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Lostwithiel railway station

Coordinates: 50°24′25″N 4°39′57″W / 50.40700°N 4.66577°W / 50.40700; -4.66577
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Lostwithiel
National Rail
General information
LocationLostwithiel, Cornwall
England
Coordinates50°24′25″N 4°39′57″W / 50.40700°N 4.66577°W / 50.40700; -4.66577
Grid referenceSX106597
Managed byGreat Western Railway
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeLOS
ClassificationDfT category F1
History
Original companyCornwall Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Western Railway
Post-groupingGreat Western Railway
Key dates
1859Opened
1869Fowey branch opened
1880Fowey branch closed
1895Fowey branch reopened
1965Fowey branch closed to passengers
Passengers
2017/18Decrease 70,348
2018/19Decrease 66,624
2019/20Increase 67,706
2020/21Decrease 24,142
2021/22Increase 61,534
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Lostwithiel railway station serves the town of Lostwithiel in Cornwall, England. It is 277 miles (446 km) from London Paddington via Bristol Temple Meads. Great Western Railway operates the station along with every other station in Cornwall.

The station is on the banks of the River Fowey in Cornwall. At the east end of the station is a level crossing while at the west end the line is carried over the river, beyond which is the junction for the Fowey branch which is now used by china clay trains only. Between the station and the river stand the remains of the Cornwall Railway workshops, converted and extended in 2004 as a housing development.

Lostwithiel's famous medieval bridge is just outside the station, with the town on the opposite bank of the river.

History

The station opened with the Cornwall Railway on 4 May 1859. A report at the time claimed that it

"is generally admitted to be the handsomest station on the line, and looks as gay and bright as fresh paint can make it. It consists, first, of a departure station, a wooden building covered by rusticated boarding, having a projecting verandah, extending eight feet on each side of the carriage approaches, and extending over the railway platform. This contains a spacious first class waiting room, second class ditto, ticket, and other necessary offices, and conveniences. Immediately opposite to this, is the arrival station, which is also of wooden erection, having spacious waiting rooms, and porter and lamp rooms. The roof also projects over the platform in a similar way to that of the departure station. A short distance lower down the line is a convenient goods shed, 75 feet long by 42 feet span of roof. Near to the departure station is the train shed, 100 feet long, in which, in addition to the engines employed on the line, it is intended to contain first, second, and third class carriages, in order to meet any extra requirements that may at any time arise."[1]

The workshops had been established during the construction of the railway to prepare the timber needed for the wooden viaducts, stations and track. It expanded to also maintain the carriages and wagons of the railway and was retained for some years by the Great Western Railway when the two companies amalgamated on 1 July 1889.[2]

The Lostwithiel and Fowey Railway opened for goods traffic on 1 June 1869. A more direct route from Par to Fowey stole most of the traffic and the trains from Lostwithiel were suspended on 1 January 1880. The Cornwall Railway subsequently leased a part of the line to store rolling stock. The line was reopened by the Cornwall Minerals Railway on 16 September 1895 for both goods and passengers. The passenger service was withdrawn on 4 January 1965 but the line remains open to carry china clay to the jetties at Fowey.

Sidings on the east side of the level crossing came into use on 30 April 1932 to handle milk train traffic from a new Nestle milk factory. It was later sold to Cow & Gate.

The Great Western Railway was nationalised into British Railways from 1 January 1948 which in turn was privatised in the 1990s. British Railways demolished the original station buildings and replaced them with a new booking office[3] on the platform nearest the town, although these are no longer needed.

Lostwithiel signal box is situated at the northern end of Platform 1. Since the Bodmin Road Signal Box was closed, the sidings at Bodmin Parkway connecting to the Bodmin and Wenford Railway are controlled by the box here. It is also used to control the signals and level crossing.

Stationmasters

  • Edward Stephens ca. 1863 - 1895[4]
  • R.D. Pressick 1895 - 1896[5] (afterwards station master at Dawlish)
  • J.R. Martin 1896 - 1900[6] (afterwards station master at Devonport)
  • Albert William Lofting from 1901[7] (formerly station master at Starcross)
  • J.R.H. Tucker ca. 1912 - 1919 (afterwards station master at Liskeard)
  • Herbert John Hawes 1919 - 1927[8]
  • Thomas Charles Evans 1927[9] - 1938 (afterwards station master at Camborne)
  • W. Reynolds 1938 - 1943[10] (afterwards station master at Hayle)
  • H. Jane 1943 - 1948[11]
  • W. Clemence 1948 - 1961[12]
  • W.F.B. Strong Sept 1961 - not known[13]

Platform layout

The main entrance is on the platform served by trains to Plymouth, this is the platform nearest the town. A second platform for trains to Penzance is reached from the level crossing. The opposite face of this platform used to be served by trains on the Fowey branch line.

Services

Class 158 pairing leave Lostwithiel for Penzance

Lostwithiel is situated on the Cornish Main Line which links Penzance and Plymouth. Most trains are operated by Great Western Railway with some running through to or from Newquay or London Paddington station.[14]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Par   Great Western Railway
Cornish Main Line 		  Bodmin Parkway

References

  1. ^ West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, Railway Special Edition, 1859
  2. ^ Bennett, Alan (1988). The Great Western Railway in Mid Cornwall. Southampton: Kingfisher Railway Publications. ISBN 0-946184-53-4.
  3. ^ Beacham, Peter; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2014). The Buildings of England. Cornwall. Yale University Press. p. 327. ISBN 9780300126686.
  4. ^ "The stationmaster of Lostwithiel". Royal Cornwall Gazette. England. 5 December 1895. Retrieved 4 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Local Miscellany". Cornish Gazette. England. 15 October 1896. Retrieved 4 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Lostwithiel Stationmaster Removed to Devonport". West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser. England. 6 December 1900. Retrieved 4 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "1835-1910 Clerks Vol.6". Great Western Railway: 147. 1835. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Mr. J.H. Hawes. Lostwithiel". Cornish Guardian. England. 1 December 1927. Retrieved 4 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "Lostwithiel. The new stationmaster". Cornish Guardian. England. 15 December 1927. Retrieved 4 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ "Lostwithiel Gift". Western Morning News. England. 23 January 1943. Retrieved 4 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ "Lostwithiel Gift". Western Morning News. England. 1 January 1948. Retrieved 4 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^ "Retirement Gift for Lostwithiel Station-Master". Cornish Guardian. England. 15 June 1961. Retrieved 4 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. ^ British Railways Magazine Western Region Edition, Vol 12 1961, 305
  14. ^ "National Rail Timetable 135 (may 2015)" (PDF). Network Rail. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lostwithiel railway station.
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