The 2nd branch line I filmed on my 3rd southwest visit is the furthest down in Cornwall being the St Ives Bay Line although filmed in both directions.
Although the shortest of the 4 Cornish Branch Lines opening in 1877 being 4.25 miles long in fact it’s one of the most scenic branch lines on Britains Railways especially summer time.
Starting at St Erth the penultimate stop on the Cornish Main Line before Penzance however it’s location is at Rose-an-Grouse with the village of St Erth being 0.75 miles away. First opened in March 1852 as St Ives Road. The branch line to St Ives opened on June 1st 1877 with the station being renamed a few years later to today’s St Erth.
Platforms 1 and 2 are served by trains from Plymouth, London Paddington and Penzance by Great Western Railway as well as CrossCountry services although limited after Plymouth. Platform 3 is the terminal platform for St Ives however only train is allowed on to the branch at anyone time with turnaround times being less than a few minutes.
The only access point to the branch from the main line is via Platform 2 which is only used by either Class 150s or 153s although at the time of filming only 5 Class 153s in service on GWR with most of the branch line workings being done by Class 150/2s. Trains at start or end of day head to and from Penzance with them being maintained at Penzance TMD. The line itself is controlled from St Erth Signal box.
The line from St Erth heads left towards Lelant and comes alongside the Hayle Estuary and not suprising the sound of Jointed Rail is maintained rather than the modern continuous rail. Top speed is limited to only 30mph although for the passengers the 12 minute journey gives them time to admire the scenic views along the line.
Lelant Saltings opened on May 27th 1978 by British Rail to serve a Park and Ride Facility and located close to the A30 and the A3074 with the platform being built from Pre cast concrete components.
Lelant located on the waterfront of the Hayle Estuary is a request stop in either direction to St Ives and St Erth and is unstaffed. The old station house refurbished in 2009 serves Cream Teas.
A former goods line went to Lelant Wharf built in 1888 however Goods Traffic ceased in 1956.
Carbis Bay serves not only the village but also the beach of Carbis Bay which sits right on the Atlantic Ocean. Although in the autumn time it may not seem to be teething with traffic however in the summer months it can be very busy. It’s located in a shallow cutting north of the road leading down to the beach. The name of the village came about when the station was built on the east side of the valley and called it Carbis Bay. Popular at the time of opening with visitors and small farms near to Wheal Providence Mine expanded which is where the name of the village was formed.
Heading down to St Ives the line crosses Carbis Viaduct with it built from granite used from a nearby quarry in Towednack.
St Ives station serves the town as well as nearby Porthminster Beach which is located below the station. The end of the platform towards the town was used at the time of opening in June 1877 to load railway trucks with fish caught by local boats however traffic declined in the 1st half of the 20th century with goods traffic being withdrawn completely on September 9th 1963. The former signal box was taken out of use 3 years later.
The former curved station closed in May 1971 with todays platform on the site of the former goods shed replacing it. A car park now occupies the site of the former station. However when tickets are issued to and from St Ives are issued as St Ives Cornwall to avoid confusion with another town of St Ives in Cambridgeshire which used to be a station on the Great Eastern Railway closing in 1970.
Turnaround times are short and the driver and the guard only have a maximum of 3 minutes before heading back to St Erth.
Although the traffic most of the year many seem light on the line however summer months the seaside draws in tourists and locals and it likely wouldn’t have been possible without the St Ives Bay Line.
Filmed on Friday October 5th 2018 on iPhone 8 and edited on iMovie
