Ardrossan North railway station was a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

serving the town of

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore ...

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Àir a Tuath, ) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and so ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

as part of the

Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway The Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway (L&AR) was an independent railway company built to provide the Caledonian Railway with a shorter route for mineral traffic from the coalfields of Lanarkshire to Ardrossan Harbour, in Scotland. It opened in st ...

(L&AR). The station was the original Ardrossan

terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

for this line until the nearby pier station opened two years later.

History

The station opened on 3 September 1888 and was simply known as Ardrossan.Butt, page 18 The opening ceremony for the L&AR was held here, with the first passenger train service also departing here for

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. On 1 October 1906 the station became known as Ardrossan Town, and was later closed between 1 January 1917 and 1 February 1919 due to

wartime economy A war economy or wartime economy is the set of contingencies undertaken by a modern state to mobilize its economy for war production. Philippe Le Billon describes a war economy as a "system of producing, mobilizing and allocating resources to ...

Joining the

Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively extended its network and reached Edinburgh an ...

, the L&AR was absorbed into the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...

during the

Grouping Grouping may refer to: * Muenchian grouping * Principles of grouping * Railways Act 1921, also known as Grouping Act, a reorganisation of the British railway system * Grouping (firearms), the pattern of multiple shots from a sidearm See also ...

of 1923. The station was renamed Ardrossan North on 2 June 1924. Other alternative names for the station were Ardrossan Montgomerie Street and Ardrossan Caledonian. The station closed to regular passenger services on 4 July 1932, however it was used for special passenger services until 1939. The line was taken into the

Scottish Region of British Railways The Scottish Region (ScR) was one of the six regions created on British Railways (BR) and consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and ex-London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) lines in Scotland. It existed from the creation o ...

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

in 1948, seeing use for trains going to Montgomerie Pier and the nearby Shell Mex plant until 1968. All of the track north of the station was removed in 1970, however the spur line from the former

Ardrossan Railway The Ardrossan Railway was a railway company in Scotland, whose line was built in the mid-19th century. It primarily ran services between Kilwinning and Ardrossan, as well as freight services to and from collieries between Kilwinning and Perceton. ...

to the south remained intact serving the nearby

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plant until the 1980s. Today parts of the station platforms are still in existence, though heavily overgrown. The site of the station building is now occupied by the depot for

Clyde Coast Coaches Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a t ...

.McSherry, page 36 The bridge that passed over the station was demolished in March 2008 and platforms underneath partially removed. The platforms remained until 2017, when they made way for a new housing development.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * *
Stations on navigable O.S. map.Intermediate station on branch north of harbour entrance.
{{end box Disused railway stations in North Ayrshire Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1888 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1917 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1919 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1932 1888 establishments in Scotland 1932 disestablishments in Scotland Former Caledonian Railway stations Ardrossan−Saltcoats−Stevenston