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Coordinates: 55°38′18″N 4°35′27″W / 55.6383°N 4.5907°W / 55.6383; -4.5907
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Cunninghamhead
Cunninghamhead station looking north c.1930
General information
LocationCunninghamhead, Ayrshire
Scotland
Coordinates55°38′18″N 4°35′27″W / 55.6383°N 4.5907°W / 55.6383; -4.5907
Grid referenceNS369413
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyGlasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway
Pre-groupingGlasgow and South Western Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
4 April 1843Opened as Stewarton
22 May 1848Closed
November 1850Reopened
1 September 1873Renamed Cunninghamhead
1 January 1955Closed permanently

Cunninghamhead railway station was a railway station serving the hamlet of Cunninghamhead, North Ayrshire and the town of Stewarton, East Ayrshire, Scotland. The station was originally part of the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway and later the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR).

History

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The station opened on 4 April 1843 as Stewarton,[1] despite being several miles away from Stewarton itself. A dedicated horse drawn carriage service operated to carry passengers from Stewarton to the station for a number of years.[citation needed] The station closed on 22 May 1848,[1] reopened again in November 1850,[1] and was eventually renamed Cunninghamhead on 1 September 1873.[1]

The station closed permanently to passengers on 1 January 1955,[2] although the line was still in use by freight trains and diverted passenger trains until 23 October 1973.[3]

Description

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The station consisted of two side platforms, with a moderately sized building on the southbound platform, and a small sandstone shelter on the northbound platform. A stationmaster's house was present, a signal box was located a short distance away, and a goods shed and a small weigh house[4] with extensive cattle docks and other sidings were located behind the northbound platform.

The station looking south-east toward Kilmarnock, c. 1930

Many of the Ayrshire or Cunninghame breed of cattle were sent from here to all parts of the United Kingdom and the British Empire beyond.[citation needed] The Ayrshire cattle breed were even sent from nearby Wheatrig Farm to restock the Falkland Islands after the war with Argentina.[citation needed] An electric telegraph was located at this point of the railway in 1860.[4] By 1963 the northbound platform had been removed, however the southbound platform and main station building remained intact.[3] A single running line and some sidings were all that remained here at closure.

Little remains of the station site today, aside from the cattle docks, parts of the station garden and the remains of the signal box. Slightly to the north along the former line a viaduct over the Annick Water remains intact, having been restored in 2005/2006.[citation needed] A footpath had run down from Cunninghamhead House to the station, reaching the road via an embankment in the field and passing through the fine sandstone wall which runs down from the bridge. The footpath 'gap' was closed in 2006 when this wall was rebuilt.

Industrial

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The station site looking south-east towards Busbie Junction and Kilmarnock in 2007

A mineral line ran from just south of the station in 1895 past Overtoun Farm towards Southhook and Springside, however the line was lifted by 1911.[5] A short siding to Annick Lodge mining pit existed to the north of the station in 1860, however it was lifted (and the pit closed) by 1895.[6] Further north along the line was a siding serving Annick Lodge Colliery.[7]

Above the station in 1860 was a cottage, called Standalane, lying on the left hand side of the old road to Springside, which is now closed, as a new road has been made closer to Irvine for traffic safety reasons. Standalane's position in 1897 is shown as being almost on the mineral line; The OS maps after this date do not show it at all. In 1776, plate 45 of G. Taylor and A. Skinner's 'Survey and maps of the roads of North Britain or Scotland' shows 'Standalone' marked, so the dwelling was of some significant antiquity. The old sandstone parapet of the bridge overlooking the site of Cunninghamhead railway station has many naive carvings on it, made over the years by local children and pupils from the local school as they waited and watched the old steam and diesel trains going by.

An accident is recorded in which an Elizabeth Kennedy lost both arms when she fell beneath a train here at sometime around 1885 to 1900.[citation needed]

A map of the area in 1897

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d Butt, p. 220
  2. ^ Butt, p. 74
  3. ^ a b Stansfield, p. 18
  4. ^ a b Ordnance Survey (1860)
  5. ^ The 1895 OS map shows the mineral line, but it is not present on the 1911 map or later.
  6. ^ The 1860 OS map shows the siding, but it is not present on the 1895 map or later.
  7. ^ Ordnance Survey (1895)

Sources

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  • 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.
  • Cunninghamhead (Map). 1:10,560. Ordnance Survey. 1860.
  • Cunninghamhead (Map). 1:10,560. Ordnance Survey. 1895.
  • Cunninghamhead (Map). 1:10,560. Ordnance Survey. 1911.
  • Stansfield, G. (1999). Ayrshire & Renfrewshire's Lost Railways. Ochiltree: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 1-8403-3077-5.
Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Crosshouse
Line and station closed
  Glasgow and South Western Railway
Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway
  Dalry Junction
1843 - 1860
Line and station closed
  Glasgow and South Western Railway
Dalry and Kilmarnock Line
  Dalry
1860 - 1878
Line closed; station open
  G&SWR / LMS / British Railways
Dalry and Kilmarnock Line
  Montgreenan
1878 - 1955
Line and station closed

[[Category:Disused railway stations in North Ayrshire]] [[Category:Railway stations opened in 1843]] [[Category:Railway stations closed in 1955]]