Twechar railway station was opened in 1878 as Gavell 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 renamed Twechar in 1924. The station served the hamlet of

Twechar Twechar is a small former Pit village, mining village historically in Dunbartonshire and administered by the council area of East Dunbartonshire, Scotland close to the boundary with North Lanarkshire. It lies between the larger towns of Cumbernau ...

and the coal mining area, Gavell House and Farm, 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 Bear ...

until 1951 for passenger travel.Wignal (1983), Page 66 and to coal traffic to the Cadder Yard until 1966.

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 ...

. The line and station remained open to passengers until 1951. 1961 was the closure date for general goods and mineral freight traffic. The settlement at Twechar to the south of the station developed in size and its name was adopted instead of Gavell in 1924. Although the closure of the Kelvin Valley line to passengers was on 20/7/51 it remained as a through route until 1956; Goods traffic ceased to the east via

Kilsyth Kilsyth (; Scottish Gaelic ''Cill Saidhe'') is a town and civil parish in North Lanarkshire, roughly halfway between Glasgow and Stirling in Scotland. The estimated population is 9,860. The town is famous for the Battle of Kilsyth and the relig ...

for goods and mineral traffic in 1965.

Infrastructure

The single platform and station typical station building with its ticket office, waiting room, canopy, etc. stood on the southern side of this single track line with extensive sidings and cross over sidings on the same side serving the Baird's Private Railway as well as general goods. A long siding ran parallel to the main line from the east, ending close to the stationmaster's house that was present on the northern side of the line. A road bridge from Gavell crossed the line to the west of the platform end with the access to the goods yard to the east with its various associated buildings. A signal box is shown at the eastern end of the station, closed by 1966. The main station building stood at the western end of the platform. By 1957 the parallel siding had been lifted and the station building demolished. NS6976 - A - Surveyed/Revised: 1957, Published:1958
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The site today

The station master's house survives as a private dwelling, but little else remains of the infrastructure on the station 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 1878 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1951 Former North British Railway stations 1878 establishments in Scotland 1951 disestablishments in Scotland