Perranwell Station

 

Perranwell Station is one of two rail gateways to the Cornwall Mineral Tramway Trails. The other is Camborne Station. Perranwell Station was built in 1863 when the Cornwall Railway opened a line from Truro to Falmouth. The Cornwall Railway was amalgamated into the Great Western Railway in 1889. The nearby Carnon Valley was crossed by a viaduct and carried the new railway over a tidal river valley and the Redruth and Chasewater Railway line which was established in 1825 making it one of the first railways in the world.

 

Carnon Valley Viaduct

 

Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1863 the original viaduct was built on eleven masonry piers and consisted of a timber deck supported by timber trestles. It is one of eight viaducts on the railway from Truro to Falmouth. The original viaduct was replaced in 1933 with the present structure. The original piers remain. Construction was complicated by the intertidal mud flats and over 6 metres of silt washed down the Carnon River from  mines upstream. The viaduct is much photographed and is a significant feature of the railway landscape.

 

Cornwall Mineral Tramway Trails

 

The trails follow the routes of tram and railway lines used by mining companies for transporting coal, tin and copper ore and building materials used in the many mines working in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today they provide a significant leisure opportunity for walkers and cyclists providing easy access to the county’s mining and railway heritage and the unique natural landscape of the area.The trails enable users to safely walk or cycle from Devoran on the South coast to Portreath on the North.The trail immediately  accessed from Perranwell Station is the Redruth and Chasewater Railway trail which largely runs along the route of a railway that served the local mines from 1825 to 1915.

 

Devoran

 

The nearby village of Devoran is situated on the Carnon River where it meets Restronguet Creek which flows into the Carrick Roads. The village was  

the base of the Redruth and Chasewater Railway. Features of the railways  can still be seen in the village. The village owes its existence to the mining industry and was developed by the Robartes family of Lanhydrock to support the role the railway played in exporting copper and tin and importing coal and materials needed by the mines. A small port developed to meet these needs and the quays today provide leisure facilities for residents and visitors alike.