Redruth and Chasewater Railway

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Redruth and Chasewater Railway
Locale	England
Dates of operation	1825 – 1915
Track gauge	4 ft (1219 mm)
Length	9 miles
Headquarters	Redruth

The Redruth and Chasewater Railway was a very early British railway that opened in 1825 and closed in 1954. It ran across the Cornish peninsular between several mining areas and Devoran, at the head of the Fal Estuary. As with most early railways, it was industrial in nature, never running a passenger service, and because of the nature of the terrain in Cornwall, it was built to a narrow gauge. It was at first horse-worked, but was one of the first narrow gauge railways to introduce steam locomotives when these became practical.

A minority of internet sites appear to indicate that it ran between Portreath and Devoran, fully across the peninsular, however this appears to be an error.

Cornwall was a noatably industrial county in the 19th Century, and possessed a number of railways serving mining and quarrying industrial areas, however most of these industries either declined (as had tin mining) or modernised, leading such routes to close. This line closed in 1918, other mineral lines in the County lasted longer; the last being the Bodmin and Wadebridge line.