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Thornton Junction
All photographs of this location in date order.
![<br><br>[K A Gray //]](/images/2000/2015.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![A B1 4-6-0 drifts through Thornton Junction <I>light engine</I> on a summer evening in the mid-1960s. Thornton Junction station closed in October 1969. <br><br>[Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) //]](/images/22000/22839.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![A line of <I>stored</I> locomotives, including 64466 and 69012, stand in the sidings at Thornton Junction MPD in the 1960s, with one of the towers enclosing the headgear of Rothes Colliery in the background.<br><br>[K A Gray //]](/images/23000/23390.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Sunshine and steam in the shed yard at Thornton Junction in the 1960s. J38 no 65911 takes centre stage with Austerity 90444 standing over on the left. Both were Thornton locomotives and both were withdrawn in the first quarter of 1967, just before the official closure to steam of 62A itself. Beyond the coaling plant in the right background the curved roof of <I>The snake pit</I> can be seen [see image 23695]. <br><br>[K A Gray //]](/images/29000/29528.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Totem from Thornton Junction station which closed in 1969. So riddled was this area with mine workings that it is said that it was a constant battle to keep the platform surface level. The station was not particularly convenient for the village which, along with the closure of the East Fife Line for which it was the junction, probably secured its demise. Thornton did become rail served again in 1992 when Glenrothes with Thornton station opened at the top of the Fife Circle. It is nearer the centre of the village, if nowhere near the centre of Glenrothes (or indeed the outskirts).<br><br>[David Panton //]](/images/32000/32935.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Class D11 4-4-0 no 62679 <I>'Lord Glenallan'</I> stands in the shed yard at Thornton Junction in the late 1950s. The locomotive was withdrawn from here in September 1958 and cut up at Inverurie works a year later.<br><br>[K A Gray //]](/images/37000/37254.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![J72 0-6-0T 69012 stands in the sidings at Thornton Junction in the late 1950s. Standing beyond is N15 0-6-2T 69132. One of the towers of Rothes Colliery can be seen in the background.<br><br>[K A Gray //]](/images/45000/45296.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Aberdeen - Edinburgh Express V2 2.6.2 60892. Thornton Junction 19.4.1954<br><br>[G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 19/04/1954]](/images/9000/9182.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Reid N15 0-6-2T no 69143 stands in a siding at Thornton in July 1958. In the background is one of the towers of Rothes Colliery, opened by HM The Queen that year and hailed as one of the new generation of <I>Superpits</I> with a projected lifespan of 100 years. The decision was taken to abandon the site 4 years later due to flooding and geological problems.<br><br>[Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) 29/07/1958]](/images/21000/21655.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Reid ex-NBR <I>Scott</I> class 4-4-0 no 62442 <I>Simon Glover</I> stands at Thornton in July 1958. Officially withdrawn by BR that year, the locomotive was cut up in February of 1960 at Motherwell Machinery & Scrap, Wishaw.<br>
<br><br>[Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) 29/07/1958]](/images/21000/21668.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Gresley K2 2-6-0 No 61787 <I>Loch Quoich</I> at Thornton Junction on 29 July 1958. Built by Kitson & Co at their Leeds works in 1921 the locomotive spent most of its life on the West Highland line before withdrawal by BR in October 1959. Two months later 61787 became one of the 60 plus locomotives cut up by Arnott Young at Old Kilpatrick.<br><br>[Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) 29/07/1958]](/images/21000/21715.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![62475 <I>Glen Beasdale</I> in the storage sidings at Thornton in the Autumn of 1959, with the enclosed headgear of Rothes Colliery in the background. The <I>Glen</I> had been withdrawn from 62A in June and was subsequently taken to Connels of Calder for cutting up in February of 1960. <br><br>[K A Gray //1959]](/images/25000/25102.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Reid ex-NBR D30 'Scott' class 4-4-0 no 62442 <I>Simon Glover</I> awaits its fate in the sidings at Thornton Junction in 1959. Withdrawn from 62A in July 1958, the locomotive was eventually cut up at Motherwell Machinery & Scrap, Wishaw, in February 1960.<br><br>[K A Gray //1959]](/images/28000/28430.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Not quite the end of the line! McIntosh ex-Caledonian 0-4-4T no 55217 photographed while 'stored' at Thornton Junction in 1959. The locomotive subsequently experienced a new lease of life after being sent to Oban shed, presumably to work on the Ballachulish branch trains. 55217 was finally withdrawn from Oban in the summer of 1962 and cut up at Inverurie Works two months later.<br><br>[K A Gray //1959]](/images/30000/30460.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![D11 62678 'Luckie Mucklebackit' photographed on the Thornton scrapline in 1959.<br><br>[K A Gray //1959]](/images/30000/30880.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Class D49 4-4-0 no 62728 <I>Cheshire</I> photographed on shed at Thornton Junction, thought to have been taken in 1959, the year of its withdrawal.<br><br>[K A Gray //1959]](/images/31000/31660.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Scott class 4-4-0 no 62418 <I>The Pirate</I> stands on the disposal line at Thornton in 1959.<br><br>[K A Gray //1959]](/images/36000/36504.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Class J88 0-6-0T no 68335 stands alongside the repair shop at Thornton Junction in 1959. After spending its post-nationalisation years at Thornton, the locomotive was transferred to Haymarket in late December that year, where its duties included shunting the yards at Gorgie East [see image 32639]. The 1904 veteran ended its days at Dawsholm in 1962.<br><br>[K A Gray //1959]](/images/36000/36548.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Scott class 4-4-0 no 62418 <I>The Pirate</I> stands in the sidings at Thornton Junction. The photograph is thought to have been taken in 1959, the year of its withdrawal from 62A. <br><br>[K A Gray //1959]](/images/45000/45364.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Gresley Ex-LNER class D49 4-4-0 62744 <I>The Holderness</I> in the stored locomotive sidings alongside Thornton Junction shed in May 1959. The locomotive was later reprieved and transferred to Hawick shed in April 1960, where it survived for a further 8 months [see image 24467].<br><br>[Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) 19/05/1959]](/images/19000/19914.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Gresley Ex-LNER D49 62716 <I>Kincardineshire</I> on the withdrawn line at Thornton Junction in 1959.<br><br>[Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) 19/05/1959]](/images/19000/19980.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Reid ex-NB class J88 0-6-0 68322 out of use at Thornton Junction in May 1959.<br><br>[Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) 19/05/1959]](/images/20000/20142.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![McIntosh ex-Caledonian 2P 0-4-4T 55217 on shed at Thornton Junction in May 1959. The locomotive had been a regular on the Blairgowrie branch until its closure in 1955 [see image 7371]. <br><br>[Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) 19/05/1959]](/images/20000/20186.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Class D11 4-4-0 62677 <I>Edie Ochiltree</I> stands in the sidings at Thornton Junction on 19 May 1959.<br><br>[Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) 19/05/1959]](/images/20000/20994.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Lineup of locomotives at Thornton Junction shed, including class D11/2 no 62678 <I>Luckie Mucklebackit</I>. Photographed in 1959, the year of its withdrawal. <br><br>[Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) 19/05/1959]](/images/21000/21386.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Class J83 68459 stands on the stored locomotive line at Thornton Junction in 1959.<br><br>[Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) 19/05/1959]](/images/21000/21445.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![B1 4-6-0 no 61403 stands in the rain at 62A Thornton Junction in 1963.<br><br>[K A Gray 23/11/1963]](/images/31000/31427.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![J37 0-6-0s 64549 and 64564 standing in the shed yard at Thornton Junction on 23 November 1963.<br><br>[K A Gray 23/11/1963]](/images/49000/49071.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![WD Austerity 2-8-0 no 90350 in the shed yard at Thornton Junction in October 1964.<br><br>[K A Gray 30/10/1964]](/images/33000/33134.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![J37 64637 stands in the shed yard at Thornton on 30 October 1964.<br><br>[K A Gray 30/10/1964]](/images/34000/34262.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![J36 0-6-0 65345 stands in the shed yard at 62A Thornton Junction in October 1964 alongside B1 4-6-0 61350.<br><br>[K A Gray 30/10/1964]](/images/37000/37101.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![J37 0-6-0 no 64632 stands in the shed yard at Thornton Junction in October 1964.<br><br>[K A Gray 30/10/1964]](/images/41000/41866.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![B1 4-6-0 no 61147 in the shed yard at Thornton in October 1964.<br><br>[K A Gray 30/10/1964]](/images/42000/42056.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Preserved NBR 4-4-0 no 256 <I>Glen Douglas</I> at Thornton Junction on 28 August 1965 with the RCTS <I>Fife Coast Rail Tour</I>.<br><br>[G W Robin 28/08/1965]](/images/45000/45866.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Class J37 0-6-0 no 64569 stands on Thornton Junction shed on 19 October 1965.<br><br>[K A Gray 19/10/1965]](/images/32000/32056.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![B1 4-6-0 no 61133 stands on Thornton shed. Thought to have been taken during a visit in October 1965.<br><br>[K A Gray 19/10/1965]](/images/32000/32487.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![B1 4-6-0 no 61132 near Thornton Weighs signal box in October 1965 with Thornton Junction shed behind the camera. [See image 27241]<br><br>[K A Gray 19/10/1965]](/images/33000/33514.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![J37 0-6-0 no 64625 in the shed yard at Thornton in October 1965, one month after official withdrawal.<br><br>[K A Gray 19/10/1965]](/images/35000/35488.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Gresley J38 0-6-0 no 65915 on shed at Thornton Junction, thought to have been photographed on 19 October 1965. The locomotive was eventually withdrawn from here just over a year later.<br><br>[K A Gray 19/10/1965]](/images/40000/40392.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Scene at Thornton Junction in October 1965. J37 0-6-0 no 64569 simmers in the yard, while in the right background is class 08 no D3342. <br><br>[K A Gray 19/10/1965]](/images/42000/42385.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Ex-NB J36 0-6-0 65327 stands out of use in the shed yard at Thornton Junction on 19 October 1965, one month before its official withdrawal by BR. <br><br>[K A Gray 19/10/1965]](/images/51000/51448.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![WD Austerity 2-8-0 no 90640 at Thornton Junction in 1966.<br><br>[K A Gray //1966]](/images/35000/35828.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![J38 0-6-0 no 65922 in the shed yard at Thornton Junction in the summer of 1966.<br><br>[K A Gray //1966]](/images/39000/39343.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![B1 61349 stands in the sidings alongside Thornton shed around the time of its withdrawal in the summer of 1966. The towers of Rothes Colliery dominate the background. <br><br>[K A Gray //1966]](/images/41000/41081.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![J38 0-6-0 no 65914 photographed on its home shed at Thornton Junction in the summer of 1966. The locomotive was withdrawn from here some 3 months later and cut up at Arnott Young, Old Kilpatrick, in mid 1967.<br><br>[K A Gray //1966]](/images/42000/42284.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![One of Thornton Junction's J38s, no 65922, stabled in the shed yard in the summer of 1966. The 0-6-0 was withdrawn from here in October that year. <br><br>[K A Gray //1966]](/images/42000/42946.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Gresley J38 0-6-0 no 65929 photographed in the shed yard at 62A Thornton Junction in the summer of 1966.<br><br>[K A Gray //1966]](/images/43000/43324.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Inside looking out. View from Thornton shed in the summer of 1966, with 62A based B1 no 61132 apparently enjoying the sunshine in the yard. The 4-6-0 was withdrawn from here in September of that year. <br><br>[K A Gray //1966]](/images/43000/43639.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![B1 61308 stands in the sidings at Thornton Junction in the summer of 1966.<br><br>[K A Gray //1966]](/images/45000/45398.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![A pair of B1s in the shed yard at Thornton in the summer of 1966, with 61148 nearest the camera.<br><br>[K A Gray //1966]](/images/46000/46411.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Locomotives in the shed yard at Thornton Junction in 1966, with Gresley J38 no 65920 centre stage and Reid J37 no 64623 beyond.<br><br>[K A Gray //1966]](/images/46000/46871.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![J37 0-6-0 64569 stabled in the shed yard at Thornton Junction in the summer of 1966.<br><br>[K A Gray //1966]](/images/50000/50784.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Steam in the shadows, on shed at Thornton Junction in the summer of 1966. Class J38 0-6-0 no 65931 is standing on the left. The locomotive was withdrawn from Dunfermline shed in September of that year and cut up at Shipbreaking Industries, Faslane, the following January.<br><br>[K A Gray //1966]](/images/60000/60546.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![J36 0-6-0 no 65327 stored in the yard at Thornton Junction shed, thought to be in August 1966. The locomotive had been withdrawn from here 9 months earlier and was subsequently cut up at Motherwell Machinery & Scrap, Wishaw, a month after the photograph was taken.<br><br>[K A Gray /08/1966]](/images/43000/43998.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![J36 0-6-0 no 65345 on the Thornton scrap line in 1967.<br><br>[Frank Spaven Collection (Courtesy David Spaven) //1967]](/images/38000/38364.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Evening at Thornton in June 1967, looking west, a few months after the end of steam. On the left is part of Thornton Junction shed, closed the previous April. In the centre is Thornton Weighs box, one of 9 signal boxes located in the Thornton area. On the right stand the winding towers of the ill-fated Rothes Colliery. Trumpeted as one of the new <I>super pits</I> on its opening in 1958, the decision was taken to abandon it four years later due to insurmountable flooding and geological problems. Remarkably the towers stood for a further 30 years until eventually demolished using explosives in 1993.<br><br>[Frank Spaven Collection (Courtesy David Spaven) /06/1967]](/images/27000/27241.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![WD Austerity 2-8-0 no 90020 on shed at Thornton Junction on 11 June 1967.<br><br>[David Pesterfield 11/06/1967]](/images/22000/22846.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![J36 no 65345 stands under the <I>maintenance canopy</I> at Thornton Junction on 11 June 1967, around 2 months after the shed had been officially closed to steam. [Railscot note: This surviving wartime structure, known as a <I>light tunnel</I> was introduced by the LNER to facilitate locomotive maintenance during the blackout. It was 80 ft long and had whitened walls, which were fitted with fluorescent lighting, as was the white glazed brick inspection pit. All lighting was cut off automatically whenever the doors fitted to each end of the tunnel were opened. Thornton men referred to it as <I>The snake pit</I>. [See <I>Living with Locos</I> by Charlie Meacher.]<br><br>[David Pesterfield 11/06/1967]](/images/23000/23695.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Gresley V2 no 60836 stands in the sidings at Thornton in June 1967 awaiting disposal. The locomotive had been withdrawn from 62B Dundee, Tay Bridge, at the end of 1966, although it was observed at St Margarets the following March, having been put to use on steam heating duties at Craigentinny CS. The V2 was used during the first quarter of 1967, alternating with Black 5 45483. B1 61180 seems to have taken over in April and was in turn replaced by Black 5 44997 in May, with the operation ceasing in June 1967. 60836 was eventually cut up at MMS, Wishaw, in July of 1967<br><br>[David Pesterfield 11/06/1967]](/images/24000/24572.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Withdrawn from 62B, Dundee Tay Bridge, two months earlier, no 61180 is seen here in the sidings at Thornton on 11 June 1967. The B1 was presumably on its way to Wishaw where it was cut up at the Motherwell Machinery and Scrap Co at the end of July.<br>
<br><br>[David Pesterfield 11/06/1967]](/images/25000/25368.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Freights about to cross at Thornton Junction in 1971. BRCW Type 2 5322 runs under the footbridge of the closed station northbound, while an EE Type 1 has just joined the up main line at Thornton North Junction with a freight off the Fife Coast route. Mineworkings in the background are the remains of Balgonie Colliery (Julian Pit) which closed in 1960.<br><br>[John Furnevel 23/03/1971]](/images/5000/5716.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![The remains of Thornton Junction station (closed October 1969) looking south from the footbridge in March 1971. A freight is approaching from the Thornton West direction behind BRCW Type 2 no 5322.<br><br>[John Furnevel 23/03/1971]](/images/5000/5717.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![A class 26-hauled train of new track panels being passed in Thornton Junction down loop in May 1985.<br><br>[Bill Roberton /05/1985]](/images/45000/45882.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Thornton Junction looking south.<br><br>[Ewan Crawford //1988]](/images/3000/3400.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![The 07.10 Leeds-Aberdeen NXEC service passes Thornton Junction on 24 August with power car 43206 on the rear. On the right is the junction for the Methil branch. Local news reports suggest Network Rail is to officially cease maintenance on the line (although there appears to be little evidence of any such work in recent years) despite current hopes of passenger and freight revivals.<br><br>[Bill Roberton 24/08/2009]](/images/25000/25171.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![In a field near Thornton, several van bodies have been used for storage purposes. LNER, BR and LMS examples are pictured here on 24 August 2009, with a gunpowder van and SR type located nearby. [Site cleared and van bodies burned 25/02/2016.]<br><br>[Bill Roberton 24/08/2009]](/images/25000/25396.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![170411 catches the low sunshine on 5 February as it passes Thornton Junction with the 15.25 from Perth to Edinburgh. At right, the Methil branch and its signal disappear into the undergrowth.<br><br>[Bill Roberton 05/02/2012]](/images/37000/37493.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![158707 heads north at Thornton Junction on 11 September, passing 66140 lurking on the former Methil branch with a coal train from Earlseat to Hunterston. [See image 40284]<br><br>[Bill Roberton 11/09/2012]](/images/40000/40290.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![DRS 47805 leads the <I>Northern Belle</I> through the site of Thornton Junction station on its way from Glasgow Central to Perth on 14 September.<br><br>[Bill Roberton 14/09/2013]](/images/45000/45636.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![DRS 47501 brings up the rear of the <I>Northern Belle</I> on 14 September 2013 as it turns into the down loop alongside the site of Thornton Junction station. [See image 45636] <br><br>[Bill Roberton 14/09/2013]](/images/45000/45645.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Black 5s 44871+45407 pass Thornton North Junction with <I>The Cathedrals Express</I> for Inverness on 10 May 2014. [See image 47278]<br><br>[Bill Roberton 10/05/2014]](/images/47000/47297.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![Thornton Community Council commissioned this locomotive sculpture to recall the time when Station Road led to the village's station. The real Marquess is no stranger to the local tracks.<br><br>[John Yellowlees 01/04/2016]](/images/54000/54830.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![GBRf 66733 at the head of the Royal Scotsman in Thornton Down Loop.<br><br>[Bill Roberton 25/04/2016]](/images/54000/54938.jpg "Thornton Junction")
![66733 and 66746 with the Royal Scotsman parked in Thornton Down Loop for afternoon tea. The crumbling bridge in the foreground carried the branch to Balgonie Colliery's Lochtyside and Julian pits.<br>
25 April.<br><br>[Bill Roberton 25/04/2016]](/images/54000/54957.jpg "Thornton Junction")
