Due to other transport developments, it transpired that The Cornubia was the only iron passenger ship constructed in Cornwall.  Of five hundred tonnage and two hundred feet in length, the Cornubia could carry 60 saloon passengers and she entered regular service on July 8th, 1858.  Her maiden journey was rather eventful as she ran aground near Bristol and then collided with a French ship on her return.

Although an innovative ship, Cornubia’s service was brief due to the opening of the Royal Albert Bridge across the Tamar (May 4th, 1859) permitting travel between Penzance and Paddington without making any changes.  The Cornubia was sold and, after brief service between Southampton and Lisbon, she was sold to America and became a blockade-runner for the Confederate States in the American Civil War.