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Caradon Hill Railways 
A Quick History of
the
Liskeard and Looe Union Canal
 
 
Caradon Railways The Canal company 
 
 
1777 to 1909 
 		 The Canal that became a Railway
The Canal is built after a couple false starts. 
1777 First proposal for a canal, not built 

1779 Route again Surveyed but canal not built 

1823 Meeting of local business men again proposed a canal 

1824 Another meeting to again propose a canal. This time a company is successfully launched 

1825 Liskeard and Looe Union Canal act is passed. 

1827  Canal is opened but is not yet complete 

1830 Works are completed on the Canal 

1830 Moorswater quays expanded 

1837 South Caradon mine opened 

1846 LCR reaches Moorswater. 

1850's The Canal basin at Moorswater expanded to cope with the increase in traffic.

 The Engineers 
    1777 Route: Edmund Leach 
    1779 Route: George Bentley and Thomas Boulton 
    1823 Route: James Green 
    1824:Route Built: Robert Coad, Richard Retallick
Some facts about its construction 
  •  Initial capital £13,000
  • The Canal had 24 locks and was 6 miles long
  • The canal was four feet deep and 26 foot wide.
  • Each canal barge carried 20 tonnes.
Its intended cargo 
The liskeard and Looe Canal was built to develop the agricultural land around Liskeard. The copper finds on Caradon hill were not foreseen at the time of its construction. 
The list of tolls in place at the time of opening give an indication of the agricultural trade the Canal intended to serve. It included 
 
Limestone 
Sand 
Manure 
Burnt lime 
Grain 
Hay 
Straw 
Coals
 
 
The Canal is replaced by a Railway 

1858 Liskeard and Looe railway act. 

1860 Liskeard and Looe railway opened.Only lower part of canal remained in use. 

1862 Joint committee formed with Looe and Caradon Railway   

1863 Copper traffic peaks with 27,000 Tons being carried.  

1879 Passenger services starts 

1882 South Caradon mine closes   
 

 The Scale of the Ore traffic. 
This table gives the output of ore from the Caradon mines in 1860 expressed in weekly number of boat loads required to transport it. This was the year that the canal was replaced by the railway.On average about four boats a day of ore would be passing down the canal to the quays at Looe.  
Based on figures in Burt and 16 tons per boat 
 
South Caradon 
West Caradon 
Marke Valley 
Phoenix 
Gonomena  
Craddock Moor 
East Caradon		 6 
5 
4 
5 
1 
2 
1
A Railway that was a Canal 
From 1860 to 1895 the line from Moorswater to Looe was operated by the LLUC and it was only with the 1896 act that it changed officially from a canal to a railway company. 
 
The Final days of the Canal 

1895 Liskeard and Looe Extension act for the link with the main line. 
The Company Name was officially changed from Liskeard and Looe Union Canal Company to the Liskeard and Looe Railway company 

1901 Line to liskeard open. LLUC takes control of LCR. 

1909 GWR commence working the line. Possibly last commercial traffic on canal occurred around this time. 
     

 Closure by neglect 
The bottom section of the Canal up to Sandplace continued to be used for small amounts of agricultural traffic. The lack of maintenance of the waterway made Navigation difficult and only small boats were in use carrying mainly sand and manure. Traffic is believed to have stopped shortly after the railway became a GWR branch line. 

The line Lives on  
The Railway line which replaced the canal is still in operation and services are run by Wales and West railway ( Wessex Trains) .The line is operated under the marketing banner of "The Looe Valley line" as one of Cornwall's scenic railways.
 No public right away exists  on Caradon Hill . 
On many mine sites in Cornwall dangers may still exist, many hidden. 
This web site is published as a resource to those using the public right of way from Crows Nest to Minions.
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