Wemyss Bay railway station

Coordinates: 55°52′37″N 4°53′21″W / 55.8769°N 4.8891°W / 55.8769; -4.8891
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Wemyss Bay

LMS
Key dates
15 May 1865Opened[2]
Passengers
2018/19Steady 0.214 million
2019/20Decrease 0.202 million
2020/21Decrease 34,738
2021/22Increase 0.123 million
2022/23Increase 0.164 million
Listed Building – Category A
Designated10 June 1971
Reference no.LB12473[3]
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road
The station seen from the road, with MV Bute at the slip
The pier and station from the south, with MV Coruisk being loaded

Wemyss Bay railway station serves the village of

Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. The station is managed by ScotRail
.

In Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations by Simon Jenkins, the station was one of only ten to be awarded five stars,[4] and was the station photographed on the front cover.

The station won the 2023 World Cup of Stations, organised by the Rail Delivery Group.[5]

History

Work began in late 1862 on the

Millport, Isle of Cumbrae, allowing a combined train and steamer journey time of an hour and a half, compared with a typical time of three hours by steamer from Glasgow. The Wemyss Bay Steamboat Company was formed to own the connecting steamers, competing with the private owners of other Clyde steamer services. The route opened on 15 May 1865, but over-ambitious timetables led to severe delays during the first year, damaging the company's reputation, and the route subsequently faced strong competition from other pierheads. A camping coach was positioned here by the Scottish Region in 1961, then two coaches from 1962 to 1969, with an additional one in 1965 only.[6]

Train services were electrified in 1967 by British Rail, using the 25 kV AC system.

Station building

The station was designed by James Miller in 1903 for the Caledonian Railway and is remarkable in its use of glass and steel curves. The station is noted for its architectural qualities and, although one of Scotland's finest railway buildings and Category A listed, it has suffered from neglect. A major refurbishment scheme carried out jointly by Network Rail, Inverclyde Council and the Scottish Government from June 2014 to the spring of 2016 has seen the station buildings and adjacent ferry terminal fully restored.[7][8]

Two platforms are currently in use, though there were three available until 1987.

Services

There is an hourly service daily to Paisley Gilmour Street and Glasgow Central (including Sundays), with one or two extra weekday peak trains.[9] The average journey time is 55 minutes.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Terminus   ScotRail
Inverclyde Line
   Inverkip
"boat icon" Ferry services
Rothesay
   Caledonian MacBrayne
Bute Ferry 		  Terminus
  Historical railways  
Terminus   Caledonian Railway
Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway
   Inverkip
Line and station open

See also

References

  1. ^ Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
  2. ^ Butt 1995, p. 244.
  3. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "WEMYSS BAY RAILWAY STATION (LB12473)". Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  4. ^ Morrison, Richard (9 December 2017). "Review: Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations by Simon Jenkins". Thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Wemyss Bay is top of the stops and crowned the UK's best loved station and World Cup of Stations champion 2023". Rail Delivery Group News. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  6. ^ McRae 1998, p. 13.
  7. ^ "Station Restored – July 2016". Friends of Wemyss Bay Station. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  8. ^ "Station improvements for Wemyss Bay". Largs & Millport Weekly News. 27 June 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  9. ^ Table 219 National Rail timetable, May 2016

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wemyss Bay railway station.
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