Saltcoats North railway station

Saltcoats North railway station was a railway station serving the town of Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, Scotland as part of the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway.

For the station on the former Glasgow and South Western Railway, see Saltcoats railway station.

Saltcoats North
A view of the station looking west c. 1914
LocationSaltcoats, Ayrshire
Scotland
Coordinates55.6393°N 4.7893°W / 55.6393; -4.7893
Grid referenceNS244419
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyLanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway
Pre-groupingCaledonian Railway
Key dates
3 September 1888Opened as Saltcoats
1 January 1917Closed
1 February 1919Reopened
2 July 1924Renamed Saltcoats North
4 July 1932Closed to regular services

History

The station opened on 3 September 1888 and was simply known as Saltcoats.[1] It closed between 1 January 1917 and 1 February 1919 due to wartime economy,[1] and upon the grouping of the L&AR into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923, the station was renamed Saltcoats North on 2 June 1924.[1] The station closed to passengers on 4 July 1932,[1] however it was reopened for a time within two years when a special return fare price was introduced.[2] The line saw use for trains going to Ardrossan Montgomerie Pier and the Ardrossan Shell Mex plant until 1968.

Station description
The adjacent road bridge in 2006

The station consisted of two side platforms connected by a footbridge and with a small building on each side. By 1956 the footbridge and the building on the eastboard platform had been removed, however the westbound building remained intact albeit derelict.[2] By the late 1960s only the overgrown platforms remained.[3]

A goods yard and signal box stood on the Ardrossan side of the station, accessed off Caledonia Road, with a four sidings, loading dock, goods shed, crane and weighing machine.[4]

Redevelopment

Since demolition, the site of Saltcoats North has been redeveloped into a housing estate.[5] Most of the trackbed between the station and Stevenston Moorpark station has been filled in and converted into a pathway signposted as 'Old Caley Line'. Several road bridges that crossed the line here are still in existence,[6] though are now partially buried in the ground. Aside from the road bridge that was directly adjacent to the station, there is no trace left of the station itself.

References

Notes
  1. Butt, p. 205
  2. Stansfield, p. 7
  3. Main, W (1968). Ardrossan Montgomerie Pier Railway Line Closure (DVD). Glasgow, Scotland: Scottish Screen Archive.
  4. Ayrshire, 016.06, Surveyed: 1895, Published: 1896
  5. Wham, p. 66
  6. Wham, p. 67

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.
  • Stansfield, G. (1999). Ayrshire & Renfrewshire's Lost Railways. Ochiltree: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 1-8403-3077-5.
  • Wham, Alasdair (1997). The Lost Railway Lines of Ayrshire : Ayrshire Railway Walks. Wigtown: G.C. Book Publishers. ISBN 1-8723-5027-5. OCLC 38356283.
Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Ardrossan North
Line and station closed		   Caledonian Railway
Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway
   Stevenston Moorpark
Line and station closed
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