‘cathedral to steam’

In 1864, the original station was revamped with the wooden structure demolished and replaced by a handsome building with a clock tower on South Union Street.

It served the city and railway companies well but as traffic increased and the fortunes of railway companies soared, an even more impressive central station was planned.

Dundee West was operated by the Caledonian Railway at this time and it was their chief engineer, Thomas Burr, who came up with the initial design.

The building was constructed by Edinburgh firm Blyth & Cunningham, the main construction company for Scotland’s railways.

Opened in 1889, it was a stunning, magnificent, creation – a showstopping addition to the cityscape.

Local historian Dr Kenneth Baxter, from the University of Dundee, said it was built at a time when there was immense rivalry between the Caledonian and its rival, the North

British Railway (NBR), who operated Tay Bridge station.

“The NBR had received a massive boost following the building of the second Tay Bridge and the Forth Bridge which opened in 1889,” he explained.

“I have always been inclined to agree with the view of the late Professor Charles McKean that the Caledonian therefore set out to build a structure that would very much overshadow its rival’s underground facility.”

Built in the Scottish Baronial style, it was made from red sandstone with a broad semi-circular booking office that offered access to four platforms.

Tayside rail enthusiast John Ruddy said in its heyday, the station boasted an impressive timetable with regular services to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool and London Euston.

“Through coaches” took passengers to the west of England, and sleeper trains served many routes. Local traffic ran to Perth, Gleneagles, Crieff and

Blairgowrie via the Dundee and Newtyle railway.

“In 1922, at the end of Caledonian Railway’s existence, before it was merged into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, there were nearly 100 staff employed at the station, including about 40 porters,” said John.

“A large warehouse dealt with all manner of traffic, especially deliveries of jam products to growing markets in the south.

“In a typical month the Dundee West yard handled 15,000 tons of minerals, mostly coal for the many factories in Dundee.

“About 170 men were employed in the goods yard alone.”

However, with passenger numbers dwindling and only a handful of trains running from the 75-year-old station on a daily basis, it seemed inevitable that the axe would fall.

The death warrant of the station was signed by Dr Richard Beeching, chairman of the British Railways Board, who had been tasked with overhauling the UK rail network.

Despite the rail union ASLEF arguing for Dundee West to be retained and a local pressure group, Save the West Station, campaigning for it to be kept as a bus station, plans to demolish the station – for the construction of approach roads to the new Tay Road Bridge – progressed.

Tomorrow: The Beeching Report and the demolition of the station.