Menheniot railway station

Menheniot railway station serves the village of Menheniot in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The station is operated by First Great Western.

History

The station opened with the Cornwall Railway on 4 May 1859.^[1] It was described at the time as "of small extent, consisting of a departure station, a stone building, having a projecting roof thrown over the platform for the protection of passengers. At the 'arrival' side of the line a stone erection, with a covered seat, has been provided, but no enclosed room".^[2] The following year saw two cottages built for the use of the railway staff working here. The "stone erection" is still in existence, used as a waiting shelter.^[3]

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 privatised in the 1990s. Under British railways the staff were removed from the station, and from 17 May 2009 the station is only served on request.^[4] The station also has a new footbridge as from 17 May 2009.

Accidents

December 1873

On 2 December 1873 two goods trains arrived at the station where they could pass each other before resuming their journey on the single tracks towards St Germans and Liskeard. The crossing loop was not at that time equipped with starting signals. The train for the latter had a clear line and so the signalman called out "All right Dick," to the guard. Unfortunately the guard for the other train was also called Dick and so told his driver to start, but the line was not clear as another train was already on the way down from St Germans. Luckily, the train crews survived the resulting collision.

The accident illustrated the need for starting signals, block working, and some interlocking between the starting signals and the block instruments.^[3]

February 1897

An accident occurred on 9 February 1897 during the reconstruction of Coldrennick Viaduct, which is situated just outside the station. A gang of 17 workmen were suspended below the viaduct on a platform when it broke away, throwing 12 of the men 140 feet to their deaths. Two of the gangers were criticised for not fixing safety chains and using poor quality wood for the platforms.^[5]

November 1897

Another accident happened on 15 November 1897 during the reconstruction of nearby Treviddo Viaduct. On this occasion a rope gave way while five men were hoisting a wooden beam up onto the new viaduct. One of them let go of his rope too soon, this meant that the wood swung free and knocked two of the gang to their deaths.^[5]

Services

Menheniot is served by a limited number of the First Great Western trains on the Cornish Main Line between Penzance and Plymouth, including a few that run through beyond Plymouth. The level of service itself has been progressively downgraded over recent years:

• December 2008 – evening peak call in service from Liskeard removed. Call in late evening service from Falmouth introduced.
• May 2009 – call by morning peak InterCity 125 service towards Plymouth removed. Late evening service from Falmouth disappears. Menheniot becomes a request stop.
• December 2009 – remaining Plymouth-bound morning peak InterCity 125 service call removed.
• May 2010 – call in morning peak service towards Liskeard and Penzance due to be removed.

The station is only served on request which means that people wishing to alight need to inform the guard, and those wishing to join the train here need to signal clearly to the driver.^[4]

References

External links