Birkhill railway station
Encyclopedia
Birkhill railway station is a railway station on the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway
in Scotland
, equidistant from Grangemouth
, Bo'ness
, Linlithgow
and Polmont
.
The adjacent Birkhill Fireclay Mine is in the Bo'ness area and is an integral part of the town's history.
The station was the limit of regular train operations from Bo'ness, however the track continues to the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway
at Manuel Junction
and is used for the transfer of rolling stock to/from the National Rail network. The section to Manuel was due to open to regular passenger traffic in 2009, however this did not happen until 2010.
There is a station building. which houses a shop, a cafe, and the access the Birkhill Fireclay Mine. The parts of the building were recovered from Monifieth railway station
and were originally rebuilt in 1988 by Central Regional Council as their display at the Glasgow Garden Festival
. When this closed the building was relocated to Birkhill.
There was no station here until the Scottish Railway Preservation Society
took over the branch line. The summit of the line, located to the south of the station, was regraded and lowered to avoid the new platform being on an excessive gradient, and the station was opened to passengers in 1989.
style signal box
with as many as 20 levers, a water column for steam locomotives and a second platform has been proposed, however no date has been set for completion. The signals would be of Caley lower-quadrant design.
Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway
The Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway is a Heritage railway in Falkirk, Scotland. It is operated by the Scottish Railway Preservation Society, and operates some 5 miles of track, virtually the entire Slamannan and Borrowstounness Railway that became part of the former North British Railway on the Firth...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, equidistant from Grangemouth
Grangemouth
Grangemouth is a town and former burgh in the council area of Falkirk, Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk, west of Bo'ness and south-east of Stirling. Grangemouth had a resident population of 17,906 according to the 2001...
, Bo'ness
Bo'ness
Bo'ness, properly Borrowstounness, is a coastal town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on a hillside on the south bank of the Firth of Forth within the Falkirk council area, north-west of Edinburgh and east of Falkirk. At the 2001 census, Bo'ness had a resident population of 13,961...
, Linlithgow
Linlithgow
Linlithgow is a Royal Burgh in West Lothian, Scotland. An ancient town, it lies south of its two most prominent landmarks: Linlithgow Palace and Linlithgow Loch, and north of the Union Canal....
and Polmont
Polmont
Polmont is a village in the Falkirk council area of Central Scotland. It lies towards the east of the town of Falkirk, north of the Union Canal, which runs adjacent to the village....
.
The adjacent Birkhill Fireclay Mine is in the Bo'ness area and is an integral part of the town's history.
The station was the limit of regular train operations from Bo'ness, however the track continues to the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway
Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway
The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was a railway built to link Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Act of Parliament for building the railway received its Royal Assent in 1838 which was open on 28 July 1863. Services started between Glasgow Queen Street and Haymarket on 21 February 1842. The line was...
at Manuel Junction
Manuel Junction
Manuel Junction is a railway junction near the village of Whitecross, Falkirk, Scotland. It currently serves both as the terminus of the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway and as the connection between the Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk Line and that railway...
and is used for the transfer of rolling stock to/from the National Rail network. The section to Manuel was due to open to regular passenger traffic in 2009, however this did not happen until 2010.
There is a station building. which houses a shop, a cafe, and the access the Birkhill Fireclay Mine. The parts of the building were recovered from Monifieth railway station
Monifieth railway station
Monifieth railway station serves the town of Monifieth near Dundee, Scotland. The station was opened on 6 October 1838 on the Dundee and Arbroath Railway...
and were originally rebuilt in 1988 by Central Regional Council as their display at the Glasgow Garden Festival
Glasgow Garden Festival
The Glasgow Garden Festival was the third of the United Kingdom's five National Garden Festivals, and the only one to take place in Scotland.It was held in Glasgow between 26 April and 26 September 1988...
. When this closed the building was relocated to Birkhill.
There was no station here until the Scottish Railway Preservation Society
Scottish Railway Preservation Society
The Scottish Railway Preservation Society is a charity, whose principal objective is the preservation and advancement of railway heritage in Scotland. The Society was formed in 1961, and it has been actively collecting and displaying railway artifacts of Scottish significance ever since...
took over the branch line. The summit of the line, located to the south of the station, was regraded and lowered to avoid the new platform being on an excessive gradient, and the station was opened to passengers in 1989.
History
There was no station at Birkhill in its working days but there was a loop, just north of the present station, a water column and a short siding off to the clay mine.Track layout
The track layout at Birkhill features a simple passing loop with two-lever ground frames at either end to control the points. The single platform was recently extended along with track realignment to accommodate 7-coach trains. The construction of a Caledonian RailwayCaledonian Railway
The Caledonian Railway was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century and it was absorbed almost a century later into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, in the 1923 railway grouping, by means of the Railways Act 1921...
style signal box
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
with as many as 20 levers, a water column for steam locomotives and a second platform has been proposed, however no date has been set for completion. The signals would be of Caley lower-quadrant design.