Lappa Valley Steam Railway

2025-03-08T11:43:22Z

2001:16B8:B424:7F00:5571:2E4:B3D8:CB3B: Undid revision 1276437641 by 2A02:C7C:5645:B900:B872:CD4B:C14E:4720 (talk)

{{Short description|Minimum-gauge railway near Newquay in Cornwall, England}}
{{no footnotes|date=June 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Heritage Railway
|image = [[File:Lappa valley steam railway 1.JPG|250px]]
| caption = ''{{Track gauge|15in}} gauge steam locomotive ''Zebedee'' leaves Benny Halt with a train''
|locale = [[Newquay]], [[Cornwall]], UK
|terminus = [[St Newlyn East]]
|builtby = [[Great Western Railway]]
|originalgauge = {{Track gauge|uksg|allk=on}}
|preservedgauge = {{Track gauge|15in|lk=on}}
|owned = Privately owned
|operator = Lappa Valley Railway Co. Ltd
|stations = 2
|length = {{convert|1|mi|km}}
|originalopen = 4 February 1905
|closed = 4 February 1963
|stageyears = 16 June 1974
|stage = Lappa Valley Railway opened
}}

The '''Lappa Valley Railway''' is a {{Track gauge|15in|lk=on}} [[minimum-gauge railway]] located near [[Newquay]] in [[Cornwall]]. The railway functions as a tourist attraction, running from Benny Halt ({{coord|50.3756|-5.0412|type:railwaystation_region:GB|display=inline,title|name=Benny Halt}}) to East Wheal Rose ({{coord|50.3623|-5.0416|type:railwaystation_region:GB|display=inline|name=East Wheal Rose}}), where there is a leisure area with two miniature railways.

==History==

===Treffry's Tramway===
In 1843, [[Joseph Treffry]] suggested building a tramway between [[Par, Cornwall|Par]] and [[Newquay]], with a branch line to the [[East Wheal Rose]] silver lead mine, which at the time was entering its most prosperous period. Treffry spent six years trying to overcome public opposition to the tramway and was forced to modify his intended route. The [[Treffry Tramways]] were eventually built from Newquay to St. Dennis with the branch line to East Wheal Rose, and the first load of ore left East Wheal Rose on 26 February 1849 in horse-drawn tubs. 1874 saw the Treffry's network of tramways taken over by the [[Cornwall Minerals Railway]], who introduced steam locomotives to the line.

===Great Western Railway===
[[File:Lappa valley steam railway 2.JPG|thumb|250px|right| {{Track gauge|7.25in}} gauge train at East Wheal Rose]]
The [[Great Western Railway]] took over the Cornish Minerals Railway in 1896, and incorporated the East Wheal Rose branch into a new railway from Newquay to Chacewater via. Perranporth. This new railway was opened in 1905, and enabled passengers to reach the market town of Truro much quicker than they had before. The Newquay to Chacewater branch line also proved popular for holidaymakers. The railway closed on 4 February 1963 under the Beeching cuts.

===Lappa Valley Steam Railway===
The Lappa Valley Steam Railway was established by Eric Booth in the 1970s. The trackbed was cleared of the thick undergrowth that had grown since the closure of the railway in 1963, and {{Track gauge|15in}} gauge track was laid for {{convert|1|mi|km}} between Benny Halt and East Wheal Rose. A brand new steam locomotive ''Zebedee'' was built for the line by [[Severn Lamb]], arriving in early 1974 with 4 locally-built carriages. The railway opened to the public on 16 June 1974. A large boating lake was dug at East Wheal Rose in 1975 to drain the area, and the whole East Wheal Rose area landscaped. More locomotives arrived from Longleat in 1976, with more carriages also being built at the time. In the 1970s a {{RailGauge|7.25in}} gauge railway was laid around a smaller boating lake, whilst a third railway, of {{Track gauge|10.25in}} gauge, running a further {{convert|1/2|mi|m|0|abbr=on}} along the old trackbed was opened in May 1995.

In 2014 a new owner acquired the railway and made various improvements. A new visitor attraction called the 'Engine Shed' opened in 2021.

==The route of Lappa Valley==
* [[Benny Halt railway station|Benny Halt]]
* [[East Wheal Rose railway station|East Wheal Rose]]

==East Wheal Rose==
At East Wheal Rose, the {{Track gauge|10.25in}} gauge Newlyn Branch Line and {{Track gauge|7.25in}} gauge Woodland Railway depart from the top station on the Newlyn Branch Line, where there is another children's play area.

There are two lakes, the biggest being the boating lake, the second smaller lake being the wildlife lake, a crazy golf course and many children's play areas. Also there are a gift shop and [[Liquor license|licensed]] [[café]], and a [[brick]] [[Trail|path]] [[maze]] depicting the first [[steam locomotive]] built by [[Richard Trevithick]], along with many walks through the valley.

==Stocklist==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Number
! Name
! Gauge
! Type
! Builder
! Built
! Origin
! Notes
|-
| 1
| ''Zebedee''
| {{RailGauge|15in}}
| {{whyte|0-6-4|T}}
| [[Severn Lamb]]
| 1974
|Built for Lappa Valley
| [[File:A miniature train at Lappa Valley Steam Railway (geograph 2544593).jpg|thumb]]Rebuilt from {{whyte|0-6-2|T}} in 1990.
|-
| 2
| ''Muffin''
| {{RailGauge|15in}}
| {{whyte|0-6-0}}
| Berwyn Engineering
| 1967
| [[Longleat House]]
|[[File:Muffin at East Wheal Rose Station on 23rd May 2015.jpg|thumb]]Arrived in 1976
|-
| 3
| ''Ruby''
| {{RailGauge|15in}}
| {{whyte|0-4-2|T}}
| [[Exmoor Steam Railway]]
| 1997
| Formerly named Dennis, built for [[Brocklands Adventure Park]]
|Arrived July 2015
|-
| 4
| ''Ellie''
| {{RailGauge|15in}}
| {{whyte|0-4-2|T}}
| [[Exmoor Steam Railway]]
| 2006
| Originally built for a private line, was regauged from 12 1/4 inch gauge
|[[File:Elliecover.jpg|thumb|Ellie seen during the winter of 2021]]Arrived August 2017
|-
| 50
| City of Truro
| {{RailGauge|15in}}
| B-B DH
| [[Alan Keef Ltd]]
| 2023
| Built for Lappa Valley
|<ref name="IRS 1122">{{cite journal |title=HANDBOOK 18EL Amendment List No. 25 |date=Jan 2024 |issue=1122 |page=1122/2 |publisher=Industrial Railway Society}}</ref>
<ref name="LappaValley">{{cite web |title=Meet The Engines |url=https://www.lappavalley.co.uk/whats-here/meet-the-engines/ |website=Lappa Valley |access-date=6 February 2024}}</ref>

|-

|
| ''City of Derby''
| {{RailGauge|15in}}
| [[British Rail Class 23|BR Class 23 'Baby Deltic']]
| [[Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway]]
| 2003
| [[Markeaton Park Light Railway]]
| Arrived September 2016
|-
|
|''Arthur''
|{{RailGauge|15in}}
|0-4-0DM
|[[R A Lister and Company|RA Lister and Company]]
|1952
|Worked at Longleat for a number of years
|Works Number 20698
|-
|
| ''Duke of Cornwall''
| {{RailGauge|10.25in}}
| 4w-4wPH
| [[Severn Lamb]]
| 1981
| Carlyon Bay, St Austell
|
|-
|
| ''Eric''
| {{RailGauge|10.25in}}
| {{whyte|0-6-0|DH}}
| [[Alan Keef]]
| 2008
|Built for Lappa Valley
| Named after the founder of Lappa Valley
|-
|
|''The Duke''
|{{RailGauge|10.25in}}
|{{whyte|0-6-0|DH}}
|[[Alan Keef]]
|2014
|Built for the [[Wells Harbour Railway]]
|Arrived in 2021
|-
|
|''Howard''
|{{RailGauge|10.25in}}
|{{whyte|0-6-0|DH}}
|[[Alan Keef]]
|2005
|Built for the [[Wells Harbour Railway]]
|[[File:Poole Park Railway "Howard" locomotive - September 2023 - 02.jpg|thumb]]Arrived in 2021. Steam Outline.
|-
|
|
| {{RailGauge|7.25in}}
| 4-4wPH
| Mardyke
| 1980
|
| [[InterCity 125|HST]]
|-
|
|
| {{RailGauge|7.25in}}
| 4w+4wPH
| Mardyke
| 1982
|
| Model of [[Advanced Passenger Train]]
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Cornwall}}
{{commons category|Lappa Valley Steam Railway}}
* [http://www.lappavalley.co.uk/ Railway website]

{{Heritage railways in England}}
{{15 inch gauge railways}}

[[Category:Lappa Valley Steam Railway]]
[[Category:15 in gauge railways in England]]
[[Category:Miniature railways in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Heritage railways in Cornwall]]

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Lappa Valley Steam Railway