Wemyss Bay railway station

Wemyss Bay National Rail
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°WCoordinates: 55°52′37″N 4°53′21″W / 55.8769°N 4.8891°W
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

  1. Butt (1995), page 244

Sources

Gallery

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wemyss Bay railway station.