Railway Bridge Of The Liskeard And Caradon Railway, At Sx 264 696

The railway bridge of the Liskeard and Caradon Railway was built between 1843 and 1846. It is constructed from granite rubble with granite dressings. The bridge features a tall round arch made of rusticated voussoirs and has parapet walls with coping. The flanking walls are slightly splayed and ramped down on both sides of the arch, both at the front and the rear. The Act for the Liskeard and Caradon Railway was passed in 1843 to transport coal and ore from the South Caradon Mine, which began copper production in 1837. The railway was built to standard gauge, measuring eight and a quarter miles long, with a ruling gradient of 1 in 60, designed for gravity operation in the downward direction. Initially, the line was operated by horses, but by 1862, due to increased output and demand, the Liskeard and Caradon Railway Company decided to re-lay the line and introduce locomotive haulage. By this time, the railway extended directly to the copper shipping wharves at Looe.