Saltcoats North railway station

Saltcoats North
A view of the station looking west c. 1914
Location
Place	Saltcoats
Area	Ayrshire
Coordinates	55°38′21″N 4°47′21″W / 55.6393°N 4.7893°WCoordinates: 55°38′21″N 4°47′21″W / 55.6393°N 4.7893°W
Grid reference	NS244419
Operations
Original company	Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway
Pre-grouping	Caledonian Railway
Platforms	2
History
3 September 1888	Opened as Saltcoats
1 January 1917	Closed
1 February 1919	Reopened
2 July 1924	Renamed Saltcoats North
4 July 1932	Closed to regular services
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Saltcoats North railway station was a railway station serving the town of Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, Scotland as part of the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway.

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]

Redevelopment

Since demolition, the site of Saltcoats North has been redeveloped into a housing estate.^[4] 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,^[5] 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. Wham, p. 66
5. 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 1-8526-0508-1. 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.