A VICTORIAN railway bridge has been removed from its position at a mainline station in Cornwall to be moved to its new home on the Helston Railway.

As the pictures and timelapse video here shows, the structure was removed from St Austell station in the early hours of Sunday morning.

There had been fears that the footbridge would leave Cornwall, destined for the Bala Lake Railway in Wales.

Locals protested and it then transpired that the railway no longer wanted the bridge.

Up stepped the Helston Railway, where it will find its new home following restoration.

Helston Railway, which is run by volunteers, has been working with Network Rail to make the move happen.

In 2014, the footbridge, which dates back to 1882, was replaced by the new 'access for all' bridge at a cost of more than £500,000.

The new higher, wider and multi-use bridge includes lifts either side to improve accessibility for all at the station. 

The old bridge, which by this time had became a listed structure, was closed, cordoned off and faced an uncertain future. 

Following the decay of the bridge, it was deemed unsafe to remain over the West of England Mainline and a bid to delist the bridge and remove it was put under way.

Following several months of talks and surveys, Network Rail donated the bridge to the Helston Railway and it will form part of its project to restore the old Great Western branch line from Helston towards Gwinear road.

A spokesman for Helston Railway said: “We are delighted to be working closely with Network Rail to have secured the future of an important piece of railway history.

"It is part of our medium term plan to undertake a full restoration on the bridge before erecting it at one of our stations.

"At this stage it is too early to give an idea of timescale, but we are looking forward to commencing the restoration during 2019.” 

The Helston Railway Preservation Society was formed in May 2002 with the objective to restore as much of the old Helston branch line as possible and return it to running order.

The long-term aim is to re-open a three-mile section of the line between Nancegollan and Helston Water-ma-Trout.

In April 2005 work started to clear the track bed at Trevano Estate.

Since then, more than a mile has been cleared and new track laid, starting at Prospidnick and travelling south.

There is now a temporary platform called Prospidnick Halt as well as a platform at Trevarno and volunteers have reconstructed the original Truthall Halt at the far south of the current line.

The society also has planning permission for a car park and a new station at Trevarno Farm, which is now its base.

In the future, it plans to extend the trackbed towards Helston, build an engine shed and water tower and expand its volunteer base to establish a steam railway.