Brackenhills Railway Station

Brackenhills railway station was a railway station approximately one mile south-west of the town of Beith, close to Barkip, North Ayrshire, Scotland, part of the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway.

History

The station opened on 1 September 1906 on the branch to Kilbirnie.<ref name="butt41">Butt, page 41</ref> The station closed on 1 December 1930.<ref name="butt41"/>

Today the station platform still exists though it is overgrown and in very poor condition. The stationmaster's house is now a private residence.

The 1858 Ordnance Survey (OS) shows a 'weighing machine' at what was eventually to become Brackenhills railway station, related to the Hillhead Railway to Broadstone limestone quarry, the exchange and offloading bay for which were nearby. Many other ironstone and limestone also quarries existed in the immediate area. The 1897 OS map shows a 'Brackenhills Siding' at the site and the station is shown on the 1920s map.

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  The nearby railway bridge over the Powgree Burn in the Kersland Glen.

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  The old railway cutting running from Brackenhills into the Kersland Glen.

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  An exposed portion of the old loading dock in the goods yard area.

Services

A shuttle service ran via this station on the way to Giffen from Kilbirnie and back, with around nine return journeys per day during the week and an extra two on Saturdays.<ref name="stansfield28">Stansfield, p. 28</ref> In 1912 the local paper reported that 16 trains per day ran to Ardrossan and Glasgow Central station from Brackenhills.<ref>Reid, Donald L. & Monahan, Isobel F. (1999). Yesterday's Beith. A Pictorial Guide. Beith : Duke of Edinburgh Award. ISBN 0-9522720-5-9. P. 84</ref>

Freight

The LMS appendix records<ref name=app>LMS AppendixTemplate:Full</ref> that

Brackenhills Station siding. - This siding may be worked by trains proceeding from Giffen towards Kilbirnie (South), and during shunting operations the points must be set for the siding and remain in that position until the work is completed.
This siding may also be worked by trains not exceeding 12 wagons and brake van coming from Glengarnock (High) and proceeding towards Giffen. In such cases the train must be taken in side the sidings, and no vehicle is to be left on the main branch line. The station master at Brackenhills must inform the signalman at Glengarnock (High) by telegraph when there is traffic to lift and the train must be signalled in accordance with Train Tablet Regulation 8.

Preceding Station	Historical Railways			Following Station
Glengarnock Line and station closed		Caledonian Railway Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway		Giffen Line and station closed

References

Notes

<references/>

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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• LMS Appendix
• Template:Stansfield-AyrRenfrew
• Brackenhills station on navigable OS map

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