St Dennis Junction was in St Dennis, Cornwall.
1849 - 1960
The history of railway lines through the
Cornish village of
St. Dennis dates back as far as 1849. In that year, a
tramway was opened linking the harbour in
Newquay
Newquay ( ; kw, Tewynblustri) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, in the south west of England. It is a civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries, spaceport and a fishing port on the North Atlantic coast of ...
to areas where clay was - and still is - mined. This railway ran from Newquay, through the localities of
Quintrell Downs
Quintrell Downs is a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, close to Newquay, at the junction of the A392 and A3058 roads.Ordnance Survey ''Landranger 200; Newquay, Bodmin & surrounding area, 1:50 000''. 1988 It is named after the surroundi ...
,
St Columb Road and St. Dennis.
On 14 July 1864 an
Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
was obtained for the
Newquay and Cornwall Junction Railway
The Newquay and Cornwall Junction Railway was a broad gauge railway intended to link the Cornwall Railway with the horse-worked Newquay Railway. It opened a short section to Nanpean in 1869, the remainder being built by the Cornwall Minerals ...
. Construction proved to be easier said than done and the 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of
broad gauge
A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways.
Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...
railway from the main line at
Burngullow up to
Nanpean
Nanpean (from kw, Nanspian, meaning "little valley") is a village in the civil parish of St Stephen-in-Brannel in Cornwall, United Kingdom.[Cornwall Minerals Railway
The Cornwall Minerals Railway owned and operated a network of of standard gauge railway lines in central Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It started by taking over an obsolescent horse-operated tramway in 1862, and it improved and extended i ...]
line from
Par to
St Columb Road on 1 January 1879 it became possible for trains of
china clay
Kaolinite ( ) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is an important industrial mineral. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral ...
to travel to the harbours at
Par Docks
Par Docks is an Imerys-owned harbour in the village of Par, Cornwall, United Kingdom, which was used for the export of china clay from the numerous Imerys sites in the clay-rich region of Mid-Cornwall.
History
Joseph Treffry (born Joseph ...
and
Fowey
Fowey ( ; kw, Fowydh, meaning 'Beech Trees') is a port town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, with the local ch ...
for onward shipping. At the same time, the old tramway from Newquay was rebuilt and extended to meet up with the line already at Nanpean.
On 23 May 1892 the line south of Nanpean was converted to the
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
used. Goods trains could now run through from St Dennis to Burngullow (although the line has never carried scheduled passenger trains).
The section of railway from Parkandillick (just south of St. Dennis) up to St. Dennis Junction closed in 1960. The track over this stretch (Parkandillick - St. Dennis Junction) was then lifted. All that remains at St. Dennis is an overgrown railway cutting plus a platform with fencing on it.
It is worth noting here that the name "St. Dennis Junction" describes the next destination from the junction as is customary on British railways. It is some way north of St. Dennis, nearer to the areas of St. Columb Road,
Indian Queens
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asi ...
and Toldish.
1960 - present
Since the link to the
Par - Newquay railway was cut in 1960, the line from Burngullow up to Parkandillack (just south of St. Dennis) has remained open for freight.
In 1986 a proposal was put forward, the terms of which would have been, as far as the railways were concerned:
*to close the railway line between Par and St. Columb Road to passenger traffic;
*in relation to (a) the stations at
Roche
F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, commonly known as Roche, is a Swiss multinational healthcare company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has shares listed on the SIX S ...
,
Bugle
The bugle is one of the simplest brass instruments, normally having no valves or other pitch-altering devices. All pitch control is done by varying the player's embouchure.
History
The bugle developed from early musical or communication ...
and
Luxulyan
Luxulyan (; kw, Logsulyan), also spelt Luxullian or Luxulian, is a village and civil parish in mid Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village lies four miles (6.5 km) northeast of St Austell and six miles (10 km) south of Bodmin. ...
would also have closed;
*to reopen the link between St. Dennis Junction and St. Dennis in order to once again give a through route between St. Austell and St. Dennis;
This proposal did not progress. In their 2001-2006 Cornwall Local Transport Plan (CLTP hereafter) it was proposed to reignite this scheme with additions. The proposals of the 2001-06 CLTP scheme were:
*to close the railway line between Par and St. Columb Road to passenger traffic;
*as a consequence, the stations at Roche, Bugle and Luxulyan would also have closed;
*to reopen the link between St. Dennis Junction and St. Dennis in order to once again give a through route between
St Austell
St Austell (; kw, Sans Austel) is a town in Cornwall, England, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon.
St Austell is one of the largest towns in Cornwall; at the 2011 census it had a population of 19,958.
History
St Austell wa ...
and St. Dennis;
*potential release of the section of rail next to the
A30 at
Goss Moor
Goss Moor is a national nature reserve in Cornwall, England, south-west of Bodmin in the parishes of St Dennis, St Columb Major, Roche and St Enoder. It is the largest continuous mire complex in south-west Britain and consists of mainly pea ...
for expansion of the road or development of a nature reserve;
*to provide direct links for students (of St Austell College) and commuters between St. Austell and Newquay;
*potential for extra rail stops between Burngullow and St. Dennis;
*possible improved tourism for the
Eden Project
The Eden Project ( kw, Edenva) is a visitor attraction in Cornwall, England, UK. The project is located in a reclaimed china clay pit, located from the town of St Blazey and from the larger town of St Austell.Ordnance Survey (2005). ''OS E ...
, Cornish Riviera and, of course, Newquay.
What became of the 2001-06 CLTP scheme is currently not known. The main reason for closing the Par - St Dennis line was to remove the low road bridge on the A30 at Goss Moor, however alternative road improvements have since been completed. A new dual carriageway stretch of A30 has been built to the north of the old A30 and bridge. The old stretch of A30 under the low bridge is now a minor road and cycle path.
External links
Cornwall County Council - Major Scheme Bids (over £5m) a section of the Cornwall CC Local Transport Plan.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Dennis Junction
Rail junctions in England
Rail transport in Cornwall