Wemyss Bay railway station

Wemyss Bay
Scottish Gaelic: Bàgh nan Uaimhean
Interior of the railway station
Location
Place	Wemyss Bay
Local authority	Inverclyde
Coordinates	55°52′37″N 4°53′21″W / 55.8769°N 4.8891°W / 55.8769; -4.8891Coordinates: 55°52′37″N 4°53′21″W / 55.8769°N 4.8891°W / 55.8769; -4.8891
Grid reference	NS192685
Operations
Station code	WMS
Managed by	ScotRail
Number of platforms	2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2002/03	0.161 million
2004/05	0.165 million
2005/06	0.165 million
2006/07	0.167 million
2007/08	0.176 million
2008/09	0.191 million
2009/10	0.195 million
2010/11	0.203 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	SPT
History
Original company	Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway
Pre-grouping	Caledonian Railway
Post-grouping	LMSR
15 May 1865	Opened^[1]
National Rail – UK railway stations

* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Wemyss Bay from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Wemyss Bay railway station serves the village of Wemyss Bay, Inverclyde, Scotland. The station is a terminus on the Inverclyde Line, about 26 miles (42 km) west of Glasgow Central. The station incorporates the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry terminal connecting mainland Scotland to Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. The station is managed by ScotRail.

History

Work began in late 1862 on the single track Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway branching from the main Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway at Port Glasgow and taking an inland route across to the coast at Inverkip before descending to Wemyss Bay. This was to connect to Clyde steamer services for Rothesay, Largs and 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.

Train services were electrified in 1967.

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.

Services

There is an hourly service daily to Glasgow Central.

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

References

Notes

↑ Butt (1995), page 244

Sources

Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.
Clark, A.J.C. (2001). Caley to the Coast : Rothesay by Wemyss Bay (1st ed.). Usk: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-8536-1580-2. OCLC 48979972.
McCrorie, Ian (1986). Clyde Pleasure Steamers (1st ed.). Greenock: Orr, Pollock & Co. Ltd. ISBN 1-869850-00-9. OCLC 20596284.

Gallery

The station seen from the road, with MV Bute at the slip
The pier and station from the south, with MV Coruisk being loaded
Class 303 unit 303 089 in unrefurbished condition with TransClyde markings at Wemyss Bay
The station in 1994

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wemyss Bay railway station.

YouTube video of the station's interior