Kilwinning East Railway Station

Kilwinning East railway station was a railway station serving the town of Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland as part of the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway.

History

The station opened on 3 September 1888 and was simply known as Kilwinning. It closed between 1st January 1917 and 1st February 1919 due to the First World War, and upon the grouping of the L&AR into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923, the station was renamed Kilwinning East on 2nd June 1924. The station closed permanently to regular passenger traffic on 4th July 1932.

Today there is no trace of this station, and the site is occupied by Caley House (named after L&AR owners Caledonian Railway) and the Cornerstone Church. A large viaduct at the extreme north of the town is the only physical reminder that Kilwinning was once served by this line.

Kilwinning was once served by two railway companies, the Glasgow & South Western and the Caledonian, both with their own stations and lines. The "Caley" line opened to Kilwinning in 1888. Passenger services were withdrawn in 1932, but the station buildings largely remained until 1956 when the long corridor along the street level and stairway down to the platforms were taken down and the area was flattened. The site was used mainly for parking and hosting 'The Shows' or travelling fairs. Part of the main station building was kept for a while and was converted into a fish and chip shop.

The site remained vacant until the joint YMCA/YWCA and the Cornerstone Church was built in 1985, designed by Irvine Development Corporation in a shape to reflect the old booking hall, at a cost of one million pounds. It is now flats known as Caley House.

The railway line passed under the road of course, but the "bridge" still exists, filled in and buried under the new development and landscaping.

A large stone viaduct bridge, still to be seen today, was constructed by Robert McAlpine for the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway Company in 1886, north of the Woodwynd housing estate to carry rail traffic over the river Garnock, and forms part of a popular country walk.

Image Gallery

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  Kilwinning viaduct on the route leading to Kilwinning East Station.

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  Kilwinning East Station entrance in 1910.

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Line Information

Preceding Station	Historical Railways			Following Station
Stevenston Moorpark Line and Station Closed		Caledonian Railway Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway		Auchenmade Line and Station Closed
Bogside Line and Station Closed		Caledonian Railway Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway		Auchenmade Line and Station Closed