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[[File:L&CR trackbed near Minions.JPG|thumb|Remains of stone block track south of Minions]]
The '''Liskeard and Caradon Railway''' was a mineral railway in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom, which opened in 1844. It was built to carry the ores of copper and tin, and also granite, from their sources on [[Caradon Hill]] down to Moorswater for onward transport to market by way of Looe Harbour and coastal shipping. At first this was on the [[Liskeard and Looe Union Canal]] and later on the parallel [[Liskeard and Looe Railway]].
The Liskeard and Caradon Railway was exceedingly successful while mineral extraction boomed, but it was entirely dependent on that traffic and when the mines and quarries declined, the railway declined too, and eventually failed financially. In 1909 it was purchased by the Great Western Railway, but its days were already numbered, and it closed in 1917, its track materials being removed in aid of the war effort.
Line 30:
Because of this tidal flow arrangement, frequent passing loops were not necessary. Contrary to what was contemplated before the Act, the Company was its own carrier, with the possible exception of the granite traffic from Cheesewring.
The track was T-section rail in chairs fixed to stone blocks. It was laid to {{RailGauge|1435mm}} [[standard gauge]]
The Company was immediately successful, with considerable and increasing tonnages conveyed: 10,000 tons were carried in 1849, and net profit was £364. About 70% of the carrying was metal ore downwards, with nearly 30% being coal uphill to fuel the mine engines; the remainder was granite – although this did not realise the volumes originally contemplated – timber, sand, lime, iron and sundries.<ref name = messenger/>
Line 41:
==Passengers==
[[File:Disused railway bridge, Darite - geograph.org.uk - 66054.jpg|thumb|Disused Liskeard and Caradon Railway bridge, Darite.]]The L&CR was conceived as a mineral railway, and the carriage of passengers was not contemplated or authorised. However the rock formation at the Cheesewring was a considerable local attraction, and organised excursions to it were undertaken; the West Briton reported a temperance excursion to the spot in June 1850.<ref name = temperance>''The West Briton'', 28 June 1850, quoted in ''Messenger''</ref> The excursions appear to have been hauled uphill by horse traction and returned by gravity.
Individual businessmen appear to have been granted passes on a casual basis;<ref name = messenger/> the Company did not have passenger coaches, so presumably they travelled in wagons. The L&CR had no powers to carry passengers but did carry them, in open wagons, by using a legal loophole. The passengers travelled free, but a charge was made for the carriage of their hats, coats and parcels, "a system not abandoned until 31 December 1916".<ref name=awdry /><ref name = middleton/> This form of casual passenger carriage had also been taking place on the LLUC's railway.<ref name = messenger/>
Line 97:
[[File:L&CR 1879.gif|thumb|L&CR system in 1879]]By an Act of 12 July 1882, seven more branches, totalling 12 miles, were authorised.<ref name = carter/> Two of these had already been built: the Phoenix Mine line and the Kilmar Junction Railway; as they crossed simple moorland, it is likely that the formality had not previously been thought necessary.
An extension of over five miles to Trewint, near [[Altarnun]], was planned, possibly to be extended to Camelford or Launceston, as a reaction to feared incursion into the area by other railways, and to open up mineral extraction in the area. The line was to cost £15,000 and the hoped-for subscription to fund the capital expenditure was not forthcoming. The L&CR plainly did not have the financial resources to construct such a line, and only a couple of miles of earthworks were constructed before being abandoned. The earthworks are clearly shown, labelled "Dismtd Rly" near Smallacombe on the 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey map.<ref name = os25k>Ordnance Survey Explorer Map Sheet 109, ''Bodmin Moor''</ref>
Other lines authorised by the Act included a connection from Moorswater to Liskeard; this too was not built, and the only new line authorised and actually built was a 400 yard connection at Rillaton (just north of Minions), providing a proper connection between the Kilmar Junction line and the Cheesewring line. Prior to this, and since the closure of the Gonamena incline, trains from Cheesewring Quarry to Moorswater had to reverse in Minions village and again on the Phoenix line. The reversal at Minions blocked the main street and had led to complaints.
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