Coatbridge Freightliner Terminal

Location type

Place

Names and dates

Witchwood Iron Ore Sidings (1959-1967)
Coatbridge Freightliner Terminal (1969-)

Station code: National Rail
Opened on the Whifflet Extension (Glasgow, Garnkirk and Coatbridge Railway).

Description

This is a road/rail container depot in the north of Coatbridge laid on the west side of the Motherwell-Mossend-Coatbridge-Cumbernauld-Greenhill portion of the West Coast Main Line. Specifically the lines are on the west side of former Glasgow, Garnkirk and Coatbridge Railway just south of Gartsherrie South Junction.

The depot lines are electrified at either end with the mid portion served by cranes. There are looped sidings in the east part of the depot, connecting with the main line, and dead end sidings to their west, approached from the north. A large area of hardstanding is to the west of the sidings. The yard has a considerable headshunt, the former westbound line between Gartsherrie South Junction and Gartcosh Junction.

The yard is built over the site of Gartsherrie House (extreme NW part of the site) and its grounds. The location of the sidings was the site of the Witchwood Iron Ore Sidings for the Gartsherrie Iron Works, laid out on the opposite side of the main line from the works to replace a smaller depot withint the northern part of the works during the modernisation programme of the 1950s.

This facility consisted of two groups of looped sidings (loaded and unloaded wagons), an unloading point (south end) and minimal locomotive facilities (north end). Wagons came downhill, were emptied, and returned to the east sidings via a headshunt. Access was from the north, coming off the northbound slow line immediately south of Gartsherrie South Junction.

Following closure of the Gartsherrie Iron Works in 1967 the sidings became the container depot in 1969. It was electrified in 1981.

Tags

Freightliner containers road to rail

Aliases

Gartsherrie New Iron Ore Sidings
12/12/2020



Chronology Dates

11/08/1981Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway Wishaw and Coltness Railway
Coatbridge Freightliner Terminal to Mossend Marshalling Yard electrified.
01/03/2008Lancaster and Carlisle Railway
In high wind five empty containers are blown from a Freightliner Tilbury - Coatbridge Freightliner Terminal train at Hardendale (south of Shap).
26/10/2009DRS Morrisons
DRS hauled container service begins between Coatbridge Freightliner Terminal and Inverness, serving Morrisons.

News items

27/01/2023Freightliner, ONE begin British green fuel rail freight service [Port Technology]
12/05/2021'Talk to me': A train driver asking men to open up [BBC News]