Relics Of Cornwall’s Railway Past
A fascinating collection of rare railway tablets is set to go under the hammer in our Summer Antiques Auction this August, offering collectors and railway enthusiasts a direct connection to Cornwall’s railway past.
The collection comes from a South Devon vendor whose neighbour, a lifelong railway enthusiast and collector, spent decades acquiring the tablets, often paying only a few pence each. They are now being sold to help fund the purchase of a new home.
The brass and fibre tablets, many stamped with familiar North Cornwall locations including Wadebridge, Camelford, Boscarne Junction and Delabole, were once an essential part of the famous Tyer’s Electric Train Tablet System. Introduced during the late Victorian era following a series of railway accidents, the system dramatically improved safety on single-line railways by ensuring only one train could enter a section of track at any one time.
Each tablet acted as the driver’s authority to proceed and was carried in a leather pouch attached to a hoop, allowing it to be exchanged without stopping the train. The collection includes both traditional brass examples and later fibre tablets, with their differing shapes helping railwaymen instantly identify the correct route section.
Today these tablets are highly collectable pieces of railwayana, particularly examples from long-closed Cornish branch lines. Prices can range from several hundred pounds for standard examples to well over £1,000 for particularly rare tablets from closed rural lines. Only last month, Plymouth Auction Rooms sold a single North Cornwall Line tablet for £650 plus buyer’s premium to an online buyer.
Beyond their value, these remarkable objects remain important reminders of the ingenuity that once kept Cornwall’s railways operating safely and efficiently.
Captions
Image 7 A signalman exchanges a train tablet with a passing locomotive without stopping the train — a familiar sight on Britain’s single-line railways for much of the 20th century.
Image 8 Railway staff prepare to exchange a tablet hoop beside a passing train; once used across Cornwall’s rural rail network.
Image 9 A driver leans from the cab holding a railway tablet hoop
Image train tablets - These distinctive railway tablets once controlled train movements across Cornwall’s branch lines.
