Ardeer Platform railway station was a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

serving the Nobel Industries division of

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British Chemical industry, chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was listed on the London Stock Exchange ...

near the town of Stevenston,

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire (, ) is one of 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and s ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

History

Opened in 1896, the station and its associated branch line were known locally as "Nobel's private line",McSherry, p. 39 although in reality both the line and station were jointly run by the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) and the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway (L&AR). The station was originally called Ardeer Works Platform but at some point the 'Works' title was dropped.Butt, p. 17 The branch became part of the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...

during the Grouping of 1923, later passed on to the Scottish Region of British Railways on

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...

in 1948, and eventually closed by the

British Railways Board The British Railways Board (BRB) was a State ownership, nationalised industry in the United Kingdom that operated from 1963 to 2001. Until 1997, it was responsible for most railway services in History of rail transport in Great Britain 1995 to d ...

on 3 October 1966. The station was a long, single platform to accommodate the thousands of personnel that once worked at the factory, and was long enough to accommodate two trains. Originally the platform was wooden but at some point was replaced with a concrete platform. A long shelter was also situated on the platform in later years. The station was primarily used by factory workers however in 1902 the station was used by the various

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

s of the

British Colonies A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by England, and then Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English and later British Empire. There was usually a governor to represent the Crown, appointed by the British monarch on ...

and their guests, along with the provost and

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

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to visit the factory after the Coronation of King Edward VII. Today the platform still exists although heavily overgrown and in disrepair. The branch from the Ayrshire Coast Line that carried trains to the station still existed (branching off in another direction just before the platform) until the early 2000s, now only a small stub off the main line remains. Because of the large numbers of workers using the station, a second platform had to be built on the other side of the River Garnock at the so-called 'Snodgrass branch'Smith, p. 29 (named after the former Snodgrass village in the area) in the 1940s. Access to this platform was gained via the Glasgow to Ayr line, just north of Bogside railway station. This branch is now also a small stub.

Future

Plans for redevelopment of the Ardeer Peninsula by NPL Estates include the possibility of reopening the former Nobel branch for industrial use. The plans also include a proposed station near to the former Stevenston No. 1 Junction, where the Nobel line joined the former G&SWR main line.Ardeer Peninsula Masterplan, p. 15

References

Notes

Sources

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Station on navigable O.S. map.Ardeer Works are south of Stevenston station.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ardeer Platform Railway Station Disused railway stations in North Ayrshire Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1896 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1966 Former Caledonian Railway stations Former Glasgow and South Western Railway stations Ardrossan−Saltcoats−Stevenston