Ardrossan Montgomerie Pier railway station

Ardrossan Montgomerie Pier railway station was a railway station serving the town of Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, Scotland as part of the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway (L&AR). The station was opened to compete with the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) owned station at Winton Pier on the opposite side of the harbour.

Ardrossan Montgomerie Pier
Location	Ardrossan, Ayrshire Scotland
Coordinates	55.6419°N 4.8209°W
Grid reference	NS225423
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway
Pre-grouping	Caledonian Railway
Post-grouping	LMS
Key dates
30 May 1890	Opened as Ardrossan Pier
1 January 1917	Closed
1 February 1919	Reopened
2 July 1924	Renamed Ardrossan Montgomerie Pier
6 May 1968	Closed

Railway Stations in Ardrossan
Largs Branch (AR) Lanarkshire & Ayrshire Rly Castlemill Junc │ Holm Junc Ardrossan South Beach Ardrossan Railway Ardrossan North (L&AR) Parkhouse Junction Harbour Junction Ardrossan Town (AR) Ardrossan Montgomerie Pier (L&AR) Winton Junction Ardrossan Winton Pier (AR) Ardrossan Harbour (BR) Harbour Sidings

History

The station opened on 30 May 1890 as Ardrossan Pier,[1] replacing the L&AR Ardrossan station as the new terminus for the line in Ardrossan (although that station would continue to operate as an intermediate station). It was closed from 1 January 1917 to 1 February 1919 due to wartime economy,[1][2] and upon the grouping of the L&AR into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1923, the station was renamed Ardrossan Montgomerie Pier on 2 June 1924.[1] The name change was to avoid confusion with the nearby G&SWR station of the same name, which was also incorporated into the LMS. Montgomerie Pier survived the former L&AR station closures of 1932,.[3]

The station then passed on to the Scottish Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948, and continued to operate until it officially closed to passengers by the British Railways Board on 6 May 1968, although the last train ran on 25 September 1967.[1] Despite track removal in 1970, the station was still intact in 1974.[4] Today Montgomerie Pier is the site of private flats overlooking the Ardrossan Marina, and no trace of the station remains.

Station description

The station consisted of two side platforms in an iron-framed wooden-clad building, and originally had a glazed roof supported on lattice girders.[4] A booking office for boats to Belfast was situated at the pier end of the platforms.[5]

References

Notes

1. Butt, page 18
2. Stansfield, page 6
3. Stansfield, page 7
4. Hume, p. 42-43
5. Main, W (1968). Ardrossan Montgomerie Pier Railway Line Closure (DVD). Glasgow, Scotland: Scottish Screen Archive. Event occurs at 30 secs.

Sources

• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
• Hume, John R. (1976). The Industrial Archaeology of Scotland, Vol. 1: The Lowlands and Borders. London: B. T. Batsford Ltd. ISBN 0-7134-3234-9.
• Stansfield, G. (1999). Ayrshire & Renfrewshire's Lost Railways. Ochiltree: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 1-8403-3077-5.
• Stations on navigable O.S. map. Disused station at end of branch north of harbour entrance'

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Terminus		Caledonian Railway Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway		Ardrossan Line and station closed
Terminus		British Railways Montgomerie Pier Branch		Kilwinning 1947 - 1960 Line closed, station open