Treffry Tramways

The Treffry Tramways were a group of mineral tramways in Cornwall in the United Kingdom, constructed by Joseph Treffry (1782-1850), a local land owner and entrepreneur. They were constructed to give transport facilities to several mines and pits producing non-ferrous metal, granite and china clay in the area between the Luxulyan Valley and Newquay, and were horse-operated, with the use of water and steam power on inclines, and at first operated in conjunction with the Par Canal and the harbour at Par, also constructed by Treffry. One of the routes crossed the Luxulyan Valley on a large viaduct, the largest in Cornwall when it was built.

The tramways were opened in stages from 1835 to 1870. They provided a dramatic improvement in mineral transport, but they were technically obsolescent, and they were taken over in 1874 by the Cornwall Minerals Railway, a cash-rich company which invested heavily in improving railway transport in the area, making the lines suitable for locomotive operation and extending them.

The original sections were laid without the need for a Parliamentary Act, as a private venture, and the name of the lines is not defined; some writers refer to them as Treffry's Railway and other variants of the title. The word tramway here refers to a lightly constructed and informally operated railway, and is not to be confused with urban street-running passenger tramways.

Today sections of the tramway route are still in use by passenger trains operating as the Atlantic Coast Line between Par and Newquay.

Joseph Treffry inherited large estates in Cornwall, including non-ferrous mines in high ground on both sides of the Luxulyan Valley. Transport of the heavy extracted minerals to market was a significant challenge, relying on horse-drawn carts on inferior roads.

Treffry's home was in Fowey where there was deep water berthing for coastal shipping; he had built improved quay facilities there in 1811 and 1813. He hoped to build a tramway to bring mineral products from the Luxulyan Valley to Fowey, but Charles Rashleigh owned intermediate lands that Treffry would need. Rashleigh also owned the harbour at Charlestown, which would be disadvantaged by Treffry's scheme, and he refused to allow the use of his land.

Treffry turned his thoughts to developing a harbour at Par, and he had one built there to the west of the mouth of the Par River; it was in operation from 1833. He built the Par Canal, connecting Pontsmill with the harbour. It was operational in 1840. He had a mine at Lanescot to the east of Pontsmill; it proved to be founded on a rich source of copper and developed into the Fowey Consols mine, and Treffry built a narrow gauge tramway on an inclined plane to bring the mineral from the shaft heads to Pontsmill.

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