Hollybush railway station

Hollybush
Location
Place	East Ayrshire
Area	Ayrshire
Coordinates	55°24′06″N 4°32′42″W / 55.4016°N 4.5451°WCoordinates: 55°24′06″N 4°32′42″W / 55.4016°N 4.5451°W
Grid reference	NS3893214912
Operations
Original company	Ayr and Dalmellington Railway
Pre-grouping	Glasgow and South Western Railway
Platforms	1
History
7 August 1856[1]	Station opened
6 April 1964[1]	Station closed
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Hollybush railway station was a railway station in East Ayrshire,^[2] Scotland that served the nearby Hollybush Hotel and the rural district. The line on which the old station stands was originally part of the Ayr and Dalmellington Railway, worked and later owned by the Glasgow and South Western Railway. The station, opened as Hollybush later became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and was closed by the British Railways Board (BRB).

Ayr and Dalmellington Railway
Legend Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway Newton-on-Ayr Newton Junction Ayr to Mauchline Branch Hawkhill Junction Ayr Alloway Junction Maidens and Dunure Railway Ailsa Hospital Maybole Junction Maybole (Dalrymple) Junction Ayr and Maybole Junction Railway Burnton Viaduct Hollybush Ayr to Mauchline Branch Holehouse Junction Holehouse Junction Patna Waterside Waste Tip Dalmellington

History

The Ayr and Dalmellington Railway began as the Ayrshire and Galloway (Smithstown & Dalmellington) Railway, receiving Royal Assent on 8 June 1847.^[3] The branch line was planned to run between Waterside and Sillyhole near Dalmellington, however the company evolved into the Ayr and Dalmellington Railway, which received Royal Assent on 4 August 1853 and extended the tracks to both Ayr and Dalmellington.^[3]

In 1856 the station had a single building and one siding, approached down a lane that ran from the Malcomston Bridge.^[4] The 1894 OS shows a larger station building complex, several sidings, a loading dock, goods shed, railway cottages and an access off the side road.^[5] In 1908 a weigh machine was present, a signal box close to the overbridge and a crane near the railway cottages.^[6] By 1971 the sidings had been lifted and the nearby school off the B7034 was closed.^[7]

The majority of the line is still open today (datum 2013) for freight trains serving opencast mining sites in the area.

The station house survives as a private dwelling lying just off the A713 Ayr, however the old platform has been demolished.

Micro-history

The evergreen holly Ilex aquifolium plant has been used a pub sign since Roman times and thus became a popular name for inns such as the one that Hollybush station is named from.^[8]

References

Notes

1. Butt, Page 121
2. RCAHMS Retrieved : 2013-01-07
3. Awdry, page 59
4. 1856 OS Map Retrieved : 2013-01-07
5. 1894 OS Map Retrieved : 2013-01-07
6. 1908 OS Map Retrieved : 2013-01-07
7. Old Maps Retrieved : 2013-01-07
8. Pub Signs Retrieved : 2013-01-11

Sources

• Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063.
• 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 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.

External links

• Hollybush station
• Hollybush railway
• The Old station nameboard