Philpstoun railway station

Philpstoun
General information
LocationPhilpstoun, West Lothian
Scotland
Coordinates55°58′38″N 3°30′58″W / 55.9773°N 3.5161°W / 55.9773; -3.5161
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyEdinburgh and Glasgow Railway
Pre-groupingNorth British Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
21 February 1842Opened[1]
18 June 1951Closed[1]

Philpstoun railway station was a railway station in the village of Philpstoun, to the east of Linlithgow in West Lothian, Scotland. It was located on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway.

History

Philpstoun station was opened by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway on 21 February 1842.[1] It was closed on 18 June 1951 by British Railways.[1]

The area around Philpstoun, in common with others in West Lothian, was an extremely busy centre for shale mining and petroleum manufacturing for almost a century, and this was reflected in the railways around Philpstoun. The station itself was situated in a deep cutting, and had two platforms. Immediately to the west, a facing junction, with crossovers and a looping facilities connected to a set of exchange sidings at Westfield, and these ran into Philpstoun No 1 shale mine. Extensive sidings connected within the facility, and a short branch ran just west of the (still extant) shale bings, crossing the canal, and continuing past Easter Pardovan in a southerly direction to serve a shale pit at Ochiltree (just north west of Threemiletown). A tramway ran in the same direction on the eastern flank of the bings. A trailing siding left the main up line near Pardovan, this was known as Pardovan siding and originally served a quarry.

Further west, a line branched from the down main via a trailing junction and ran adjacent to the mainline for some 500 yards before swinging south west, passing Champfleurie, before swinging south to serve oil works and a shale mine between Bridgend and Wester Ochiltree.

The course of these lines can be seen on Sheet 32 (Ordnance Survey Maps One-inch "Third" edition, Scotland, 1903–1912)[2] on the National Library of Scotland digital library (Maps).[3]

Services

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Winchburgh
Line open, station closed 		  North British Railway
Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway 		  Linlithgow
Line and Station open
Dalmeny
Line and station open 		  North British Railway
Forth Bridge connecting lines 		 

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Butt (1995), p. 185
  2. ^ Sheet32 (Ordnance Survey Maps One-inch "Third" edition, Scotland, 1903-1912)
  3. ^ National Library of Scotland digital library Archived 15 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine

Sources

  • Butt, R. V. J. (October 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 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
  • 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 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
  • Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
  • North British Railway 1896 Western, Monkland and West Highland working timetable
  • Philpstoun station on navigable OS map