Roskear & North Crofty Junctions

[Troon boy]

I've been surfing the net looking for info on the old Holman Brothers branch line from Roskear Junction in Camborne. I can just remember the line crossing Foundry Road when I was a kid in the early 70's. My Father worked there up until he took early retirement in about 1990. I found this thread on a mining forum which mentions North Crofty Junction which I have never heard of before. http://www.aditnow.co.uk/community/viewtopic.aspx?t=2954

 

Does anybody have any more info about either branch.

 

Cheers

 

Troon Boy

[Stoker]

I've been surfing the net looking for info on the old Holman Brothers branch line from Roskear Junction in Camborne. I can just remember the line crossing Foundry Road when I was a kid in the early 70's. My Father worked there up until he took early retirement in about 1990. I found this thread on a mining forum which mentions North Crofty Junction which I have never heard of before. http://www.aditnow.c...pic.aspx?t=2954

 

Does anybody have any more info about either branch.

 

Cheers

 

Troon Boy

 

I have Maurice Dart's book on West Cornwall mineral railways, which pretty much covers it. What is it that you want to know?

[Ramblin Rich]

There was some discussion & a couple of photos in this thread on "old" rmweb - it's a mystery photo thread & the discussion is intermixed with other items, but there's some interesting stuff. Unfortunately the links later in the thread are to Fotopic images which can no longer be seen....

[RailWest]

North Crofty was an interesting location, in that - according to the information which I have - the signal-box ONLY controlled the Up line, it had no signals and was not a block post on the Down line. All it did was to work the trailing connection onto the branch and the protecting signals on the Up main line. I don't know what the opening hours were there, or whether perhaps the level of traffic was such that it only opened 'as required'.

[winterbournecm]

Hi - the Roskear branch (to Holmans) saw its last train in 1980 AFAIK. It was a class 50 on the pick up and collected some mobile generators on the usual flatbed wagons. I have some pictures by Andrew Kirkham of a class 45 in the sidings, and one picture should feature in Traction 200 issue (the next one) in my Guard's Journal article. I never took a photo in there (with or without a train), which was shame.

 

Hope that helps.

[Troon boy]

Thanks for your responses so far. Stoker I am on the trail of "West Cornwall Mineral Railways". I think I saw a copy in Kingsley Village on "Hamburger Hill".

 

Thanks Again.

 

Alan T

[Not Captain Kernow]

Been looking into this branch recently and there is a great selection of photos on the Cornwall Railway Society website, including Class 25s and 45s at work on the branch

 

http://www.cornwallrailwaysociety.org.uk/cornwall-railway-gallery---3-branches-west.html

[The Stationmaster]

And therein lies part of the story why Roskear Jcn is the way it is today with the big clue on the third line down - i.e. 'WR (sic) DT'.  The frame had GWR double twist locking and when it finally failed its annual locking test (late '80s or early '90s - alas I can't remember the exact date) the Region was faced with the rather simple problem that the locking was totally obsolete, and had been for years, Reading (or more likely where the works had been moved to be then not only had no spares but also had no patterns and there were no Locking Fitters left who understood double twist locking.

 

So there was a very hurried review of the situation with an inevitable decision to remove that locking and the 'box finished up with what it has today - which in the event was better than the other (seriously considered) alternative of closing it completely.

[Captain Kernow]

So there was a very hurried review of the situation with an inevitable decision to remove that locking and the 'box finished up with what it has today - which in the event was better than the other (seriously considered) alternative of closing it completely.

I do wonder whether, if the above had happened a bit earlier, we would have been left with Drump Lane box instead of Roskear, but with a bit of TCB from Camborne station to Drump Lane, would probably have resulted in a higher line capacity today as well...

[The Stationmaster]

I do wonder whether, if the above had happened a bit earlier, we would have been left with Drump Lane box instead of Roskear, but with a bit of TCB from Camborne station to Drump Lane, would probably have resulted in a higher line capacity today as well...

I think that is quite likely.  The debate at the time (and I was only involved on the fringes of it) was based very much on doing 'something' fairly quickly and hopefully cheaply but several folk pointed out that Roskear was not in the right place and retaining it was not the right longer term answer.  But time was of the essence in the need to get something done and cost as ever played its part - and after all Cornwall resignalling wasn't too far off with scheme plans underdevelopment and the new 'signalbox' structure at Par something more than a gleam in an architects eye.

 

But of course things change, even if the building at Par was actually built.

[winterbournecm]

P1266206.JPG

 

I thought this might be of interest.  The above is a photo of part of a signalling plan of Roskear Junction, dated March 1970.  The whole plan is over 5 feet long!  The only points controlled by the box at this time are as shown.  Apologies about the quality & size of the lettering.

 

The box is a sad shadow of its former self, with the following levers only in use:

2: Up distant, 2 Aspect colour light, Yellow, Green.  1290 yards.

4: Up home, 2 Aspect colour light, Red, Green.  Protects Cambourne Crossing which is controlled by Barrier Control Cabinet, slotted with control in same.  Block control to Carn Brea. 348 yards.

7: Up line detonator placement

14: Ground colour light signal, down main to North Roskear branch (and trailing crossover 15). Block control to Carn Brea.

15: Trailing crossover, Down to Up Main.

17: North Roskear branch points and trap.

18: Up North Roskear Branch.

19: Down line detonator placement.

23: Down starter, 2 Aspect colour light, Red, Green.  Protects Cambourne Crossing, controlled by Barrier Control Cabinet, slotted with control in same.  Block control to Hayle. 307 yards.

24: Down home, 3 Aspect colour light, Red, Yellow, Green.  281 yards.

25: Down distant, 2 Aspect colour light, Yellow, Green.  1327 yards.

29: Roskear crossing barrier control.

 

Spaces: 20, 21, 22.  The rest are spares.

 

Also controlled is Dolcoath Sidings G.F (Milk Siding), released by key release instrument.  Trailing connection to up main at 312m 52.3ch.  This is in Carn Brea section, in advance of up home.

 

Also supervises Dolcoath Crossing at 312m 62ch and Gwinear Road Crossing at 315m 73ch.

Wonderful detail many thanks. I was wondering about the FPL which was latterly no. 16. Then, checking the diagram, there was no facing connection!! The crossover was moved Hayle side of the crossing some years later, and the connection into Holmans became a facing point & co acting trap - with an FPL of course. (FPL = facing point lock). In the later scheme the ground signal no 14 would only clear into the sidings and any crossover move became unsignalled DM to UM.