Leadhills railway station

Leadhills railway station was opened on 1 October 1901[1] as the intermediate stop on the Leadhills and Wanlockhead Light Railway and served the lead mining area, farms and the village of Leadhills circa 5.5 miles (8.9 km) WSW of Elvanfoot railway station in South Lanarkshire until 2 January 1939 for passengers and freight.[1] Until Wanlockhead station opened Leadhills was the highest standard gauge adhesion station in the United Kingdom.[4]

Leadhills and Wanlockhead Branch
Caledonian Railway Main Line Elvanfoot Caledonian Railway Main Line  Leadhills Wanlockhead

Leadhills
Location	South Lanarkshire Scotland
Grid reference	NS 88619 14460
Platforms	1
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Pre-grouping	Caledonian Railway
Post-grouping	London Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 October 1901	Station opens[1]
31 December 1938[2]	Last passenger train
2 January 1939	Line officially closed to passengers and goods[1][3]

History

Operated by the Caledonian Railway, it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The line had been closed and lifted before the Scottish Region of British Railways came into existence upon nationalisation in 1948.[3] The line suffered greatly from the closure of the lead mines and passenger traffic was slight, although the station was located conveniently near to the small village. Coal traffic had continued to the end.

Infrastructure

The new narrow gauge station was opened in 2000.

To save on costs the passenger stations at Leadhills and Wanlockhead had only slightly raised platforms and therefore passenger carriages had three levels of step board fitted which folded down to enable passengers to board and depart.

This platform at Leadhills was demarcated by a wooden fence and a passing loop of 100 yards length with catch points was provided as was a three ton capacity crane.[5] A siding served a loading bank and another the goods shed.[6] The waiting room, stationmaster's office, ticket office and men's toilet were located in a wooden lean-to building built along the long side of the goods shed.[7] No signals were present, however a telephone was provided.[8] and the points were worked by ground frames in the absence of a signal box.

The engine shed and water tower stood to the east, 5 miles and 37.1 chains from Elvanfoot.[9]

The site today

The track had already been lifted by April 1939 and the buildings demolished.[2] The Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway narrow gauge line and station have been constructed on the site of the old station and its trackbed.[4]

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Elvanfoot		Caledonian Railway Leadhills and Wanlockhead Branch		Wanlockhead

References

Notes

1. Butt 1995, p. 140.
2. Ireland, Page 54
3. Wignal (1983), Page 36
4. Wham, Page 183
5. name="TO" Ireland, Page 31
6. Ireland, Page 31
7. name="TT" Ireland, Page 32
8. name="TT" Ireland
9. Ireland, Page 29

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.
• Ireland, Alastair (2011). The Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway. Kelso : Alastair Ireland ISBN 0-9516271-1-2.
• Thomas, J. (1971). Scotland: the lowlands and borders. A regional history of the railways V.6. Newton Abbot.
• Wham, Alasdair (2017). Exploring Dumfries & Galloway's Lost Railway Heritage. A Walker's Guide. Catrine : Oakwood Press ISBN 9780853610830.
• Wignall, C.J. (1983). Complete British Railways Maps and Gazetteer From 1830-1981. Oxford : Oxford Publishing Co. ISBN 0-86093-162-5.

External links

• Leadhills station on the Leadhills & Wanlockhead Railway.