Location type

Names and dates

Description

This was an important location in Scottish railway history. This was a large station, junction, locomotive shed, workshops, yard and railway owned village all built at a remote location in the Scottish Borders with no road access. It is a highly evocative location built on the famous former Waverley Route. Here the double track mainline from Edinburgh and Hawick, to the north, split to run south west as a double track line to Carlisle (single until 1863) and south east as a single track to Hexham. The junction was to the south of the station allowing both routes to use platforms accessible from the south.

The station had an island platform on a gentle curve with a single track bay platform at either end. Two long and plain single storey buildings abutting each other were on the platform between the bays. These buildings provided the ticket office and waiting rooms, village shop (a branch of the Hawick Co-op), post office and pub. (There was some similarity of style to the later built station restaurant at Crianlarich.) In later days a slightly incongruous bright red telephone box stood to the north of the buildings. A long footbridge connected the north end of the platform to Riccarton Railway Village. The north end bay was removed and filled in long before closure.

To prepare the site for the station, junction and sidings a considerable amount of material was deposited to create a level surface.

The original shed was a three road building to the west of the station with a two road workshop alongside to its east. Between this building and the station were several storage sidings. This group of lines was approached from the north, the line closest to the station reconnecting at the south end alongside the works smithy. The shed's duties were associated with the junction, Hexham route and bankers for the long climb to Whitrope Summit not far to the north.

After closure of this shed (it burned down in 1900) the sidings were retained and locomotives were later (1945) based at the coaling stage and turntable, located on a loop on the east side and south of the station, connected at the south end to the Hexham line only. The works relocated to Lochpark Siding south of Hawick [2nd] in 1921.

Riccarton Railway Village consisted of several rows, a stationmaster's house and a school house with a population of around 150. Employees had to travel by train to go shopping and attend church as there were no roads to the location.

The station and junction were controlled by two signal boxes, both opened in 1881.

The north box, on the east side, controlled the northern approach from Whitrope Siding and the fan out of rails to the shed yard to the west, several loops, the station and further loops on the east site.

The south box, in the 'V' of the junction and harled against weather, controlled the junction and approaches to the south.

The line to Hexham closed in 1958. A portion of it was retained as storage sidings and as a headshunt for the coaling stage. The trackbed was used as an makeshift dirt road for access.

The north box closed in 1959 but was not immediately demolished. Much of the former shed yard was lifted and several loops.

The station finally gained road access - by dirt road - just before the end in 1963 with a Forestry Commission dirt road.

Complete closure was in 1969.

After closure the site was used by the commission and the platforms were buried under logs and detritus. The site was dug out again in the 1980s.

A single hut, the generator building in the former shed yard, survives. Portions of platforms also survived. Of the village the schoolhouse remains in use as a house and the ruins of the other buildings.

There was some restoration to the station site after formation of the 'Friends of Riccarton Junction' with nameboards installed, platforms repaired, track laid (2005), a brake van placed on the track, a telephone box installed and the remaining hut restored. Much of this has since been removed.

The former trackbeds survive as dirt roads.

Although Riccarton is lost to us and can never be as it was just a couple of miles to the north at Whitrope Siding a heritage line is in operation with plans to expand southwards. Whitrope Heritage Centre

A bothy, a former shepherd's cottage which predates the railway, has seen it all come and go and it still stands in a secluded wooded spot just to the south.

Riccarton itself is a farm two miles to the south.

Tags

External links