West Kilbride

Location type

Station

Name and dates

West Kilbride (1878-)

Station code: WKB National Rail ScotRail
Where: North Ayrshire, Scotland
Opened on the Largs Branch (Glasgow and South Western Railway).
Open on the Kilwinning, Ardrossan and Largs.

Description

This is a single platform station. There are, however, two lines. The line nearest the platform is used in both directions by Glasgow Central - Largs trains. The same line was used by freight going north to the Hunterston Ore Terminal. The other line was used by southbound trains coming from Hunterston only.

A Glasgow and South Western Railway single storey station building remains on the platform. The building has a full length glazed canopy over the platform. It is an Arts and Crafts style building. With its white walls and red tiled roof there is something of Turnberry Hotel about it, albeit with some Tudor aspects to West Kilbride. The architect was probably James Miller.

This station was briefly the terminus of the Largs Branch (Glasgow and South Western Railway) before its extension north to Fairlie Pier in 1880. Rebuilding of the station came in 1900 when the present building was erected.

This was a two platform station with a goods yard on the west side, approached from the north. The goods yard is now housing. Little trace now remains of the former southbound platform, covered footbridge and station building which was in a recess.

The station was noted for a very tall signal box, of 1878, at the north end on the east side of the line.

The southbound platform was removed in the run up to electrification in 1986. The signal box had closed previously in 1981. The remaining station building fell into very poor condition but was restored in the early 1990s.

A small building close to the road bridge also survived, but has been demolished.

Tags

Station terminus Arts and Crafts

External links

Canmore site record
NLS Collection OS map of 1892-1914
NLS Collection OS map of 1944-67
11/07/2022

Facilities

Bike rack
Free parking
Taxi rank
Unstaffed


Chronology Dates

  /  /1878Largs Branch (Glasgow and South Western Railway)
First portion of line opened to West Kilbride.

News items

22/02/2021Ardrossan to Largs train disruption set to continue until late March [Ardrossan Herald]
21/02/2021Transport chiefs leave group 'in the dark' over Largs railway line re-opening [Largs and Millport Weekly News]
19/02/2021Railway to be restored to West Kilbride on Monday but longer wait for Fairlie [Largs and Millport Weekly News]
19/02/2021Customer update: Largs line landslip recovery works [Network Rail]
06/02/2021Glasgow train services hit by flooding in West Kilbride [Evening Times]
06/02/2021'Significant' landslips and flooding block Scottish rail lines [Scotsman]
04/12/2008Converted station building wins heritage award [Railways Illustrated]
11/08/2004Weather leads to service cancellations in Scotland [Railscot]

Books


Gourock to Largs Coast Through Time

Largs 1895: Ayrshire Sheet 03.12 (Old Ordnance Survey Maps of Ayrshire)

Old Largs

Old West Kilbride