Liskeard and Looe Railway

It was short of money and operated with a single hired locomotive at first, carrying minerals from Caradon to the sea at Looe, as well as coal and machinery, and some agricultural materials up the valley.

The entire route is single line, but the junction at Coombe and the extension to Moorswater there mean that the section is divided for operational purposes.

Granite blocks were obsolete technology at this period, although they had been used on the Liskeard & Caradon line, and longitudinal timbers were in use on the Cornwall Railway.

Construction costs considerably exceeded the authorised capital, and in July 1860 the Managing Committee instructed that the accommodation works (farm crossings etc.)

should be postponed; arrangements were made with the L&CR to use their wagons and a small locomotive was hired in from James Murphy of Newport, Monmouthshire, for £3 per day including crew.

The L&CR, planned as a gravity railway with horse traction for the uphill direction, saw the value of a locomotive, and acquired their own, Caradon in August (probably) of 1862.

It was realised that it made little sense to keep the two lines separate, and a Joint Committee had been formed in March 1862—the L&CR had three members to the LLUC's two.

Inwards coal continued to climb, however, as the mines were exploiting deeper lodes, requiring more engine power for winding and to drain them.

At this time the L&CR was concerning itself with extending its line to new mines, as the focus of extraction shifted away from the earlier shaft locations.

However, shortage of money was a continuing concern, and as some of the Caradon mines also faced financial difficulties, there was considerable pressure for a reduction in tolls.

The proposal fell through, possibly due to the reality of lack of cash, but a formal lease of the LLUC undertaking was made, effective from 27 February 1878.

John Francis Buller had secured a promise when the LLUC's railway was constructed, that he could have a siding at Sandplace, where he had extensive interests.

The Act included several other more or less ambitious extensions, but the L&CR's finances were weak, and the Liskeard link was in fact never attempted by them.

The L&CR instituted desperate economy measures and struggled on; In 1890 the Board of Trade took issue with the L&CR over operating methods on its own line, but also the use of mixed (passenger and goods) trains on the Looe line, with the passenger vehicles at the rear to facilitate shunting at the intermediate sidings.

[3][page needed] As passengers and non-mineral goods traffic became dominant, the disadvantages of the disconnected route and the inconveniently located Moorswater station motivated the company to act on making a connection to the main line at Liskeard.

The Great Western Railway were approached, but were discouraging, and an impasse had been reached, until Captain J. E. P. Spicer, of Spye Park, personally invested the bulk of the capital.

The vertical interval—205 feet—and the topography in general made the connection awkward, and a tortuous route was built, running in nearly a full circle.

Because of the steep gradient, locomotives worked chimney first to Liskeard, to ensure that the firebox crown remained covered with water.

At the end of independent existence the Liskeard and Looe company was quoted as having issued share capital of £90,000 and a net income (for the fiscal year 1921) of £1,213.

Moreover, through trains, or even through carriages, would have been very difficult to arrange, and they were never operated, due to the sharp connecting curve at Liskeard and the restricted loading gauge on the branch.

This was coupled with an awareness of the development of daily occupational travel to Plymouth: a 35-minute journey was planned, enabling "commuting" in modern parlance.

A halt was envisaged at Millendreath; from it a carriage road led steeply uphill to the proposed site of a large luxury hotel designed by Lutyens.

The intention was for it to become a major leisure resort, and to that end a golf links, designed by Franks, Harris Bros Ltd, was completed in 1938; remnants of the course are still visible, although on private property.

[8][page needed] Arriving passenger trains moved to run-round facilities south of the station for the purpose, where there was also a carriage shed, and then re-entered the platform.

[3][page needed] China Clay was exported from the quay between 1904 and the 1920s, declining because of the restriction on vessel size due to rocks at the mouth of the Looe; Fowey took over the traffic.

[5][page needed][8][page needed] Causeland (Cornish: Tir an Bughes) was the only intermediate station on the line when it originally opened for passengers; it is remote from any local settlement, and in 1881 and again in 1902, when adjacent stations as Sandplace and St Keyne respectively were opened, the Company proposed to close it, but local opposition succeeded on stopping the proposal.

The subsequent Coombe Junction station was provided when the link line was opened on 15 May 1901, close to the site of the earlier stopping point.

[8][page needed] In recent years, most trains on the branch have not made passenger calls at Coombe, and they make the reversal at the point of junction some distance south of the actual Halt.

It is now on a short freight-only stub north of Coombe, and serves a private siding used by Imerys Minerals Limited.

[20] An 0-6-0ST called Looe was obtained in May 1901, funded by a director; however its steaming capabilities proved inadequate for the steep climb at Liskeard, and it was sold on to the London & India Docks in April 1902; it worked there until 1950.