Bardowie railway station was opened in 1905 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 ...

, later than most of the other stations which had opened with the line itself in 1879. It served the hamlet of

Bardowie Bardowie is a hamlet in East Dunbartonshire located within the civil parish of Baldernock. It is from Milngavie and from Strathblane. Along with other settlements in Baldernock, it was part of Stirlingshire until 1975, when Bardowie became pa ...

and the coal mining area, farms, etc. 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 Bea ...

until 1931 for passengersWignal (1983), Page 4 and to freight on 31 July 1961.

History

Opened by the North British Railway, it became part of the London and North Eastern Railway 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 upon nationalisation. Another source gives the opening date as 1905. Bardowie had coal mining waste tips or bings lying to the north of the station. The line remained open to passengers until 1951. In 1959 the line east of Torrance closed. 1961 was the closure date for goods and mineral freight traffic. It was intended to build around 500 houses in the locality as indicated by the functionally oversized width of Station Road and the orientation of ‘Beechwood’ house on Balmore Road and 1 Station Road at the proposed main entrance to the estate. A large and actively used mining waste disposal bing detracted from the rural setting and the housing that the station was built to serve were never built explaining the early 1931 closure date of Bardowie station. Bardowie Loch and castle lie nearby. Closure of the Kelvin Valley line to passengers was on 20 July 1951, but it remained as a through route until 1956; goods traffic ceased on 1 May 1952. The track was still in situ in 1961.

Infrastructure

The single platform and station building with its ticket office, waiting room, canopy, etc. stood on the northern side of this single track line with sidings and cross over sidings on the northern side serving the waste disposal areas on either side of Station Road, etc. A weighing machine house and a stationmaster's house were present. A signal box is shown at the eastern end of the station. The main station building stood at the eastern end of the platform. The 1957 OS map shows a passing loop just to the east of the old station on the single track line with all the trackwork otherwise lifted from the spoil bings, etc.NS57SE - A (includes: Baldernock; Cadder; Glasgow; New Kilpatrick) Surveyed / Revised: Pre-1930 to 1957
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The site today

The stationmaster's house survives as a private dwelling however the station and a mound represents the old platform site.

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 1905 Railway stations closed in 1931 Former North British Railway stations