Wemyss Bay railway station

Wemyss Bay railway station serves the village of Wemyss Bay, Inverclyde, Scotland. The station is a terminus on the Inverclyde Line, about 26 miles (42 km) west of Glasgow Central. The station incorporates the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry terminal connecting mainland Scotland to Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. The station is managed by ScotRail.

Wemyss Bay Scottish Gaelic: Bàgh Wemyss[1]
Interior of the railway station, August 2018
General information
Location	Wemyss Bay, Inverclyde Scotland
Coordinates	55.8769°N 4.8891°W / 55.8769; -4.8891
Grid reference	NS192685
Managed by	ScotRail
Transit authority	SPT
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	WMS
History
Original company	Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway
Pre-grouping	Caledonian Railway
Post-grouping	LMS
Key dates
15 May 1865	Opened[2]
Passengers
2018/19	0.214 million
2019/20	0.202 million
2020/21	34,738
2021/22	0.123 million
2022/23	0.164 million
Listed Building – Category A
Designated	10 June 1971
Reference no.	LB12473[3]
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

The station seen from the road, with MV Bute at the slip, February 2006

The pier and station from the south, with MV Coruisk being loaded, February 2006

In Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations by Simon Jenkins, the station was one of only ten to be awarded five stars,^[4] and was the station photographed on the front cover.

The station won the 2023 World Cup of Stations, organised by the Rail Delivery Group.^[5]

History

Work began in late 1862 on the single track Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway branching from the main Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway at Port Glasgow and taking an inland route across to the coast at Inverkip before descending to Wemyss Bay. This was to connect to Clyde steamer services for Rothesay, Largs, and Millport, Isle of Cumbrae, allowing a combined train and steamer journey time of an hour and a half, compared with a typical time of three hours by steamer from Glasgow. The Wemyss Bay Steamboat Company was formed to own the connecting steamers, competing with the private owners of other Clyde steamer services. The route opened on 15 May 1865, but over-ambitious timetables led to severe delays during the first year, damaging the company's reputation, and the route subsequently faced strong competition from other pierheads. A camping coach was positioned here by the Scottish Region in 1961, then two coaches from 1962 to 1969, with an additional one in 1965 only.^[6]

Train services were electrified in 1967 by British Rail, using the 25 kV AC system.

Station building

The station was designed by James Miller in 1903 for the Caledonian Railway and is remarkable in its use of glass and steel curves. The station is noted for its architectural qualities and, although one of Scotland's finest railway buildings and Category A listed, it has suffered from neglect. A major refurbishment scheme carried out jointly by Network Rail, Inverclyde Council and the Scottish Government from June 2014 to the spring of 2016 has seen the station buildings and adjacent ferry terminal fully restored.^[7][8]

Two platforms are currently in use, though there were three available until 1987.

Services

There is an hourly service daily to Paisley Gilmour Street and Glasgow Central (including Sundays), with one or two extra weekday peak trains.^[9] The average journey time is 55 minutes.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Terminus		ScotRail Inverclyde Line		Inverkip
	Ferry services
Rothesay		Caledonian MacBrayne Bute Ferry		Terminus
	Historical railways
Terminus		Caledonian Railway Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway		Inverkip Line and station open

See also

• List of Category A listed buildings in Inverclyde
• List of listed buildings in Inverkip, Inverclyde

References

1. Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
2. Butt 1995, p. 244.
3. Historic Environment Scotland. "WEMYSS BAY RAILWAY STATION (LB12473)". Retrieved 15 April 2019.
4. Morrison, Richard (9 December 2017). "Review: Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations by Simon Jenkins". Thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
5. "Wemyss Bay is top of the stops and crowned the UK's best loved station and World Cup of Stations champion 2023". Rail Delivery Group News. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
6. McRae 1998, p. 13.
7. "Station Restored – July 2016". Friends of Wemyss Bay Station. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
8. "Station improvements for Wemyss Bay". Largs & Millport Weekly News. 27 June 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
9. Table 219 National Rail timetable, May 2016

Bibliography

• Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• Clark, A.J.C. (2001). Caley to the Coast : Rothesay by Wemyss Bay (1st ed.). Usk: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-8536-1580-2. OCLC 48979972.
• McCrorie, Ian (1986). Clyde Pleasure Steamers (1st ed.). Greenock: Orr, Pollock & Co. Ltd. ISBN 1-869850-00-9. OCLC 20596284.
• McRae, Andrew (1998). British Railways Camping Coach Holidays: A Tour of Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part Two). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-53-3.

External links

• YouTube video of the station's interior