was sparked by the opening of South Caradon mine. Mines and quarries replaced the farmers and agricultural merchants as the Canals largest customers.But as Ore and granite replaced lime and sand the transport infrastructure down to Moorswater became overloaded and in 1846 the Liskeard and Caradon Railway was built to link the canal with the mines at Caradon Hill. The inability of the Canal to cope with the demand led to the LLUC replacing it with a railway in 1860 that ran along its towpath. This was operated jointly with the LCR to form a through link from the moors of Caradon to the Quays at Looe. The Railway retained the name of the Canal however until 1895 when it became the Liskeard and Looe Railway. As a canal the lower waterway saw some minor use up to as far as sandplace until about 1910 when the last traffic ceased. Today the canal bed and remains of some of the 24 locks can be seen, heavily overgrown, from the railway as it follows its route down to Looe. The Liskeard and Looe railway was taken over by GWR and a passenger service from Liskeard is still operated by Wessex trains under the title of the Looe Valley Line. |
The vast quantities of ore that piled up on East Looe's quays awaiting shipment overloaded this small Cornish Harbour and the LHC was founded to improve the facilities. New quays and a breakwater were constructed in an attempt to match the original fishing harbours facilities with the huge demand created by the mines up on Bodmin moor. Today the site of the ore quay is a towns car park, run by the commissioners and commercial cargos no longer pass through the harbour . |
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LCR as part of its plans to link up with the London and South Western Railway. The railway carried Granite and the closure of the quarries in 1882 marked the end of traffic on the line.Some of the route did become part of a proposal for a railway extending Northwards across the Moor to Trewint but only earthworks on this line were ever completed. |
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