Hayle Railway

The Hayle Railway was an early railway in West Cornwall, constructed to convey copper and tin ore from the Redruth and Camborne areas to sea ports at Hayle and Portreath. It was opened in 1837, and carried passengers on its main line from 1843.

Part of the main line was incorporated into the route of the West Cornwall Railway in 1852, and is part of the main line railway to the present day; information about the modern operation of the railway route in Cornwall can be found at Cornish Main Line.

The Hayle Railway was opened on 29 December 1837 between Hayle and Portreath, with the remainder opening during 1838. When fully opened, its eastern terminals were at Redruth and copper and tin mines at Tresavean and Lanner, and it ran to wharves and a foundry at Hayle. A long branch was also opened from Pool (later called Carn Brea) to Portreath.

Steam traction was used on part of the route from the outset, but horse traction was used at first at the western end. There were four inclines (described below) which were rope-worked.

The railway enabled the transportation of copper and tin ore from the mines, using coastal shipping or onward transport. Coal (for fuelling pumps which kept the mines dry) and machinery and timber were brought in, and general merchandise was conveyed.

The line was built to standard gauge, the first such in Cornwall, and it had no connection with any other railway. The permanent way was T-section rails laid on stone block sleepers. It was single-line throughout, except for double track on the inclines.

The line from Redruth to Hayle was 9 miles 44 chains in length; Tresavean to Redruth Junction was 2 miles 55 chains; the Portreath branch was 3 miles 6 chains; the Hayle branch (on the quays at Hayle) was 25 chains long, and there were short branches to Roskear (77 chains) and North Crofty (48 chains). (There are 80 chains in a mile; one chain is 22 yards, or about 20 metres.)

In the early years of the nineteenth century, mineral extraction and smelting was a dynamic industry in West Cornwall, and the port of Hayle was well established. However the transport of heavy materials over imperfect unmade roads was a severe limitation. When the Redruth and Chasewater Railway was opened in 1826 (as a horse-drawn railway), it was immediately successful operationally and financially. This encouraged owners of mines and works not served by that line to promote a railway from Tresavean to Hayle, serving numerous other mines in between. Accordingly, the Hayle Railway Company was incorporated by Act of Parliament on 27 June 1834; the company was to have headquarters in London, and a share capital of £64,000, with authority to borrow £16,000 in debenture. A branch to Helston was included, but this was dropped in a second Act of 4 July 1836.

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