Bathgate Upper 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

Bathgate Bathgate ( sco, Bathket or , gd, Both Chèit) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Armadale, Blackburn, Linlithgow, Livingston, West Calder and Whitburn. Situated sout ...

West Lothian West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...

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 ...

. It was located on the

Bathgate and Coatbridge Railway The Bathgate and Coatbridge Railway, also known as the "New Monkland Line", was built by Monkland Railways. It opened on 28 July 1863. The line was absorbed into the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway on 31 July 1865. The following day (1 August 1865) ...

History

Bathgate was opened by the

Edinburgh and Bathgate Railway Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of ...

on 12 November 1849, being renamed Bathgate Upper on 1 August 1865 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 ...

at the same time as the

Monkland Railways The Monkland Railways was a railway company formed in 1848 by the merger of three "coal railways" that had been built to serve coal and iron pits around Airdrie in Central Scotland, and connect them to canals for onward transport of the minerals ...

station of the same name was renamed Bathgate Lower. The station lay on a curve immediately next to Bathgate West Junction, approximately 300 yards north west of the western end of the current station. A loop line existed behind the down platform, and from this line a branch ran to Mosside and Riddochhill collieries. Continuing through the station, a line branched off to the right to the Bathgate branch of the

. (This was known as the Blackston Branch in North British documentation). Slightly further west was a triangular junction. The line passed Boghead Colliery. 28 chains (slightly over a quarter of a mile) from Upper Station lay Polkemmet Junction. From here, the line continued west as the

, while the

Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway The Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway was a railway opened in 1845, primarily for mineral traffic, although a passenger service was run sporadically. The line ran from a junction with the Wishaw and Coltness Railway at Chapel, to Longri ...

headed due south. The station was closed on 9 January 1956. The railway route through the station was re-opened in 2011 as part of the

Airdrie–Bathgate rail link The Airdrie–Bathgate rail link is a completed railway project in central Scotland. Instigated as part of a round of transport improvement projects proposed by the then Scottish Executive in 2003, the plan was to open up a fourth direct railw ...

, but the station itself has not been re-opened.

Services

References

Notes

Sources

* * * {{Jowett-Nationalised * Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link

External links

RAILSCOT on Edinburgh and Bathgate Railway

Disused railway stations in West Lothian Former North British Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1849 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1956 1849 establishments in Scotland Bathgate