Dundee West railway station

Dundee West railway station
Dundee West railway station on 1 May 1965 (top); during its demolition the following year (bottom)
General information
LocationDundee, Dundee
Scotland
Coordinates56°27′29″N 2°58′11″W / 56.4581°N 2.9698°W / 56.4581; -2.9698
Grid referenceNO403299
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyDundee and Perth Railway
Pre-groupingCaledonian Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
24 May 1847 (1847-05-24)Opened as Dundee
1848Name changed to Dundee West
1853Name changed to Dundee West Street
1856Name changed to Dundee Union Street
1866Name changed back to Dundee West
1 May 1965 (1965-05-01)Closed

Dundee West railway station served the city of Dundee, Scotland, from 1847 to 1965 on the Dundee and Perth Railway. Author John Minnis has described demolition of the "wonderful" station building (built between 1889 and 1890) as "perhaps the most tragic loss" of a piece of railway architecture in Scotland.[1]

History

The original station, which was made of wood,[2] opened as Dundee on 24 May 1847 by the Dundee and Perth Railway and was the eastern terminus of the line, Goods facilities were on both sides of the station with one line serving Dundee Earl Grey Dock, which was to the east. It went through a lot of names; the station's name was changed to Dundee West in 1848, changed to Dundee West Street in 1853, changed to Dundee Union Street in 1856 and eventually changed back to Dundee West in 1866.[3] The station was rebuilt twice: once in 1864 and again in 1890, this one being built to the west of the second station. The station closed to both passengers and goods traffic on 1 May 1965, the last train departing for Glasgow at 8 P.M.[2] It was demolished the following year to make way for a bypass to the new Tay Road Bridge.[2]

The third station, built for the Caledonian Railway in 1889–1890, was designed by Thomas Barr.[2] It was of red sandstone and built in the Scottish Baronial style.[1] Scottish architectural historian Charles McKean, and his co-authors of a book on Dundee's lost architectural heritage, described the building as "overly bombastic in nature" and suggest that it was built as "a gesture of defiance" by the Caledonian Railway in response to the arrival of an alternate route in Dundee run by its bitter rival the North British Railway via the Tay Rail Bridge.[4] It was demolished upon closure.[1] Trains ran to Manchester, Liverpool and London, while local traffic took passengers to Gleneagles, Crieff and Blairgowrie.[2] At its height, the station employed scores of people and handled 15,000 tons of minerals (mostly coal for Dundee's factories).[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Minnis, John (2014). Britain's Lost Railways. The Twentieth-Century Destruction of Our Finest Railway Architecture. London: Aurum Press Ltd. p. 71. ISBN 978 1 78131 863 8.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Last train was standing at Dundee West 55 years ago" - The Courier, 22 April 2020, p. 21
  3. ^ Quick, M E (2002). Railway passenger stations in England, Scotland and Wales - a chronology. Richmond: Railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 153. OCLC 931112387.
  4. ^ McKean, Charles; Whatley, Patricia; with Baxter, Kenneth (2013). Lost Dundee. Dundee's Lost Architectural Heritage (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Birlinn. p. 228. ISBN 978-1-78027-106-4.
Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Terminus   Dundee and Perth Railway   Magdalen Green
Line partially open, station closed
Terminus   Dundee and Newtyle Railway   Liff
Line partially open, station closed