Location type

Sidings

Names and dates

Perth Goods [CR] (1886-1952)
Perth North Goods (1952-1989)

Note: text in square brackets is added for clarity and was not part of the location's name.

Opened on the Scottish Midland Junction Railway.

Description

This was the Caledonian Railway's main goods yard in Perth and was chiefly opened when Perth station was hugely remodelled in the mid 1880s. The yard was shared with the Highland Railway. It was later known as Perth North Goods. The yard no longer exists. It was described by Biddle and Nock thus:

The best surviving example of a large Victorian goods station in Scotland, rivalled only by Dundee West, this complex has as its most striking feature a two-storey red and white brick building housing the offices and transit shed. The opening are all segmental-arched, with chamfered edges. The little two by five bay weighhouse is in the same style.

The weighhouse was at the southern entry to the site.

The opening of this goods yard was to encourage the development of various works to its east on largely greenfield land north of the city.

British Railway classified the yard as GFL60 in 1956 - Goods Traffic, Furniture Vans, Carriages, Motor Cars, Portable Engines, and Machines, on Wheels, Live Stock, crane power of 6 tons, 0 cwts.

The yard was north of the High Street and on the east side of the line about a third of a mile north of the station. Access was from the north, from Balhousie Junction. A second yard, which can be found under Dovecotland Goods, was on the west side of the main and goods lines. A third yard, Balhousie Sidings was to the north on the east side of the main line.

Within the yard there were four groups of sidings. On the western part of the site was an original Scottish North Eastern Railway goods shed and sidings. Beside this were several sidings serving loading banks, by this the looped sidings serving the principal goods shed (four lines entered) and in the eastern part of the site the cattle bank which was a very long loading bank equipped with cattle pens. There were a limited number of sorting sidings alongside the main line at the north end of the yard.

The main line was to the west of the yard, just beyond this was the goods line which ran from Dovecotland Junction (end of the southbound goods line) and Balhousie Junction (end of the northbound goods line) south to Edinburgh Road Bridge Junction avoiding Perth General station by running down its west side.

A mineral yard was to the south of the High Street, at Earlsdyke Coal Depot.

The yard was developed around 1885-9 when Perth Goods [CR] [1st] was encroached on by the reconstruction of Perth General station.

The yard survived the 1962 re-signalling and remained fairly intact until the late 1980s. It was a National Carriers depot and also a Motorail depot.

By 1989 only the western sidings remained, those serving the west loading banks.

No sidings remain and sadly the fine goods shed was demolished. The site was completely cleared and is now the St Catherines Retail Park.

Tags

Goods yard
04/03/2021

Nearby stations Perth Glasgow Road [Temporary] Perth Glasgow Road Perth Muirton Perth Princes Street Barnhill Signal Box Ruthven Road Almondbank Kinfauns Forgandenny Bridge of Earn [2nd] Luncarty Bridge of Earn [1st] Tibbermuir Strathord	St Leonards Iron and Engineering Works Dovecotland Junction Pullars Highland House Dovecotland Goods Earlsdyke Coal Depot Perth Shed [HR] Wallace Works (Linens) Glasgow Road Junction Balhousie Sidings Perth Central Goods Perth Carriage Sidings Dovecotland Oil Siding Perth Rowntree Mackintosh Siding Tourist/other Dewer^s Bonded Warehousing Balhousie Castle
Location names in dark blue are on the same original line.