IDEAS and funding are being sought to celebrate the centenary of one of East Cornwall's most stunning landmarks — Calstock Viaduct. The frequently photographed structure was completed in August 1907 and the first passenger train to travel across it was in March 1908. Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, together with organisations in Calstock, are hoping to bring the community on board to commemorate these important dates with a spectacular celebration. At the moment it is unsure whether there will be two events or one big one in 2008 which will incorporate both anniversaries. The general consensus is that one event next year would give enough time for funding to be sourced, volunteers to be rallied and more activities to be planned. Calstock Festival is also using the viaduct's completion as its theme for the festival this year. Events manager for Calstock Village Hall Martin Smith said: 'We want to plan something fairly notable — the viaduct and the river have shaped the whole of this environment both economically and socially. 'The introduction of the railway pushed Calstock into a completely new era. It took the accent away from it being a port and opened it up to the rest of the county by rail.' It took three years to build the viaduct, which is made from concrete blocks which were all cast to shape and size on the Devon bank. 'The viaduct is a spectacular man-made structure which in fact makes the natural environment look even more beautiful and frames the view,' said Mr Smith. Richard Burningham from the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership said the plan was to hold a public meeting in the village to get local people involved. He said the ultimate dream would be get a steam locomotive on the line but that would be very expensive and the line might well be unsuitable now as the lighter weight diesels had been using it for over half a century. 'It would be great to have a centrepiece with lots of community events happening around it,' he said. 'In the 1960s, British Rail wanted to close everything from Okehampton to Plymouth but because of the poor road links in the Tamar Valley it was told it would have to keep the service between Gunnislake and Plymouth. 'In the last few years the Tamar Valley line from Gunnislake to Plymouth has had more investment in maintenance and renewing of the track than it has ever seen, so it is a good time to be celebrating this line.'