Kelso
Location type
StationName and dates
Kelso (1851-1964)Opened on the Kelso Branch (North British Railway).
Description
This was a four platform station, two through platforms and a bay at either end. It replaced a temporary terminus at Wallace Nick, just to the west. One bay, on the south side, was for the line to the west and the other, on the north side, was for the east line. The signal box was on the westbound platform with the bay to its south.
The North British Railway branch formed an end-on junction with the North Eastern Railway to the east of the station at Kelso at Sprouston Junction.
The goods yard (which was approached from the east) was large. It was on the north side of the line. Within this was the locomotive shed.
The line west to Roxburgh Junction was singled in 1933.
The station closed to passengers in 1964, the line east from the goods yard reversing spur (formerly the eastbound line) closed in 1965 (when the box closed) and it closed completely in 1968.
The Kelso station site has been converted into a road. The station was actually at Maxwellhaugh on the south bank of the River Tweed, not in Kelso itself.
Local
Kelso Abbey is in Kelso, to the north of the former station. The station was at Maxwellheugh, separated from the town by the River Tweed. A bridge, completed in 1804, designed by John Rennie crosses the river.
Tags
StationExternal links
Canmore site recordNLS Collection OS map of 1892-1914
NLS Collection OS map of 1944-67
NLS Map
NLS Map
| Nearby stations Wallace Nick Sprouston Roxburgh Kirkbank Carham Rutherford Nisbet Sunilaws Jedfoot Maxton Mindrum Greenlaw Gordon Jedburgh Coldstream | Kelso Shed Kelso Viaduct Sprouston Junction Heiton Siding Roxburgh Viaduct Kirkbank Crossing Nisbet Viaduct Tourist/other Kelso Abbey Roxburgh Castle Floors Castle Wallace^s Tower Ormiston House Carham Hall Smailholm Tower Waterloo Monument |
| Location names in dark blue are on the same original line. | |
Chronology Dates
| / /1850 | Kelso Branch (North British Railway) Opened from Kelso Junction to Wallace Nick (a temporary terminus west of Kelso). Roxburgh opened. |
| 27/01/1851 | Kelso Branch (North British Railway) Extended to Kelso from Wallace Nick station, a temporary terminus just west of Kelso, which is closed. The line extends east to Sprouston Junction where the Kelso Branch (York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway) is met. |
| 11/08/1948 | North British Railway Severe flooding on the 11th and 12th washes away seven bridges and causes six landslips on the East Coast Main Line. Only part of a parapet of the Free Kirk Bridge remained where a single track was left bridging the gap. The Penmanshiel Tunnel floods, with waters reaching almost to the tunnel roof. Large amounts of silt and rubble wash over the line at Grantshouse. With the line closed trains are diverted via Kelso. |
| 23/06/1949 | North British Railway At the Penmanshiel Tunnel a fire on board a south bound express results in the destruction of two carriages. After making an emergency stop the leading part of the train, the locomotive and eight coaches, was in the tunnel with the burned carriages just outside. Both lines were blocked and trains diverted via Kelso. |
| / /1950 | Kelso Branch (York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway) Kelso Branch (North British Railway) Edinburgh and Hawick Railway (North British Railway) Route via Kelso used by expresses diverted from the East Coast Main Line due to flooding damage to the main line. |
| 07/08/1961 | North British Railway A southbound freight overruns the south end of a loop at Grantshouse, passing through the goods shed and crashing into the station buildings. As a result the line is closed and East Coast Main Line trains diverted via Kelso. |
| 15/06/1964 | Kelso Branch (North British Railway) Kelso to St Boswells closed to passengers. Kelso, Roxburgh, Rutherford, Maxton closed. |
| 15/06/1964 | Kelso Branch (York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway) Kelso to Tweedmouth closed to passengers. Coldstream, Norham and Tweedmouth closed. |
| 29/03/1965 | Kelso Branch (York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway) Kelso to Tweedmouth closed to goods. |
| 01/ /1968 | Kelso Branch (North British Railway) Kelso to Kelso Junction closed to freight. |
