Gwinear Road became a station in 1843, when the Hayle Railway introduced its passenger service, but ownership passed to the West Cornwall Railway in 1846 and the GWR in 1878. At this early stage it was just a small station with a passing loop on the single-track mainline. It was chosen as the junction station on the mainline by the Helston Railway and the new buildings were required to cater for the junction passengers. [2]
Circa 1890.
Gwinear Road soon after the opening of the Helston Branch, 1887, looking West. Note the mixed gauge main line but the standard gauge branch line. This pre-dates the footbridge, which was added before the signal box was moved to the Down platform in about 1915. Lens of Sutton Collection. [2,6]
c. 1910
Gwinear Road around 1910, looking East. The main line is now standard gauge only, with a wide gap between the Up (left) and Down lines. A footbridge has been built between two the platforms but not to the path beyond the branch-line platform. The running-in board on the Down (right) platform near the footbridge steps appears to say ‘GWINEAR ROAD’ with ‘FOR HELSTON’ below. This is prior to moving the signal box (1915) onto the widened Down platform. Lens of Sutton Collection. [2]
1920s
Gwinear Road in the1920s [6] or, more specifically, June 1920 [7], looking West. This view shows the widened Down (left) platform, compared with the above (c. 1910) photograph, made possible by the gauge standardisation. Note the original Up (right) platform building length and canopy, in comparison with later photographs (below) showing the extended canopy. The end wall of the Up platform station building appears to be masonry rendered, rather than wooden. Plans of the buildings in the Network Rail Archive (obtained in 2025) show that only the platform elevation was wooden whilst the other three sides were masonry. Lens of Sutton Collection. [6,7]
Gwinear Road in the 1920s, looking East. Again, the end of the Up platform building appears to be rendered. [6] At this stage, the signal box has been moved to the Down (right) platform, beyond the footbridge, and the footbridge has probably been extended over the branch to the footpath beyond. A corrugated pagoda shelter has now appeared on the Down platform and this can just be seen in the previous photograph too.
1930s
Gwinear Road station looking West, 1933, as identified by the Up (right) platform poster for ‘Plymouth Navy Week, August 5 – August 12, The Publicity Officer’, which only occurred on these dates in one year – 1933. This is the period and condition of the station that is being modelled for the Rosewarne Junction model railway. Note the additional shelter provided on the Up platform between the Up station building and the footbridge (from where the photograph was taken), from where this photograph was taken. This comprises an extended full canopy on steel columns, in front of an alcove, which is behind a thin wall with windows, rather like the one in the right foreground. The canopy then extends to near the footbridge steps but does not reach the platform edge. Some drawings for this extended canopy exist at Swindon and Wilts History Centre but there is no plan of the footprint. Copyright: David Wallis & Noodle Books, E. Wallis collection. [4]
Gwinear Road branch platform, c.1936 [2], showing a platelayers’ hut that does not appear in later photographs. [2] However, this East end of the Down platform station building shows no sign of the battens for advertising signs that existed in 1933 in the previous photograph. It could be that they were removed between 1933 and 1936, but it is more likely that this photograph was from a later period but before 1948, from when the locomotive would have had its number on the smokebox door. The deeper running-in board (only the back is visible here) has been provided to show ‘GWINEAR ROAD, FOR HELSTON, THE LIZARD, MULLION and PORTHLEVEN’. Lens of Sutton Collection.
1950s
Gwinear Road 1958. Note that, compared with the above 1933 photograph, the new canopy has been extended to the platform edge all the way to the footbridge. This view shows the platform elevation of the original Up platform station building was of wooden construction but it would appear that a small brick extension was added, probably at the same time as the canopy was extended to the platform edge but after 1933 as this brick extension does not seem to be present in the previous photograph. Copyright: R. S. Carpenter Photos.
A view from the 1950s or early 1960s showing the full-length and width of the extended canopy on the Up (right) platform. There is no sign of the pagoda shelter on the Down (left) platform. The full text of the Down running-in board can be read in this photograph. Lens of Sutton Collection. [2]
1960s
The rarely photographed Gwinear Road East Signal Box with No. 6808 Beenham Grange passing with an Up broccoli special [7]. 7th April 1960. Photograph: P. Q. Treloar.
Gwinear Road Up Platform, c. 1960. Confirmation of the rendered end wall of the station building and the door to the ‘gents’.
Gwinear Road 1960. Copyright Graham Hoare. [5]
Gwinear Road 1961. Copyright Graham Hoare. Note that this is the best photograph of the Up platform station building, confirming that it was also of wooden construction. [5]
Cornwall Railway Society – Photographs from their web pages
Gwinear Road branch platform. A train has just arrived from Helston behind 4564 and station staff are busy unloading, or is it loading, goods? March 1962. Copyright: Sid Sponheimer.
Gwinear Road branch platform from the footbridge. 5537 ready to take the next service to Helston. March 1962. Copyright: Sid Sponheimer
Gwinear Road signal box and footbridge over the branch platform. 5545 passes under the footbridge whilst the signalman exchanges the staff for the branch. March 1962. Copyright Sid Sponheimer
Gwinear Road branch platform on 27th Dec. 1960. The fireman goes about his duties on 4588. Copyright: Mike Roach.
D6320 returns from parking the brake van. A chance to observe the dead straight run of the Helston branch, the sharp curve of the main line, and the multitude of telphone and telegraph cables crossing the top of the picture. September 1964. Copyright Laurence Hansford