Kilmarnock Works

Location type

Works

Name and dates

Kilmarnock Works (1856-1970)

Description

In 1856 the expanding Glasgow and South Western Railway (formed 1850) relocated its principal railway works from the Cook Street Shed, Glasgow, to a new greenfield site in Kilmarnock. In addition to the works the company built housing.

The works was located in the 'V' of Kilmarnock Junction formed between the lines to Barassie and Dalry. The Kilmarnock Carriage Shed [2nd] and Long Lyes Sidings were just to the north. Access was from Kilmarnock Junction to the east.

Locomotives (from about 1865), carriages and wagons were both built and maintained here.

The locomotive running shed was moved out to Hurlford Shed at a new site south east of Kilmarnock around 1877 (this replaced a shed on the north side of the station). In 1901 the carriage and wagon works was relocated to Barassie Carriage and Wagon Works.

The works survived this expansion. Not long after the 1923 grouping the site started to be cut back, the particularly large buildings in the west of the side being almost entirely demolished. Closure of most of the site was in the early 1970s.

One building survives in the south east of the site and is an active railway works - the Kilmarnock Workshops.

Much of the rest of the site is now an industrial estate.

Tags

Railway works

Chronology Dates

  /  /1856Glasgow and South Western Railway
Kilmarnock Works established by the Glasgow and South Western Railway.
  /  /1952Glasgow and South Western Railway
Kilmarnock Works ceases to repair locomotives.
  /  /1959Glasgow and South Western Railway
Kilmarnock Works ceases repairing cranes and scrapping of locomotives and boilers.