Balmore Railway Station
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Balmore railway station was opened in 1879 on the
Kelvin Valley Railway The Kelvin Valley Railway was an independent railway designed to connect Kilsyth, an important mining town in central Scotland, with the railway network. It connected Kilsyth to Kirkintilloch and thence over other railways to the ironworks of Co ...
and served the coal mining area, farms and the village of
Balmore Balmore (from the Scottish Gaelic "Baile Mòr" meaning a large settlement) is a small village formerly in the county of Stirlingshire, but now lies in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, located 1 km west of Torrance and 5 km east of Milng ...
in
East Dunbartonshire East Dunbartonshire ( sco, Aest Dunbartanshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Bhreatainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north of Glasgow and contains many of the affluent areas to the north of the city, including Bear ...
until 1951 for passengers and to freight on 31/7/61 .


History

Opened by the
North British Railway The North British Railway was a British railway company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, and from the outset the company followe ...
, it became part of the
London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...
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 line passed to 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 ...
upon
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 who then officially closed Balmore in 1951. The line suffered greatly from competition by bus services although the station was located conveniently near to the small village. In 1956 the Torrance to Kelvin Valley East Junction closed and the surviving section of the west part of the line was utilised for drivers being trained to use DMU's. In 1959 the Torrance to Balmore closed. In 1960 an SLS enthusiasts' railtour ran on the line, hauled by the preserved locomotive 'Glen Douglas'.


Infrastructure

The platform and wooden station building with its ticket office, waiting room, canopy, etc. stood on the northern side of this single track line with two sidings on the southern side, a second added circa 1900, running to the east with a short loading dock and worked from the west with a brick built weighing machine house and a lineman's hut. The main station building stood at the western end of the platform. An overbridge stood to the east with steps down leading to a path to the station buildings. The name 'Balmore' was cut into the grass on the side of the south facing embankment. To the west a bridge carried the line over the road. A stationmaster's house stood close to the road. In 1958 the station is no longer shown, however the siding remains and to the east a mineral line diverges off to the Balmore Colliery mine, lying below Bargeny Hill, that closed in 1960. NS6073 - A - Surveyed/Revised: 1957, Published:1957
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The site today

The stationmaster's house remains as a private dwelling however the station and railway bridge have been demolished.


References


Notes


Sources

* * Wignall, C.J. (1983). ''Complete British Railways Maps and Gazetteer From 1830-1981.'' Oxford : Oxford Publishing Co. . {{Transport in Glasgow Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1879 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1951 Former North British Railway stations 1878 establishments in Scotland 1951 disestablishments in Scotland