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The Lappa Steam Railway and East Wheal Rose Mine The railway runs on one of the oldest trackbeds in Cornwall. Opened in 1849 as a mineral line from Newquay to East Wheal Rose, it later became part of the Great Western Railway's Newquay to Chacewater branch line. This was closed in 1963, but in 1974 part of the line was reopened as a narrow gauge railway The discovery of lead at St. Newlyn East was noted in 1812, but the main attraction was the silver content in the lead ore (galena), and in 1814 the working became known as Wheal Rose. Its fame spread throughout Cornwall and in 1834 new workings, known as East Wheal Rose, were begun nearby. By 1846 this mine employed over 1,200 men, women and children. It was in July of that year that a freak thunderstorm flooded the mine, taking the lives of thirty-nine miners. East Wheal Rose was soon reopened, however, and continued in production until 1861. An unsuccessful attempt to rework the mine was made from 1882 to 1885, and visitors today can see the engine house that housed the great beam engine which was the largest in Cornwall. A video film tells the dramatic story of the mine and its disaster. Information Lappa Valley Steam Railway |
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