The station was opened as 'Perran' on 24 August 1863 when the Cornwall Railway opened the line from Truro to Falmouth. It was renamed 'Perranwell' on 19 February 1864 to avoid confusion with nearby Penryn.[1][2]
There were originally two platforms either side of a passing loop, and a goods shed with several sidings to south, one of which was equipped with a two-ton crane. The yard was able to accommodate live stock and most types of goods. The signal box was very distinctive, being sited on girders above the track alongside the goods shed.[3][4]
The Cornwall Railway was amalgamated into the Great Western Railway on 1 July 1889. The Great Western Railway was nationalised into British Railways from 1 January 1948, and was privatised in the 1990s.
The goods shed still stands in the forecourt despite goods traffic ceasing on 4 January 1965. A drinking fountain on the platform is a reminder of more important days, although it is no longer in use.
A short distance on either side of the station, valleys had to be crossed on lofty timber viaducts. To the north, Carnon viaduct crossed 96 feet (29 m) above the Carnon River valley and the Redruth and Chasewater Railway. In the other direction, trains crossed the smaller Perran Viaduct, which was 56 feet (17 m) high and 339 feet (103 m) long.
By the 1980s, the station had become run down, with only a small aluminium shelter with polycarbonate panels offering protection for passengers. However, during the late 1990s a new brick waiting shelter was built as part of a refurbishment programme at all the "Maritime Line" stations.
Facilities
There is one platform with level access from the car park, and information boards and a waiting shelter on the platform. A ticket machine was installed in 2023.
Services
A new loop at Penryn allowed the services frequency on the Maritime Line to be doubled from 17 May 2009, giving up to a half-hourly service. However, when two trains are operating, only alternate services call at Perranwell.[7]
^Grant, Donald J. (2017). Directory of the Railway Companies of Great Britain (1st ed.). Kibworth Beauchamp, Leicestershire: Troubador Publishing Ltd. p. 127. ISBN978-1-78803-768-6.
^The Railway Clearing House (1970) [1904]. The Railway Clearing House Handbook of Railway Stations 1904 (1970 D&C Reprint ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles Reprints. p. 431. ISBN0-7153-5120-6.
^McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. p. 31. ISBN1-870119-48-7.
^McRae, Andrew (1998). British Railways Camping Coach Holidays: A Tour of Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part Two). Foxline. pp. 80 & 95. ISBN1-870119-53-3.
