West Ferry railway station

West Ferry railway station
West Ferry railway station c. 1928
General information
Location	Broughty Ferry, Dundee Scotland
Coordinates	56°28′08″N2°53′13″W / 56.4688°N 2.8869°W / 56.4688; -2.8869
Grid reference	NO454310
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Dundee and Arbroath Railway
Pre-grouping	Caledonian Railway and North British Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway and London and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
Before 1842	Opened
1 January 1917 (1917-01-01)	Closed
1 February 1919 (1919-02-01)	Reopened
4 September 1967 (1967-09-04)	Closed
Listed Building – Category B
Designated	29 October 1991
Reference no.	LB25921 [1]
Location

West Ferry railway station was a railway station in Broughty Ferry which served the West Ferry area of the burgh between at least 1842 and 1967, with a two-year haitus at the end of the First World War.

History

The date at which the station opened is ambiguous; it is generally understood to have opened during a four-year period between the Dundee and Arbroath Railway beginning operations in 1838 and earliest surviving record of the station receiving passengers in 1842. ^[2] The station accommodated wealthy jute barons who commuted between their workplaces in Dundee and their mansions on the western periphery of Broughty Ferry.

In 1917 the station's closure was announced. This was met by stiff opposition from locals, who petitioned for its reinstatement. ^[3] By 1919 the decision had been reversed. ^[4]

After over 120 years in service, the station finally closed on 4 September 1967 as part of the Beeching cuts. The station accommodated around 100 commuters per day and opposition to the closure was expected. However, improved bus services and the locality of the other station in the town, Broughty Ferry station being just 700 yards (640 m) away, meant there was no significant justification for British Rail to keep the station open. ^[5]

Present Day

The platforms and canopy were removed as early as 1975, with the footbridge also being dismantled in the years after the station's closure. ^[6] However, the building which housed the waiting room is now a B-listed private residence. ^[1]

The site of the former station in 2022

When the building was put up for sale in 2023 it was noted that the lower level where the waiting room was located was never redeveloped; no indoor toilet was built after the station was closed, with only an outhouse present on the site. ^[7]

References

1. "WEST FERRY, 20 DOUGLAS TERRACE, FORMERLY WEST FERRY STATION". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
2. Quick, Michael (2019). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: a Chronology. London: Railway and Canal History Society. p. 478.
3. "Petition for Reopening to Railway Managers" . Dundee Evening Telegraph. 13 February 1917. p. 3. Retrieved 22 September 2025– via the British Newspaper Archive.
4. "WEST FERRY STATION TO REOPEN 1st FEBRUARY" . Dundee Evening Telegraph. 17 January 1919. p. 5. Retrieved 22 September 2025– via the British Newspaper Archive.
5. "Public Notice - Withdrawal of Railway Passenger Services" . Arbroath Herald. 21 July 1967. p. 5. Retrieved 22 September 2025– via the British Newspaper Archive.
6. "General view of station building". Trove. Historic Environment Scotland. 1975. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
7. Watson, Poppy (20 July 2023). "'Unique' former West Ferry railway station turned home has waiting room basement and outside toilet". The Courier. Dundee: DC Thomson. Retrieved 19 September 2025.

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Broughty Ferry Line and station open		Dundee and Arbroath Railway		Craigie Line open, station closed