Milnwood Junction

Location type

Junction

Name and dates

Milnwood Junction (1879-)

Opened on the Wishaw and Coltness Railway.
Opened on the Clydesdale Steel Works Railways.
Opened on the Uddingston Junction to Fullwood Junction (Caledonian Railway).
Opened on the Motherwell Deviation Line (Caledonian Railway).

Description

At Milnwood Junction, just south of the former Holytown [1st] and south of the former Mossend station and Mossend Marshalling Yard, lines from Bellshill, Mossend and Holytown meet. To the south was Jerviston Junction and the lines to Clydesdale Steel Works.

This was one of few locations where a railway splits to run in four directions. A northbound train could take the 1903 line to Bellshill via Mossend West Junction (Mossend No 4 box), the 1903 line to the west part of Mossend Marshalling Yard (Mossend No 3 box) which passed through the two west platforms at Mossend, the original 1838 route north to the main platforms at Mossend (Mossend No 2 box) or to the 1879 line to Holytown via Fullwood Junction.

The lines to the west Mossend platforms were added when the route south from Mossend Marshalling Yard to south of Jerviston Junction were quadrupled in 1903.

To the south was the division between the 1835 Wishaw and Coltness Railway and the 1857 Motherwell Deviation Line (Caledonian Railway). The 1835 line was to Cleekhimin Coal Pit extended south over Jerviston Viaduct in 1841 to Motherwell [1st] and Overtown [1st].

The W&C route fell out of use by the 1890s although the northern part was used to access the Clydesdale Steel Works.

For the opening of the line south to Coursington Road Junction in 1900 much of the former W&C route was re-used, with some deviations such as the connection to the main line being further south than Milnwood at Jerviston Junction.

Also in 1903 the curve west to Mossend West Junction was opened, completing the four curves between the west to east and north to south lines.

The secondary line from Milnwood Junction to Mossend No 1 Junction was singled in 1964.

All lines are now electrified. It is now a three way junction (the secondary line is lifted at its southern end).

Milnwood Colliery Pits Nos 1 and 2 were to the west accessed from the Bellshill line. When opened these could not be directly accessed from Milnwood Junction.

Tags

Junction
09/08/2019



Chronology Dates

  /  /1873Uddingston Junction to Fullwood Junction (Caledonian Railway)
Mossend branch authorised. Fullwood Junction (the east junction at Mossend) to Milnwood Junction (south) authorised. Mossend Junction to Mossend North Junction [1st] authorised.
  /  /1878Uddingston Junction to Fullwood Junction (Caledonian Railway)
Fullwood Junction (the east junction as Mossend) to Milnwood Junction (south) approved line altered and re-authorised.
  /  /1878Uddingston Junction to Fullwood Junction (Caledonian Railway)
Milnwood Junction to Fullwood Junction curve authorised.
01/06/1879Uddingston Junction to Fullwood Junction (Caledonian Railway)
Milnwood Junction to Fullwood Junction opened.
  /  /1899Mossend West to Mossend South Curve (Caledonian Railway)
Authorisation for the line from Uddingston via Bellshill to Motherwell. This is the short curve from Mossend West Junction (west) to Milnwood Junction (south) at Mossend.
  /  /1899Uddingston Junction to Fullwood Junction (Caledonian Railway)
Mossend west (Mossend No 4 Junction) to south (Milnwood Junction) curve authorised.
  /  /1903Mossend West to Mossend South Curve (Caledonian Railway)
Mossend West Junction to Milnwood Junction opened.
01/04/1903Uddingston Junction to Fullwood Junction (Caledonian Railway)
Mossend west (Mossend No 4 Junction) to south (Milnwood Junction) curve opened.

Books


A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Scotland - The Lowlands and the Borders v. 6 (Regional railway history series)

Bradshaw's Guides Scotlands Railways West Coast - Carlisle to Inverness: 5

Old Newmains and the Villages Around Wishaw

Old Wishaw

Wishaw 1896: Lanarkshire Sheet 18.03 (Old O.S. Maps of Lanarkshire)