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.

[1] 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.

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.

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.

[4][5] In January 1883 the directors inspected the line, Prospidnick bridge was described as a massive granite structure 40 feet (12 m) high.

[6][7][8] When the line was opened there were two intermediate stations at Praze (serving the villages of Praze-an-Beeble and Crowan) and Nancegollan.

In 1905, Truthall Halt was opened close to the hamlet of Trannack and less than 2 miles (3 km) north of Helston.

[7] The first passenger guard on the railway was Mr Sainthill Lindsey who worked until 1921, and was briefly recalled in 1926 during the general strike.

[6] Nancegollan Railway Station (Cornish: Nansigolen) served an important agricultural district and also was the railhead for the fishing port of Porthleven.

[6] In 1941, the station's goods sidings were further modified and extended in connection with airfield construction in the locality, and a new signal box with a lever frame that had been relocated from the Cornish Main Line at St Germans.

The branch was "uncoloured"—the lightest engine weight classification—but this was relaxed to permit 45XX 2-6-2T locomotives to operate, and these were the general motive power.

[14] The original concept to re-open the branch was in 1994 when Mart Hew from Helston and officials from British Rail, surveyed the line with the idea of a feasibility study.

It was decided that due to the amount of work needed and the possible revenue that could be generated, it was not worth the effort and the project was dropped.

In 2002 the Helston Railway Preservation Society was formed with about 12 members and on 28 April 2005, 40 years after the line was dismantled, work began clearing the overgrown vegetation.

As of November 2017[update] 1 mile (1.6 km) of track had been relaid and is being used for public passenger rides from Prospidnick via Trevarno to Truthall Halt.

In 2016, planning permission was granted to extend the track and build new platforms and sidings at Prospidnick as well as to rebuild the halt at Truthall.

[citation needed] In January 2018, calls were made to reinstate the line as part of the National Rail network.

In August 2019, the Railway purchased a further quarter of a mile of trackbed past Truthall Halt and began clearance with the help of volunteers from RNAS Culdrose.

[19] The line has thirteen rail vehicles on site: a two-car Park Royal (BR Class 103) DMU, a two-car Bed-Pan (BR Class 127) DMU, two Ruston & Hornsby 165DS 0-4-0 diesel shunters, a center car from a Pressed Steel (Class 117) DMU, A Mark 1 Suburban Brake, A R4 Peckett 0-4-0ST, A B3 Peckett 0-6-0ST, Kingswood, two BR 20 ton standard brake van, a Type 17A Wickham Trolley and two Flatbed Wagons.

HRDG's first purchase was a British Rail Class 103 DMU, one of only two left in preservation and the only one in a near-working condition.

The engine Judy,[26] one of two similar preserved Bagnall 0-4-0STs, lent a working presence, courtesy of Bodmin and Wenford Railway.

The Mayor of Helston officiated at the grand opening of Trevarno Station, on 26 July 2010, with Judy in attendance.

In March 2017, William Murdoch, an 0-4-0 Peckett shunting engine, was obtained on long-term loan from Portsmouth museum trust.