Arbroath Harbour Junction

Location type

Junction

Name and dates

Arbroath Harbour Junction (1847-1963)

Opened on the Arbroath and Forfar Railway.
Opened on the Junction Line (Dundee and Arbroath Railway).

Description

This junction was directly north of today's Arbroath station. It was the connection between the Arbroath and Forfar Railway of 1838 and the Junction Line (Dundee and Arbroath Railway) of 1847 which linked the A&F to the Dundee and Arbroath Railway.

The new Arbroath Junction (now Arbroath) station opened with the connecting line, replacing Arbroath (Catherine Street).

There was a signal box, 'Arbroath Junction'. It closed in 1911 and was replaced with a new box 'Arbroath North' (which also subsumed Wellgate Signal Box further to the north). The North box - which still stands - is on the site of Wellgate box, the east side of the line and south of the Wellgate level crossing.

Between Arbroath Harbour Junction and Wellgate Signal Box there had been another level crossing with Spink Street/Hume Street. This was stopped up (allowing expansion of the goods yard). A subway for pedestrian exists here today.

To the north of Spink Street, on the west side, was a works served by a siding on its east side which made a trailing connection to the northbound line at Wellgate. This seems to have had a traverser into the works.

Also to the north a works building was on the east side, its sidings making a trailing connection to the southbound line.

With the stopping up of Spink Street these works became the expansion of the goods yard and sidings.

Arbroath Junction box controlled the junction, access to the north end of the loop which served the goods yard on the west side of the station (Arbroath Goods), the north end of Arbroath station, the former Arbroath (Catherine Street) station (now a goods yard), and the harbour branch.

The Arbroath Harbour line closed in 1963.

'Arbroath North' box was renamed simply 'Arbroath' in 1971 when 'Arbrouth South' box, which had been to the south west of the station, closed.

The signal box remains open and Wellgate level crossing still exists.

Tags

Junction


Chronology Dates

  /  /1838Arbroath and Forfar Railway
Arbroath Harbour Junction to Arbroath Harbour opened.
  /  /1879Arbroath and Forfar Railway
Agreement that a short portion of the Arbroath and Forfar Railway between Arbroath Harbour Junction and St Vigeans Junction should become joint Caledonian Railway and North British Railway.
  /  /1963Arbroath and Forfar Railway
Arbroath Harbour Junction to Arbroath Harbour closed.

Books


The Arbroath and Forfar Railway: The Dundee Direct Line and the Kirriemuir Branch (Oakwood Library of Railway History)