Girvan (old) railway station

Girvan Old railway station was a terminus station opened in Girvan, in Carrick, South Ayrshire, Scotland by the Maybole and Girvan Railway. Although ambitions existed to extend the line through to Stranraer it was built on a site that would not permit this and so when the line was built the Girvan New station was opened on 5 October 1877 by the Girvan and Portpatrick Junction Railway on the route to Pinmore and eventually through to Stranraer railway station.^[4]

Girvan Old Girvan, Girvan Goods
Site of Girvan Old railway station
General information
Location	Terminus of original line Scotland
Coordinates	55°14′48″N 4°51′17″W / 55.246554°N 4.8546810°W / 55.246554; -4.8546810
Grid reference	NX 18596 98367
Platforms	1
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Maybole and Girvan Railway
Pre-grouping	Glasgow and South-Western Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
24 May 1860^[1]	Opened
5 October 1877	Renamed^[2]
1 April 1893	Closed^[3]

History

 

Girvan goods station in 1985.

The original Girvan terminus station was situated adjacent to the goods station that was established at the site. It was opened by the Maybole and Girvan Railway with only one short platform in 1860 and was retained as a goods station in 1877 by the Glasgow and South Western Railway who took over the running of the line to Stranraer. The Girvan New station was further from the town and this was not popular with passengers and it appears that trains called at either station for a short period of time. Girvan Old Station closed to regular passenger traffic on 1 April 1893 and the goods station remained in use.^[5] Another source states that Girvan New station at first only catered for the workings continuing south to Stranraer.

The remnants of the old station platform were still present in 1988 and were even visible in 2017 many years after the track was lifted.^[6]

Station and goods station infrastructure

 

One of the old weighbridges.

Girvan Old had a single platform. The goods station had a number of buildings including a turntable, water column, weighing machines, engine shed that closed in 1940^[7] and a coal yard with a bridge over the River Girvan that led to the harbour and jetty.^[8][9] The track was still in situ in 1989 however it had been lifted by 2014.^[10] The old Girvan terminus went out of use in the 1980s due to the poor condition of the wooden bridge over the River Girvan although ballast trains were still making use of the site.^[11]

Harbour branch

The Glasgow and South-Western Railway built a line to the harbour from the goods station that involved a second bridge over the River Girvan and at the harbour jetty coal was emptied down a chute into waiting colliers that took the coal to Ireland. A network of sidings and two waggon turntables existed here.^[12] This arrangement only lasted until 1918 with coal coming from the Bargany Pit.^[13][14]

v t e Maybole and Girvan Railway
Legend
Ayr and Maybole Junction Railway     Maybole Junction       Maybole (old)   Maybole (new)   Kilkerran   Dailly     Bargany Coal Mine   Killochan   Grangeston Halt (private station)         Maidens and Dunure Light Railway     Girvan Junction                     Girvan (old)   Girvan (new)     Girvan and Portpatrick Junction Railway

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
	Historical railways
Killochan		Glasgow and South Western Railway Maybole and Girvan Railway		Terminus

References

Notes

1. Butt (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present. p. 103.
2. Butt (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present. p. 103.
3. Butt (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present. p. 103.
4. Butt (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present. p. 103.
5. "Canmore". RCAHMS. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
6. "A History of Britain's Railways". RailScot. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
7. Wham (2013). Ayrshire's Forgotten Railways. A Walker's Guide. p. 71.
8. "Ayrshire 055.04 (includes: Girvan). Publication date: 1896. Revised: 1894". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
9. "Canmore". RCAHMS. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
10. "A History of Britain's Railways". RailScot. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
11. "Ayrshire 055.04 (includes: Girvan). Publication date: 1896. Revised: 1894". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
12. "Ayrshire 055.04 (includes: Girvan). Publication date: 1896. Revised: 1894". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
13. Wham (2013). Ayrshire's Forgotten Railways. A Walker's Guide. p. 71.
14. "Ayrshire 055.04 (includes: Girvan). Publication date: 1896. Revised: 1894". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 3 March 2017.

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.
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
• Wham, Alasdair (2013). Ayrshire's Forgotten Railways. A Walker's Guide. Usk : Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-729-7.

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Girvan goods station.

•  Scotland portal

External links

• Video footage of Girvan Old railway station
• Railscot on the Maybole and Girvan Railway
• Video footage of the old Girvan Harbour Branch
• Video footage of the old Girvans Goods Station