Calstock railway station is an unstaffed railway station on the

Tamar Valley Line The Tamar Valley Line is a railway line from Plymouth, Devon, to Gunnislake, Cornwall, in England, also known as the Gunnislake branch line. The line follows the River Tamar for much of its route. Like all railway lines in Devon and Cornwall, ...

serving the village of Calstock in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It is situated at the north end of Calstock Viaduct which carries the railway at high level over the

River Tamar The Tamar (; kw, Dowr Tamar) is a river in south west England, that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east) and Cornwall (to the west). A part of the Tamar Valley is a World Heritage Site due to its historic mining activities. T ...

History

The gauge East Cornwall Mineral Railway was opened to Kelly Quay at Calstock on 8 May 1872. Wagons with goods from the mines around

Gunnislake Gunnislake ( kw, Dowrgonna) is a large village in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the Tamar Valley approximately ten miles (16 km) north of Plymouth Gunnislake is in the civil parish of Calstock and is close to C ...

and

Callington Callington ( kw, Kelliwik) is a civil parish and town in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom about north of Saltash and south of Launceston. Callington parish had a population of 4,783 in 2001, according to the 2001 census. This had inc ...

were brought down the hillside on a cable-worked incline with a gradient of 1 in 6 (17%). The

Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway The Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway (PD&SWJR) was an English railway company. It constructed a main line railway between Lydford and Devonport, in Devon, England, enabling the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) to reac ...

opened the station on 2 March 1908. This line was a branch from

Bere Alston Bere Alston is a village in West Devon in the county of Devon in England. It forms part of the civil parish of Bere Ferrers. History and geography With a population of about 2,000, the village lies in the Bere peninsula, between the river ...

to Callington Road and crossed the

on Calstock Viaduct. A steam-powered

lift Lift or LIFT may refer to: Physical devices * Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods ** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop ** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobil ...

was attached to the downstream side of the viaduct which could raise and lower wagons to the

quay A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( mooring locatio ...

s below, making it one of the highest such lifts in the country. It was connected to the station goods yard by a second parallel steel stub viaduct. A short section of the narrow gauge line was retained to serve a lime kiln, but the wagon lift and all the sidings were taken out of use in September 1934. Fruit and flowers were an important part of the traffic carried on the railway and were still carried by train from Calstock until the mid-1970s.

Platform layout

The single platform – on the right of trains arriving from Plymouth – is situated on a sharp curve which makes it difficult to see trains approaching from Gunnislake.

Services

Calstock is served by trains on the

from to . Connections with main line services can be made at Plymouth.

Community railway

The railway from Plymouth to Gunnislake is designated as a

community railway Community rail in Britain is the support of railway lines and stations by local organisations, usually through community rail partnerships (CRPs) comprising railway operators, local councils, and other community organisations, and rail user group ...

and is supported by marketing provided by the

Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership The Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership is the largest Community Rail Partnership in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1991 to promote the use of, and improvements to, rural railways in Devon and Cornwall, and also to promote the places serv ...

. The line is promoted under the "

" name. Two

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s in Calstock take part in the Tamar Valley Line

rail ale trail A rail ale trail is a marketing exercise in the United Kingdom that is designed to promote tourism to a rural area, by encouraging people to visit a series of pubs that are close to stations along a railway line. Participants are rewarded for ...

, which is designed to promote the use of the line. The line is also part of the

Dartmoor Sunday Rover The Dartmoor Sunday Rover was a Devon County Council-supported bus and rail network in Devon, England. It was withdrawn after the 2015 season. The network included buses operated by Stagecaoch Devon, Country Bus, Dartline and Target Travel. Th ...

network of integrated bus and rail routes.

Calstock Viaduct

The viaduct is high with twelve wide arches, and a further small arch in the Calstock abutment. Three of the piers stand in the River Tamar, which is tidal at this point and has a minimum clearance at high tide of . It was built between 1904 and 1907 by John Lang of

Liskeard Liskeard ( ; kw, Lyskerrys) is a small ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, South West England. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) eas ...

using 11,148 concrete blocks. These were cast in a temporary yard on the

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

bank opposite the village. The engineers were Richard Church and W. R. Galbraith. It is a Grade II* listed structure. The construction of the viaduct provided the background to the 1939 novel '' The Viaduct'' by

Victor Canning Victor Canning (16 June 1911 – 21 February 1986) was a prolific British writer of novels and thrillers who flourished in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He was personally reticent, writing no memoirs and giving relatively few newspaper interviews. ...

, set in the fictional village of Caradon which was closely modelled on Calstock.The Viaduct background
/ref>

References

* * * * Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership (2006), ''Tamar Valley Line Rail Ale Trail'' *

External links

Footage of the railway stationCalstock Railway Viaduct video footage
{{cornwall, state=collapsed Railway stations in Cornwall Former Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1908 Railway stations served by Great Western Railway 1908 establishments in England DfT Category F2 stations