1849 Newquay Railway. Treffry opened the track from Newquay Harbour to St Dennis with a branch to the East Wheal Rose lead mine.
1864 Newquay and Cornwall Junction Railway Act. The Newquay and Cornwall junction Railway was a broad gauge (7 ft 0.25 in) railway built to link the Cornwall Railway from west of St Austell to St Dennis, with the horse-worked Newquay to St Dennis Railway. Construction proved more difficult than expected due to the hardness of the ground. The 3.5 miles from Burngullow to Nanpean was opened to goods traffic on 1 July 1869. The remainder being built by the Cornwall Mineral Railways who took over the company in 1874.
1892 Converted to standard gauge
1896 Amalgamated with Great Western Railway
The CMR line from St Dennis is fairly flat to St Columb after which it continues downhill to Quintrel Downs and passes through a cutting just before entering Newquay over the impressive Trenance Viaduct. Continuing downhill the CMR meets the Chacewater to Newquay branch at Tolcarne Junction forming a triangle just outside the Newquay terminus.