The railway did not take over the canal alignment: it crossed the canal by bridge in five places, three below Sandplace and two above, although the railway seems to have obliterated the canal in the northern extremity. Sandplace continued to be a significant wharf for the canal, due to the activities of John Buller, but it appears that the canal above that point, although not actually displaced by the railway construction, was positively allowed to decline. Although the canal was still officially open, the Liskeard Water Company negotiated the takeover of the Crylla Leat and its water supply from May 1861, subsequently agreeing to pay £5 per year for its perpetual use. With no water supply to the top of the canal, water was channeled through a culvert under the railway to keep the section below Sandplace navigable. The canal was still maintained, as £179 was spent on repairs between 1862 and 1867, but it is fairly certain that this only affected the lower section. The upper section may have been used by the tenants of the Morval Estate for the transport of agricultural produce, for which no tolls were chargeable, but residents at Duloe complained in 1867 that the canal could no longer be used since the railway had been built. A note in the accounts for 1862 states: "1861: LLUC's canal replaced by railway and steam introduced on the LCR."