The Penlee Quarry railway was an industrial

Industrial railway

An industrial railway is a type of railway that is not available for public transportation and is used exclusively to serve a particular industrial, logistics or military site...

 narrow gauge railway serving the Penlee Quarry at Newlyn

Newlyn

Newlyn is a town and fishing port in southwest Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Newlyn forms a conurbation with the neighbouring town of Penzance and is part of Penzance civil parish...

 in Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

. It was Cornwall's most westerly railway and one of the last operating narrow gauge industrial railways in the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

History

Mineral extraction at Penlee dates back to the early 19th century when copper, zinc and rare minerals were mined. Stone quarrying first started at Penlee nearer to Mousehole in 1894, the operations being transferred to the current site at the turn of the 20th century becoming known as Gwavas Quarry. Penlee supplied mainly aggregate (crushed stone) but on occasion also supplied large chunks of stone as rock armour - "armourstone". The full-scale aggregate operations ran throughout most of the century reaching peak output in the 1960s and 1970s.

With production increasing a narrow gauge railway of gauge was opened around 1900. This connected the quarry with the south pier of Newlyn

Newlyn

Newlyn is a town and fishing port in southwest Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Newlyn forms a conurbation with the neighbouring town of Penzance and is part of Penzance civil parish...

 harbour, approximately ½ mile away to the east. A steam locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

 named Koppel was purchased to work this line. Internal combustion locomotives replaced steam from 1930 onwards. Stone was shipped from Newlyn

Newlyn

Newlyn is a town and fishing port in southwest Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Newlyn forms a conurbation with the neighbouring town of Penzance and is part of Penzance civil parish...

 to destinations around the Bristol Channel

Bristol Channel

The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...

 and the south coast and in later years to as far afield as Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

The railway was more or less straight apart from the curve on to the south pier at Newlyn

Newlyn

Newlyn is a town and fishing port in southwest Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Newlyn forms a conurbation with the neighbouring town of Penzance and is part of Penzance civil parish...

. It was double track for most of the route although at some point in the past it had been singled, the double track being reinstated as production increased in the later years. In the 1960s when a ship was being loaded, six locomotives were needed for operations, four higher powered ones on the main line and two lower powered ones shunting the empty tipper wagons through the two loading points. The empty trains were reversed back to the loading points from the harbour.

In 1973, the railway ceased operations and was replaced by an electrical
conveyor system using the same route. Operations at the quarry then slowed throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s eventually coming to an end in 1989/90.

Present day

Stone was supplied for a few isolated small contracts until 1994, since when the quarry has been dormant. There are now plans to use the quarry site as part of a marina and housing development. There is much local opposition to this.

Penlee Quarry is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest

Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

, noted for its geological

Geology of Cornwall

The Geology of Cornwall is dominated by its granite backbone, part of the Cornubian batholith, formed during the Variscan orogeny. Around this is an extensive metamorphic aureole formed in the mainly Devonian slates that make up most of the rest of the county...

 formations and igneous rock

Igneous rock

Igneous rock is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava...

s.

Locomotives

Name	Number	Builder	Type	Date	Works number	Notes
Koppel		Stahlbahnwerke Freudenstein Stahlbahnwerke Freudenstein -Company history :The company was founded in 1891 by the merchant Julius Freudenstein; until then, Freudenstein had worked for Orenstein & Koppel. Originally, the company traded in track and materials for railways....	0-4-0WT	1900	73	Renamed Penlee in 1914. Withdrawn in 1946 and preserved at Newlyn Newlyn Newlyn is a town and fishing port in southwest Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Newlyn forms a conurbation with the neighbouring town of Penzance and is part of Penzance civil parish...  harbour. Now under restoration at the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway Leighton Buzzard Light Railway The Leighton Buzzard Light Railway is a narrow gauge light railway in Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, England. It operates on a gauge, and is just under long. The line was built after the First World War to serve sand quarries north of the town...
Penlee	LM1	Kerr Stuart Kerr Stuart Kerr, Stuart and Company Ltd was a locomotive manufacturer from Stoke-on-Trent, England.-History:It was founded in 1881 by James Kerr as James Kerr & Company, and became Kerr, Stuart & Company from 1883 when John Stuart was taken on as a partner...	4wDM	1930	4468	Withdrawn 1961; scrapped 1965
	LM2	Hunslet Hunslet Engine Company The Hunslet Engine Company is a British locomotive-building company founded in 1864 at Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by John Towlerton Leather, a civil engineering contractor, who appointed James Campbell as his Works Manager.In 1871, James Campbell bought the company for...	4wDM	1942	2665	Acquired from Tarslag Ltd, Winslow Winslow -Places:United Kingdom*Winslow, BuckinghamshireUnited States*Winslow, Arizona*Winslow, Arkansas*Winslow, California*Winslow, Illinois*Winslow, Indiana*Winslow, Maine*Winslow, Nebraska*Winslow, Washington*Winslow West, Arizona...  in 1947; withdrawn 1958; scrapped 1965
Penlee	LM3	Hunslet Hunslet Engine Company The Hunslet Engine Company is a British locomotive-building company founded in 1864 at Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by John Towlerton Leather, a civil engineering contractor, who appointed James Campbell as his Works Manager.In 1871, James Campbell bought the company for...	4wDM	1942	2666	Acquired from Tarslag Ltd, Winslow Winslow -Places:United Kingdom*Winslow, BuckinghamshireUnited States*Winslow, Arizona*Winslow, Arkansas*Winslow, California*Winslow, Illinois*Winslow, Indiana*Winslow, Maine*Winslow, Nebraska*Winslow, Washington*Winslow West, Arizona...  in 1947; transferred to British Quarrying Co Ltd, Lydd Beach Shingle Works, Kent via Amalgamated Roadstone workshops, Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...  1954; returned to Penlee 1958; Now Yaxham Light Railway Yaxham Light Railway Yaxham Light Railway is a narrow gauge light railway situated adjacent to Yaxham railway station on the Mid-Norfolk Railway. It is located in the village of Yaxham in the English county of Norfolk.- History :... , Norfolk Norfolk Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county... , No.19 PENLEE, 2009
	LM4	Orenstein & Koppel	4wDM	1942	10408	Scrapped 1953
	LM24	Ruston Hornsby Ruston (engine builder) Ruston & Hornsby, later known as Ruston, was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England, the company's history going back to 1840. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of steam shovels. Other products included cars, steam...	4wDM	1936	175412	Originally at British Quarrying Co Ltd, Allington Quarry, Maidstone, Kent. Transferred from there via Amalgamated Roadstone workshops at Borough Green Borough Green Borough Green is a large village and civil parish in the Tonbridge and Malling District of Kent, England. The main village is situated on the A25 road between Maidstone and Sevenoaks in Kent.-History:... , Kent and Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...  1954-56; scrapped 1965
	LM28	Ruston Hornsby Ruston (engine builder) Ruston & Hornsby, later known as Ruston, was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England, the company's history going back to 1840. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of steam shovels. Other products included cars, steam...	4wDM	1944	229655	Transferred from Amalgamated Roadstone workshops at Borough Green Borough Green Borough Green is a large village and civil parish in the Tonbridge and Malling District of Kent, England. The main village is situated on the A25 road between Maidstone and Sevenoaks in Kent.-History:... , Kent c1954; to Amalgamated Roadstone workshops Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...  1958; in 1959 at Bredonvale Products Ltd., Defford Defford Defford is a small village in the county of Worcestershire, England, located between the towns of Pershore and Upton-upon-Severn.Defford also has a primary school, Defford cum Besford First School,and three pubs.... , Worcestershire Worcestershire Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region... ; now believed to be privately preserved.
	LM30	Ruston Hornsby Ruston (engine builder) Ruston & Hornsby, later known as Ruston, was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England, the company's history going back to 1840. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of steam shovels. Other products included cars, steam...	4wDM	1944	229656	Transferred from Amalgamated Roadstone workshops at Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...  1961
	LM37	Ruston Hornsby Ruston (engine builder) Ruston & Hornsby, later known as Ruston, was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England, the company's history going back to 1840. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of steam shovels. Other products included cars, steam...	4wDM	1936	177643	Transferred from St Keverne & Associated Quarries Ltd, Porthoustock Porthoustock Porthoustock is a hamlet near St Keverne in Cornwall, United Kingdom, on the east coast of Lizard Peninsula. Aggregates are quarried nearby and Porthoustock beach is dominated by a large concrete stone mill. The mill was once used to crush stone but is now disused. Container ships of up to 82m can... , St Keverne, Cornwall after 1949; scrapped or sold
	LM38	Hibberd	4wDM	1948	2401	Transferred from Carreg-y-Llam Quarries Ltd, Llithfaen, Caernarvonshire 1951; to Amalgamated Roadstone workshops at Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...  1954; returned from St Keverne & Associated Quarries Ltd, Porthoustock Porthoustock Porthoustock is a hamlet near St Keverne in Cornwall, United Kingdom, on the east coast of Lizard Peninsula. Aggregates are quarried nearby and Porthoustock beach is dominated by a large concrete stone mill. The mill was once used to crush stone but is now disused. Container ships of up to 82m can... , St Keverne, Cornwall 1961; sold for scrap 1966
T.W. Lewis	LM39	Ruston Hornsby Ruston (engine builder) Ruston & Hornsby, later known as Ruston, was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England, the company's history going back to 1840. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of steam shovels. Other products included cars, steam...	4wDM	1954	375316
J.W. Jenkin	LM40	Ruston Hornsby Ruston (engine builder) Ruston & Hornsby, later known as Ruston, was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England, the company's history going back to 1840. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of steam shovels. Other products included cars, steam...	4wDM	1954	375315
No.2	LM42	Ruston Hornsby Ruston (engine builder) Ruston & Hornsby, later known as Ruston, was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England, the company's history going back to 1840. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of steam shovels. Other products included cars, steam...	4wDM	1940	200748	Acquired from M.E.Engineering Ltd., Cricklewood Cricklewood Cricklewood is a district of North London, England whose northeastern part is in the London Borough of Barnet, western part is the London Borough of Brent and southeastern part is in London Borough of Camden.-History:...  in 1961 via the Amalgamated Roadstone workshops at Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...
	LM44	Ruston Hornsby Ruston (engine builder) Ruston & Hornsby, later known as Ruston, was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England, the company's history going back to 1840. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of steam shovels. Other products included cars, steam...	4wDM	1947	246793	Acquired from MacSalvors Ltd, Pool, Camborne Camborne Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth....  in 1962
	LM45	Ruston Hornsby Ruston (engine builder) Ruston & Hornsby, later known as Ruston, was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England, the company's history going back to 1840. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of steam shovels. Other products included cars, steam...	4wDM	1942	213848	Acquired from MacSalvors Ltd, Pool, Camborne Camborne Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth....  in 1962
	LM46	Ruston Hornsby Ruston (engine builder) Ruston & Hornsby, later known as Ruston, was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England, the company's history going back to 1840. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of steam shovels. Other products included cars, steam...	4wDM	1951	287664	Acquired from MacSalvors Ltd, Pool, Camborne Camborne Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth....  in 1963
	LM47	Ruston Hornsby Ruston (engine builder) Ruston & Hornsby, later known as Ruston, was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England, the company's history going back to 1840. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of steam shovels. Other products included cars, steam...	4wDM	1951	287664	Acquired from George Wimpey & Co Ltd, contractors, No.82, 1964