Bo'ness railway station
Encyclopedia
Bo'ness railway station is a tourist railway station in Bo'ness
, Falkirk
, Scotland
. This station is not the original Bo'ness railway station, which was located roughly a quarter mile west on Seaview Place. The site of the original station is now a car park.
, a footbridge and a trainshed which covers the platforms. This is the eastmost station of the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway, which is operated by the Scottish Railway Preservation Society
.
The buildings in the station area were brought to Bo'ness in the 1980s, saving each of them from permanent demolition elsewhere. Of these, the trainshed is the most important historically. It was originally built at Edinburgh station, and was the original Edinburgh terminus of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway
, which opened in February 1842. At Haymarket, two similar trainshed bays stood side by side and abutted the two-storey station offices building which still stands today. Haymarket station remained a terminus only until 1846, when the railway was extended partly in tunnel and partly in cutting through the Waverley Gardens to Waverley station. The extension passed by the Haymarket trainshed on its southern side. When traffic through Haymarket increased after the opening of the Forth Bridge, the tracks into Waverley were quadrupled. To make space for these tracks, the southern bay of the original trainshed was demolished. The northern bay remained standing, latterly providing no more than car parking space, until plans for alterations to the station in the 1980s required its removal. As the building was listed, it was carefully removed for re-erection at Bo'ness. This work was managed by Sir Robert McAlpine
& Sons.
Cast iron columns and arched spans support the trainshed roof, which is slated on wooden sarking in the standard Scottish manner. The roof trusses are of wrought iron tension member
s and cast iron posts, and all the ironwork is detailed in a light classical style. At Bo'ness, as at Haymarket, there are no smoke ventilators, though smoke troughs have been added to reduce soiling from locomotive exhausts.
The station office building at Bo'ness was originally built by the North British Railway
at Wormit
, on the south shore of the Tay facing Dundee. This station was located on the Tayport branch, close to the end of the Tay Bridge
, and opened at the same time as the second bridge, in 1887.
Bo'ness signal box is a standard Caledonian Railway structure. It was originally Garnqueen South Junction box, the location where the route of the Caledonian Railway Main Line
, heading north, diverged from the route of the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway
.
The footbridge adjacent originally stood at Murthly station, on the Highland Railway main line north of Perth.
As a group, the buildings are listed by Historic Scotland in Category A.
The stone built goods shed and the buffet building housing the Bo'ness tourist information centre are modern construction.
Being base of the SRPS
's many operational fields such as railtours, steam and diesel locomotive restoration and maintenance and facilities for maintenance of the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway itself requires a sizable yard, a diesel MMPD, a steam traction running shed and restoration building (Romney Hut), a coaling stage and water column, a carriage and wagon restoration and storage building and signalling stores among other facilities.
A new storage shed between the MMPD and the carriage and wagon building is currently being erected to provided housing for railway artifacts that are currently left out in the open such as the BR Class 303 EMU
"Blue Train" and the BR Class 126 Inter-City DMU
along with various rolling stock and possibly diesel locomotives. Major work is under way realigning sidings in preparation for this new development.
Bo'ness
Bo'ness, properly Borrowstounness, is a coastal town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on a hillside on the south bank of the Firth of Forth within the Falkirk council area, north-west of Edinburgh and east of Falkirk. At the 2001 census, Bo'ness had a resident population of 13,961...
, Falkirk
Falkirk (council area)
Falkirk is one of the 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland. It borders onto North Lanarkshire to the south west, Stirling to the north west, West Lothian to the south east and, across the Firth of Forth to the north east, Fife and Clackmannanshire...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. This station is not the original Bo'ness railway station, which was located roughly a quarter mile west on Seaview Place. The site of the original station is now a car park.
Facilities
The station has a booking office, a café, a shop and a tourist information office. There is also a car park, a bay platformBay platform
Bay platform is a railway-related term commonly used in the UK and Australia to describe a dead-end platform at a railway station that has through lines...
, a footbridge and a trainshed which covers the platforms. This is the eastmost station of the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway, which is operated by the Scottish Railway Preservation Society
Scottish Railway Preservation Society
The Scottish Railway Preservation Society is a charity, whose principal objective is the preservation and advancement of railway heritage in Scotland. The Society was formed in 1961, and it has been actively collecting and displaying railway artifacts of Scottish significance ever since...
.
The buildings in the station area were brought to Bo'ness in the 1980s, saving each of them from permanent demolition elsewhere. Of these, the trainshed is the most important historically. It was originally built at Edinburgh station, and was the original Edinburgh terminus of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway
Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway
The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was a railway built to link Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Act of Parliament for building the railway received its Royal Assent in 1838 which was open on 28 July 1863. Services started between Glasgow Queen Street and Haymarket on 21 February 1842. The line was...
, which opened in February 1842. At Haymarket, two similar trainshed bays stood side by side and abutted the two-storey station offices building which still stands today. Haymarket station remained a terminus only until 1846, when the railway was extended partly in tunnel and partly in cutting through the Waverley Gardens to Waverley station. The extension passed by the Haymarket trainshed on its southern side. When traffic through Haymarket increased after the opening of the Forth Bridge, the tracks into Waverley were quadrupled. To make space for these tracks, the southern bay of the original trainshed was demolished. The northern bay remained standing, latterly providing no more than car parking space, until plans for alterations to the station in the 1980s required its removal. As the building was listed, it was carefully removed for re-erection at Bo'ness. This work was managed by Sir Robert McAlpine
Sir Robert McAlpine
Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd. is a private British company headquartered in London. It carries out engineering and construction for the oil and gas, petrochemical, power generation, nuclear, pharmaceutical, defence, chemical, water and mining industries.-History:...
& Sons.
Cast iron columns and arched spans support the trainshed roof, which is slated on wooden sarking in the standard Scottish manner. The roof trusses are of wrought iron tension member
Tension member
Tension members are structural elements that are subjected to axial tensile forces. They are usually used in different types of structures. Examples of tension members are: bracing for buildings and bridges, truss members, and cables in suspended roof systems....
s and cast iron posts, and all the ironwork is detailed in a light classical style. At Bo'ness, as at Haymarket, there are no smoke ventilators, though smoke troughs have been added to reduce soiling from locomotive exhausts.
The station office building at Bo'ness was originally built by the North British Railway
North British Railway
The North British Railway was a Scottish railway company that was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923.-History:...
at Wormit
Wormit
Wormit is a small town located on the banks of the Firth of Tay in north east Fife, Scotland. It is most famous for its location at the southern end of the Tay Rail Bridge. Its railway station was on a closed branch line which left the main line railway immediately at the south end of the Bridge...
, on the south shore of the Tay facing Dundee. This station was located on the Tayport branch, close to the end of the Tay Bridge
Tay Rail Bridge
The Tay Bridge is a railway bridge approximately two and a quarter miles long that spans the Firth of Tay in Scotland, between the city of Dundee and the suburb of Wormit in Fife ....
, and opened at the same time as the second bridge, in 1887.
Bo'ness signal box is a standard Caledonian Railway structure. It was originally Garnqueen South Junction box, the location where the route of the Caledonian Railway Main Line
Caledonian Railway Main Line
The Caledonian Main Line represents most of the original route of the Caledonian Railway: a major Scottish railway company. The company was formed in 1830 and was absorbed almost a century later into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, in the 1923 railway grouping, by means of the Railways...
, heading north, diverged from the route of the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway
Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway
The Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway was an early mineral railway running from a colliery at Monklands to the Forth and Clyde Canal at Kirkintilloch, Scotland....
.
The footbridge adjacent originally stood at Murthly station, on the Highland Railway main line north of Perth.
As a group, the buildings are listed by Historic Scotland in Category A.
The stone built goods shed and the buffet building housing the Bo'ness tourist information centre are modern construction.
Being base of the SRPS
Scottish Railway Preservation Society
The Scottish Railway Preservation Society is a charity, whose principal objective is the preservation and advancement of railway heritage in Scotland. The Society was formed in 1961, and it has been actively collecting and displaying railway artifacts of Scottish significance ever since...
's many operational fields such as railtours, steam and diesel locomotive restoration and maintenance and facilities for maintenance of the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway itself requires a sizable yard, a diesel MMPD, a steam traction running shed and restoration building (Romney Hut), a coaling stage and water column, a carriage and wagon restoration and storage building and signalling stores among other facilities.
A new storage shed between the MMPD and the carriage and wagon building is currently being erected to provided housing for railway artifacts that are currently left out in the open such as the BR Class 303 EMU
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
"Blue Train" and the BR Class 126 Inter-City DMU
Diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
along with various rolling stock and possibly diesel locomotives. Major work is under way realigning sidings in preparation for this new development.