St Germans railway station

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St Germans
Location
Place	St Germans
Local authority	Caradon
Operations
Managed by	First Great Western
Platforms in use	2
Annual entry/exit 04/05	24,926 **
History
4 May 1859	Opened
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
** based on sales of tickets in 2004/05 financial year which end or originate at St Germans. Disclaimer (PDF)

St Germans Station serves the village of St Germans in Cornwall, UK. The Station is operated by First Great Western. It is situated immediately west of the large St Germans viaduct.

Both platforms have step-free entrances. The platform nearest St Germans Quay is served by trains to Liskeard; trains to Plymouth use the opposite platform.

[edit] History

The station opened with the Cornwall Railway on 4 May 1859. It was described at the time as "of ornamental design ... conveniently situated close to the town, and consists of arrival, departure, and goods stations, all three being constructed of stone".

A fatal accident occurred near St Germans just two days after the opening of the railway. On 6 May 1859. The engine of the 7.25 p.m. train from Plymouth was approaching St Germans when it left the rails, hit the parapet of the wooden viaduct across Grove Creek and fell 38 feet into the mud below, landing upside down. Two of the coaches also ended up in the creek. The driver, fireman, and one guard were killed. A second guard, Richard Paddon, was given a reward of five pounds for his part in keeping the remainder of the train on the viaduct and helping to rescue the survivors.

The Cornwall Railway was amalgamated into the Great Western Railway on 1 July 1889. The Great Western Railway was nationalised into British Railways from 1 January 1948 which was in turn privatised in the 1990s.

In 1973 a signal panel was located in the old station buildings on the platform served by trains to Penzance, although this has since closed. The other building is private accommodation but a camping coach in the old sidings can be rented for holidays.

[edit] References

The records of the Cornwall Railway can be consulted at The National Archives at Kew.
West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, Railway Special Edition, 1859.
The Great Western Railway in East Cornwall, Alan Bennett, Runpast Publishing, Cheltenham 1990, ISBN 1-870754-11-5