( in length) was opened from Burngullow to Drinnick Mill Clay Works, near Nanpean on 1 July 1869. The company had exhausted its funds and abandoned plans to extend further. The offices for the company were at Par and shared with the Lostwithiel and Fowey Railway. In 1872 it was agreed to lease the line to the newly formed Cornwall Minerals Railway which would complete the connection to the Newquay Railway. It would also convert both this and the Par Tramway for steam engines, and connect these together and with quays at Fowey. The lease took effect from 1 June 1874 but the company never received everything that it had been promised and took legal action against the Cornwall Minerals Railway. The Newquay and Cornwall Junction Railway directors stopped meeting in 1885. The Great Western Railway took over the operation of the Cornwall Minerals Railway from 1 October 1877 and was amalgamated with this company on 1 July 1896. In the meantime, the line had been converted to standard gauge along with all the other lines west of Exeter over the weekend of 21 May 1892, finally enabling through trains from Burngullow to St Dennis Junction. The railway has only ever carried goods traffic. The line no longer extends to St Dennis, but the original line still carries china clay from Parkandillack to Fowey. Locomotives The contractor who built the line, William West of St Blazey, also contracted to operate the railway. The Cornwall Minerals Railway operated the same or similar locomotives, but these were withdrawn when the Great Western Railway took over operation. An engine shed was provided at Burngullow. It is unclear how many locomotives were operated but two have been positively identified. Newquay, an 0-4-2ST which had previously worked the South Wales Mineral Railway. Phoenix, a tank engine which may have come from Roland Brotherhood, an engineer at Chippenham. Present day trains are usually powered by EWS Class 66 locomotives. Notes References Further reading Papers relating to the Newquay and Cornwall Junction Railway can be consulted at The National Archives at Kew. The minute books are believed to have been destroyed but an index to them is held. Rail transport in Cornwall 7 ft gauge railways Great Western Railway constituents Pre-grouping British railway companies Railway lines opened in 1869 Railway companies disestablished in 1874 Newquay Standard gauge railways in England 1869 establishments in England