The Garlieston Link

Last year I went for a long weekend in Garlieston which is a small fishing village in Scotland. Before  I went I checked out the Ordnance Survey  maps to check what was there, I was pleased to see there had once been a railway there so I set out to find where it had been and to see what was left. I will start at the station I finished by on the main line and work back to the village.

This was Millisle station or Millisle for Garlieston as it was known it was on the Port Patrick & Wigtownshire Joint Railway.

I found this photo on the Internet and it show the station when it was in use.

Here is another I found which shows the platforms and station buildings, by now though the railway had been removed though over to the right you can see what is probably the line which went to Garlieston.

This view shows the old station and to the right a line of trees where the railway ran

It would have gone across the bridge here

 The bridge deck has been removed to allow the heavy lorries we have now to go through

You can see the line of the railway here as it runs to Whithorn the next station.

Not far from the old road bridge is this one over a burn

 The bridge deck is still in good condition though the parapets are in a bad state

I walked along the adjoining field  to get a photo of the bridge and after some effort climbed the embankment to get to the old rail bed. I was surprised how clear it was

Though mostly covered with long grass  

I followed it back to the road bridge and climbed down a path which at one time was the access for the rail workers but now a footpath though on the occasion I was there it was closed off.

 Somewhere around here the link came from the direction in front from the station

Crossing around here past the entrance to the church you can see over on the right.

Then the line went off towards Garlieston in the direction I am looking. A road parallels it and you can see fence posts still in place.

The old railway is over to the left of this photo

Just outside Garlieston you can see this house which was the old crossing house. I went and had a chat with the owner and they told me all about it and showed

me these pillars in the burn nearby, the railway had turned towards the port and crossed the burn here

 The bridge pillars were still there even if the bridge was not

I'm stood where the railway would have come to cross the road

and gone somewhere past the tree you see.

The railway crossed this burn nearby but no sign is there of where it went

Though you can make out it went along to the right where the trees are  by this estate in Garlieston

And through this entrance which lead to the wood mill , the wall has been restored so well it's hard to make out where the railway ran

Though it was obvious it ran here which I though would have been the Goods Station as you can see from the map below. The caravan club now owns site and nothing remains of station that was once there.

 The line then ran on across the road here in the photo

 and along to the left of the road here

 To end round here where it looks like the station would have been. A few buildings from the era remain though again any remnants of the station have now gone.  I thought it was an interesting little walk to see what was left though I feel it is a shame that we have lost such history.

Part of the LM&SR

LM&SR stands for London, Midland and Scottish Railway, I came across the dismantled railway while looking for a route to walk while at the village. The footpath followed the old track and looked worth a visit. It turned out to be the Stratford on Avon & Midland Junction Line

After walking along the bridleway this first sign you get there was a railway there.

Looking from the  bridge this is the direction for Towcester.

Looking this was is towards the Junction with the main LM&SR line

Going down on the trackbed you can look back and see  the bridge which is in remarkable condition.

This is the old trackbed with the bridge at my back.

I followed the footpath beside the track and ever so often had a  look at the track

It was well used and in good condition

though as you can see 

by farm traffic

At one point  I came across this culvert

A little further along and this area containing rubble cought my eye

and after climbing through the shrubbery I found a platform

there had been a station here in the past called Salcey Forest railway station

This is a small cutting nearby

and this is as far as I could get with the line

Getting back on the road you come across the bridge still there that went over the line

though either side was well over grown

nigh on dam impassable

that is until  you get down on the bed an see this

the bridge is in good condition apart from the extra supports added for strength

the heavy lorries of today weakened it so pillars had to be added.

The original brickwork still looked good. That was it for this part of the track I found as I went off back to find my wife and have some lunch But it was not the end of the story for that day so read on if you dare.

 I went off to look for a triangulation pillar (failed) but noticed this building in the distance. It was the old Station for Piddington on the main line

The bridge would have been here but the deck had been removed

mind you they had left some massive bit of rubble around from the bridge

This is the trackbed towards the station

and in front here would have been where the bridge over the road started

These were some of the stones on the opposite side.

One of the capping stones

 

Piddington Station in the dusk. surprising what you can see and find when you out for a walk . Hope you enjoyed my trip