On track to explore our rich railway heritage at open day
The archives of one of Scotland’s most historic railway lines will be opened to the public next week.
The Glasgow and South Western Railway Association will hold an open day on Saturday, August 13 at their archive room on platform one at Kilmarnock railway station.
The archivist and officers of the association will be on hand between 10am and 3pm to explain the facilities, which include drawings, historical documents and some of the associations’ collection of photographs.
Also on display will be interesting models including a large scale reproduction of a G& SWR ‘ Wee Bogie’ locomotive built by a local man who took the dimensions straight from the original engine. The Wee Bogies were built in Kimarnock to the design of Hugh Smellie between 1882 and 1885, the last of the class surviving all the way into the 1930s.
Author Andrew Swan will be on hand to autograph copies of his new book, The Port Road, which is the definitive guide to the iconic railway between Dumfries and Stranraer and fills a gap in the railway knowledge of south west Scotland.
The G& SWR association was formed in 1964 to promote interest in and to study the old Glasgow and South Western Railway which operated most of the railways in south west Scotland. Most of the original system is still in active use by hundreds of thousands of commuters each year – althogh most of the branch lines and some stations are sadly no more.
The association holds regular meetings throughout the winter months with guests speakers. It also publishes regular newsletters and an annual Journal.
The G& SWR incorporated the Kilmarnock and Troon railway which was the first railway in Scotland to officially carry passengers.
In 1816, the line was the first in Scotland to experiment with a steam locomotive – although it ended unsuccessfuly with the heavy locomotive breaking the cast iron track plates.
Kilmarnock was the engineering hub of the railway with the locomotive works at Bonnyton building many of the engines requires to operate the railway. Passengers coaches and goods wagons were also built in Kilmarnock until the new wagon works were open at Barassie in 1901.
The open day at the Glasgow and South Western Railway Association’s archive centre on platform one at Kilmarnock railway station takes place between 10am and 3pm on Saturday, August 13.