Strathaven Junction Yard
Location type
PlaceName and dates
Strathaven Junction YardOpened on the Hamilton Branch (Caledonian Railway).
Description
This was a large marshalling yard to the north of Hamilton West. The yard was largely involved with the heavy coal traffic of Lanarkshire and developed alongside Strathaven Junction, expanding and reducing as demand required. Coal marshalled here was dispatched to Coatbridge, Motherwell and Glasgow. It is also known as Strathaven Junction North Yard and Hamilton Engine Sheds Yard.
The yard followed a NW - SE alignment, a series of looped sidings between Strathaven Junction and Hamilton Engine Sheds Junction. It was laid out on the north east side of the Hamilton Branch (Caledonian Railway) just to the north of Hamilton Shed and Hamilton West. It lay west of the Whitehill Road overbridge.
Both the Hamilton Branch and the Hamilton and Strathaven Railway could access the yard at its NW end. Initially all coal trains from the Strathaven line had to reverse here before proceeding to Glasgow and the line onwards through Hamilton Central did not exist - the yard starting life as a place for coal trains to reverse. The SE end of the yard connected with the line at Hamilton Shed and also mineral lines to nearby coal mines.
There were other yards nearby: Earnock Sidings (largely exchange sidings for Earnock Colliery to the south) and Craighead Yard [Loaded] and Craighead Yard [Empties] (both to the north west) which developed with extension of the line east in 1876 through Hamilton Central to meet the Lesmahagow Railway.
The yard survived the closure of the Hamilton and Strathaven Railway in 1960 and was progressively cut back, particularly after the closure of the Coalburn line in 1968.
The site is largely now housing.
Tags
YardAliases
Strathaven Junction North Yard Hamilton Engine Sheds Yard| Nearby stations Burnbank Hamilton West Peacock Cross Blantyre Foundry Hamilton [NBR] Blantyre Bothwell [North British] Bothwell [CR] Hamilton Central High Blantyre Meikle Earnock Halt Bothwell Park Halt Fallside Ferniegair [1st] Ferniegair [2nd] | Whitehill Wagon Works Whitehill Pit Greenfield Colliery Pits Nos 1 and 2 Strathaven Junction Craighead Yard [Empty] Earnock Sidings Hamilton Engine Sheds Junction Greenfield Shed Blantyre Junction [NBR] Colliery Burnbank Signal Box Wellhall Colliery C W Ireland Works Clyde Colliery Craighead BP Chemicals Siding |
| Location names in dark blue are on the same original line. | |
Chronology Dates
| / /1872 | Hamilton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Hamilton and Strathaven Railway Authorisation to add further lines at Strathaven Junction, the Strathaven Junction Yard. |
