Location type

Station

Names and dates

Headless Cross (1845-1848)
Headlesscross (1850-1852)

Opened on the Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway.

Description

This halt was north of Headlesscross Farm. The Railway Clearing House Maps shows 'Headlesscross (Gray and Paul's)'. Gray and Paul owned mines at Climpy and Wilsontown and Climpy Road ran south east to Climpy and Wilsontown, which suggests this was a loading location for coal worked to the south.

Thus Headlesscross was the 'Wilsontown' part of the Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway.

The Ordnance Survey Name Book describes Headlesscross thus

This name applies to a farm house cottage and toll house. The cottage and farm house are the property of James Brownlie.

The station closed permanently at an early date and did not reopen with the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway's extension of the line to Bathgate.

To the west was later Knowton Signal Box (serving Knowton Colliery and to the east Westallan Colliery.

The Shotts Iron Works owned many of the mines in the area, many served by private lines to the north.

The line crossed the B715 in the station's vicinity.

Tags

Station

External links

NLS Collection OS map of 1892-1914
NLS Collection OS map of 1944-67
NLS Map
NLS Map
NLS Map
11/10/2018

Nearby stations Fauldhouse Blackhall Fauldhouse and Crofthead Shotts Longridge [1st] Breich Longridge [2nd] Wilsontown Hartwood Davies Dykes Bents Haywood Westcraigs Foulshiels Morningside [NBR]	Brickhouse Knowton Colliery Westallan Colliery Southfield Colliery East Badallan Colliery Wellhill Cistern Benhar Junction Braehead Quarry Leadloch Colliery Pit No 1 Fauldhouse No 1 Colliery Pit Braehead Colliery Pit No 1 Coal and Ironstone Pit Shotts Iron Works Reversing Spur Tourist/other Knowton Signal Box
Location names in dark blue are on the same original line.