Wilsontown railway station

Wilsontown
Wilsontown
	Old bridge abutments at the trackbed embankment.
General information
Location	Wilsontown, Lanarkshire ; Scotland
Coordinates	55°46′33″N3°40′40″W / 55.775930°N 3.6777994°W Coordinates: 55°46′33″N3°40′40″W / 55.775930°N 3.6777994°W
Grid reference	NS948548
Platforms	1
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Caledonian Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1870	Opened
10 September 1951	Closed to passengers
4 May 1964	Closed to freight traffic

Last updated November 26, 2022

Wilsontown railway station^[1] was the passenger terminus of the three and three quarter mile long Wilsontown Branch that ran from a bay platform at Auchengray railway station and served the nearby village of Wilsontown in Lanarkshire and several collieries. The only other station on the line was at Haywood, standing two miles from Auchengray on a double track section of the line. Apart from the collieries this was a mainly farming district at the times of the railway's construction.

History

The station opened as the terminus of the passenger line at Wilsontown in 1870 and was then closed to passengers in 1951^[1] but freight traffic continued until closure in 1964.

The nearby Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway may have suggested a physical connection with Wilsontown but it never reached this destination.

Wilsontown was first established as the site of the famous Wilsontown Ironworks however these closed in 1842 and the 1870 line was built across part of the site on an embankment.

Services

In May 1948 the passenger services consisted of around seven return trains a day on weekdays and altered timings on Saturdays for many services such as 11.25pm departure. No trains ran on a Sunday. One train did not run on school holidays. Connections to Carnwath, Carstairs, Edinburgh and Glasgow.^[2]

In 1869 the line was extended to the Climpy Colliery as a freight line. Wilsontown Colliery Pit No.3 with its coke ovens was also served by the railway as was Wilsontown Colliery No.9.^[3]

Station infrastructure

The station had only a single curved wooden platform with lighting and a small wooden shelter on the south side of the passing loop, with its ubiquitous station clock, that served as a ticket office and waiting room with a coal fire. The signalbox lay to the east of the platform and was opened in 1893 and closed in 1963. A large goods shed with two sidings, a crane and a loading dock lay to the south of the station platform with a goods yard.^[3] The platform and goods yard were accessed off the nearby road to Carnwath. A weighing machine was located on the mineral line. A bridge crossed the road on its way to the Climpy Colliery.

Remains of the station

The track was lifted and the bridge towards Climpy removed. The station site was used as a storage depot and nothing remains of the station buildings. The embankment towards Haywood is extant as are the bridge abutments. Part of the trackbed is in use as footpaths related to the old Wilsontown Ironworks site and its visitor interpretation as a tourist attraction.

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Terminus		Caledonian Railway Wilsontown Ironworks Branch		Haywood

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Auchengray railway station was just outside Auchengray, a hamlet in the Parish of Carnwath, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was served by local trains on what is now known as the West Coast Main Line.

The ruins of the Wilsontown Ironworks are located near the village of Forth in Lanarkshire in Scotland, approximately 23 miles (37 km) to the south east of Glasgow. The works were founded by the three Wilson brothers in 1779, and operated until 1842. The works had two blast furnaces, and in 1790 a forge was added. Later a rolling and slitting mill and additional forging hammers were installed. This increased the capacity of the works to 40 long tons (41 t) of manufactured iron per week. In its heyday the works employed 2,000 people. The village later had a railway branch line from Wilsontown to Auchengray railway station on the Caledonian Railway. This remained open for some years after the demise of the iron works and served several collieries in the area.

The Caledonian Railway main line in Scotland connected Glasgow and Edinburgh with Carlisle, via Carstairs and Beattock.

The Stert and Westbury Railway was opened by the Great Western Railway Company in 1900 in Wiltshire, England. It shortened the distance between London Paddington station and Weymouth, and since 1906 has also formed part of the Reading to Taunton line for a shorter journey from London to Penzance.

Dalserf railway station served the village of Dalserf in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the Coalburn branch of the Caledonian Railway line.

The Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway was a railway opened in 1845, primarily for mineral traffic, although a passenger service was run sporadically. The line ran from a junction with the Wishaw and Coltness Railway at Chapel, to Longridge, in South Central Scotland, and it was extended to Bathgate in 1850 after takeover by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway. It was built to open up further coal deposits and to connect the Wilsontown Ironworks, although it did not actually reach Wilsontown. In common with the other "coal railways" with which it connected, it adopted the track gauge of 4 ft 6 in, often referred to as Scotch gauge.

This article traces the Caledonian Railway branches in South Lanarkshire.

The Caledonian Railway lines to Edinburgh started with the main line that reached Edinburgh in 1848 as part of its route connecting the city with Glasgow and Carlisle. The potential of the docks at Granton and Leith led to branch line extensions, and residential development encouraged branch lines in what became the suburbs of Edinburgh. In 1869 a line was opened from Carfin through Shotts giving the Caledonian a shorter route between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Longridge railway station was the original terminus of the Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway (WM&CR) that served the nearby village of Longridge in West Lothian and it was also referred to as Eastern station and was 8 miles 50 chains (13.9 km) from Morningside station.

Headless Cross railway station or Headlesscross railway station was a station on the Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway (WM&CR) that served the rural area of Headless Cross near Fauldhouse in West Lothian. The station was located 4 miles 60 chains east of Morningside railway station.

Davies Dyke railway station or Daviesdyke railway station was a station on the Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway (WM&CR) that served the rural area of Davies Dyke near Allanton in Lanarkshire, Parish of Cambusnethan. The station was located 1 miles 60 chains east of Morningside railway station.

Cleland (Old) railway station was opened in 1867 on the Cleland to Morningside Junction line that had opened in 1864. The extension of the Cleland Branch on the line of the old Wishaw and Coltness Railway joined the Coltness Branch section of the Wishaw and Coltness Railway via the Coltness Ironworks and then as stated it continued to Morningside.

Balmore railway station was opened in 1879 on the Kelvin Valley Railway and served the coal mining area, farms and the village of Balmore in East Dunbartonshire until 1951 for passengers and to freight on 31/7/61.

Haywood railway station was the only intermediate station on the three and three quarter mile long Wilsontown Branch that ran from a bay platform at Auchengray railway station and served the mining village of Haywood and also Wilsontown at the passenger line terminus in Lanarkshire. Several collieries were also served via mineral lines.

Cwmmawr for Tumble railway station,Cwm Mawr railway station or Cwmmawr railway station was opened in 1913 to timetabled passenger services. It continued to serve the inhabitants of the Cwmmawr area and hinterland between 1913 and 1953; it was one of several basic stations opened on the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

References

Notes

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.). Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1.
Cobb, M.H. (2003). The Railways of Great Britain -- A Historical Atlas. Shepperton : Ian Allan Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-7110-3003-0.
Thomas, John (1984) revised J S Paterson, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 6, Scotland, the Lowlands and the Borders, Newton Abbott : David and Charles. ISBN 0-946537-12-7.

External links

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[FOOTNOTEButt1995251-1] 1 2 3 4 Butt (1995), p. 251.

[2] Scottish Region Timetables. May 1948

[OS-3] 1 2 Lanarkshire XX.1 (Carnwath; Carstairs). Publication date:1897 Revised:1896

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Historical Scottish railway companies
Primary companies	Caledonian Railway Glasgow and South Western Railway Great North of Scotland Railway Highland Railway North British Railway
Caledonian Railway	Aberdeen Railway Alloa Railway Alyth Arbroath and Forfar Busby Railway Cathcart District Clydesdale Junction Crieff Junction Crieff and Comrie Crieff and Methven Junction Dumfries, Lochmaben and Lockerbie Dunblane, Doune and Callander Dundee and Perth Dundee and Perth and Aberdeen Forfar and Brechin General Terminus and Glasgow Harbour Garnkirk and Glasgow Glasgow Central Railway Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Greenock and Wemyss Bay Hamilton and Strathaven Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Leadhills and Wanlockhead Lesmahagow Railway Lochearnhead, St Fillans and Comrie Paisley and Barrhead District Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Polloc and Govan Rutherglen and Coatbridge Scottish Central Scottish Midland Junction Scottish North Eastern Solway Junction Symington, Biggar and Broughton Talla Railway Wishaw and Coltness Lines built by the Caledonian Railway Balerno line CR Cleland and Midcalder CR Main Line CR Douglas Branch CR Hamilton Branch CR Hamiltonhill Branch CR The Switchback Independent lines worked by the Caledonian Railway Callander and Oban Killin Railway
Glasgow and South Western Railway	Ardrossan Railway Ardrossan and Johnstone Ayr and Dalmellington Ayr and Maybole Junction Ayr to Mauchline Ayrshire and Wigtownshire Barrhead Branch Bridge of Weir Railway Cairn Valley Caledonian and Dumbartonshire Junction Castle Douglas and Dumfries Dalry and North Johnstone Darvel Branch Girvan and Portpatrick Junction Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Greenock and Ayrshire Kilmarnock and Troon Largs Branch Maidens and Dunure Maybole and Girvan Paisley and Renfrew Paisley Canal Line
Great North of Scotland Railway	Aberdeen and Turriff Aboyne and Braemar Alford Valley Banff, Macduff and Turriff Junction Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Boddam Branch Deeside Denburn Valley Formartine and Buchan Inverury and Old Meldrum Junction Keith and Dufftown Moray Coast Morayshire St Combs Light Railway Strathspey Railway
Highland Railway	Buckie and Portessie Branch Dingwall and Skye Duke of Sutherland Findhorn Railway Fortrose Branch Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Inverness and Aviemore Direct Inverness and Nairn Inverness and Perth Junction Inverness and Ross-shire Kyle of Lochalsh Extension Perth and Dunkeld Sutherland and Caithness Sutherland Railway Independent lines worked by the Highland Railway Dornoch Light Railway Wick and Lybster Light Railway
North British Railway	Aberlady, Gullane and North Berwick Anstruther and St Andrews Railway Ballochney Bathgate and Coatbridge Blane Valley Border Counties Railway Border Union Railway Campsie Branch Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway and Dock Company Charlestown Railway and Harbour Company Coatbridge Branch Devon Valley Railway Dunfermline and Queensferry East of Fife Railway Edinburgh and Bathgate Edinburgh and Dalkeith Edinburgh and Glasgow Edinburgh and Hawick Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway Edinburgh, Loanhead and Roslin Railway Edinburgh and Northern Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Esk Valley Eyemouth Railway Fife and Kinross Railway Forth and Clyde Junction Gifford and Garvald Glasgow, Bothwell, Hamilton and Coatbridge Glasgow City and District Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Glasgow and Milngavie Junction Glasgow, Yoker and Clydebank Kelvin Valley Railway Kincardine Line Kinross-shire Railway Kirkcaldy and District Railway Leadburn, Linton and Dolphinton Leven Railway Leven and East of Fife Railway Macmerry Branch Monkland and Kirkintilloch Monkland Railways Montrose and Bervie Mallaig Extension Newburgh and North Fife Railway (worked by NBR) Newport Railway North Berwick Branch North British, Arbroath and Montrose Peebles Railway The St. Andrews Railway Stirling and Dunfermline Strathendrick and Aberfoyle Slamannan Slamannan and Borrowstounness Wemyss and Buckhaven Railway West Highland Railway West of Fife Mineral Railway Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness
Joint lines	Caledonian and Dumbartonshire Junction City Union Dundee and Arbroath Darvel and Strathaven Glasgow and Paisley Joint Glasgow and Renfrew District Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Kilsyth and Bonnybridge Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint
Other lines	Brechin and Edzell District Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway Cromarty and Dingwall Light Railway Dundee and Arbroath Hagdale Chromate Railway Invergarry and Fort Augustus Lealt Valley Diatomite Railway Lochaber Narrow Gauge Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Rothesay and Ettrick Bay Light Railway Skye Marble Railway Tranent to Cockenzie Waggonway