Wemyss Bay and Largs

[Mcr Warrior]

Have these two Scottish coastal towns ever been rail linked (other than by looping all the way round to Paisley/Glasgow?)

 

[delt1c]

Believe the answer is No. but looking at them on the map I have always wondered if there were plans when built

 

[John Webb]

None of my railway atlases, pre-grouping to recent, show such a link. Several indicate links between the two towns by boat; whether these were railway-operated or not I do not know. Neither do the maps show any link closer than at Paisley. Curiously the G&SW line to Greenock West and Princes Pier crossed over the Caledonian line to Largs east of Lynedoch but there appears to have been no connection - at least for passengers.

A look at maps of the area indicate steep cliffs and hilly terrain lie between the two towns which probably deterred the construction of such a link.

 

[P Binnersley]

Nothing on old maps. I've walked it and no sign of anything.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Thanks all. Had wondered whether it had been proposed, but then abandoned/not completed, similar to the plans to link Fort William and Inverness via the Great Glen, a project that only ever got part way, and was always something of a 'white elephant'.

 

[hexagon789]

There was once a plan to run a line to Largs from Kilmacolm via Inverkip, the latter is on the Wemyss Bay branch. The G&SWR secured permission but the line was never built as the Caledonian Railway never offered up the competition expected.

 

[d9009alycidon]

Just found this thread and thought it would be useful to add that an extension from Largs was proposed by the Glasgow and South Western Railway, the route of the line can be seen in this map https://maps.nls.uk/view/216546884. As Weymss Bay was Caledonian they would have not been interested in any GSWR incursion so the proposal would appear to have been to climb up behind Weymss Bay and follow a path through the hills behind Greenock to make a junction with their existing line to Princes Pier. A highly dubious proposal, as the countryside up there is bleak and uninhabited, and route through there would have been unlikely to make any money.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

As Weymss Bay was Caledonian they would have not been interested in any GSWR incursion...

Thanks. That's a good explanation as to why it didn't happen. Slightly inland route for the shortish section between Largs and Wemyss Bay certainly looks possible, albeit a bit of a steep hill for the final mile or so from Upper Skelmorlie down into Wemyss Bay.

 

[d9009alycidon]

Thanks. That's a good explanation as to why it didn't happen. Slightly inland route for the shortish section between Largs and Wemyss Bay certainly looks possible, albeit a bit of a steep hill for the final mile or so from Upper Skelmorlie down into Wemyss Bay.

Doesn't seem to have been any intention to actually go down into Weymss Bay, looking at the contour lines the proposed route would have stayed about 300ft above sea level, so up where the caravan site sits just now

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Doesn't seem to have been any intention to actually go down into Weymss Bay, looking at the contour lines the proposed route would have stayed about 300ft above sea level, so up where the caravan site sits just now

Clearly not ever intended, but might it have been possible, as otherwise it's a lengthy section North Eastwards from Upper Skelmorlie and through the middle of nowhere past the various reservoirs and towards Kilmacolm?!

 

[BayPaul]

Of course the steamers were run by the railways, and there certainly were direct steamers between the two ports (generally en-route to somewhere else) so perhaps that is also part of the reason

 

[CW2]

Why would people in Largs wish to travel to Wemyss Bay (and vice versa)? Or what goods could (have) move(d) between the two?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Why would people in Largs wish to travel to Wemyss Bay (and vice versa)? Or what goods could (have) move(d) between the two?

Probably negligible business just between the two ferry ports, can't imagine there would be many folk wanting to interchange between the Rothesay ferry and the Great Cumbrae Island ferry, so the major traffic must always have been to/from Glasgow, but if the lengthy cross-country route via the Inverclyde Reservoirs was ever seriously contemplated, it surely must have easier to build a shortish section of railway track down the hill from Upper Skelmorlie into Largs.

 

[BayPaul]

Probably negligible business just between the two ferry ports, can't imagine there would be many folk wanting to interchange between the Rothesay ferry and the Great Cumbrae Island ferry, so the major traffic must always have been to/from Glasgow, but if the lengthy cross-country route via the Inverclyde Reservoirs was ever seriously contemplated, it surely must have easier to build a shortish section of railway track down the hill from Upper Skelmorlie into Largs.

In the old days the two ferries connected anyway. Rather than short individual routes to Dunoon, Rothesay and Cumbrae like there are now, there were a mass of long, multi stop interconnected routes by the three railway companies (Caledonian, GSWR and North British from the North Bank of the River) as well as a few independent operators, so it would have been much easier to travel to any resort from any mainland port.

 

[d9009alycidon]

Certainly in later years there was a perfectly good bus service, I used the Strathclyde Day Tripper ticket a few times and got the train to Largs, nipped next door to the bus station and caught the bus up to Weymss Bay stopped right outside the station for the onward train trip back to Glasgow

 

[route101]

Certainly in later years there was a perfectly good bus service, I used the Strathclyde Day Tripper ticket a few times and got the train to Largs, nipped next door to the bus station and caught the bus up to Weymss Bay stopped right outside the station for the onward train trip back to Glasgow

Few years back I had a a daytripper, the McGills bus driver accept it! Stagecoach do but dont run north of Largs now.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

Probably negligible business just between the two ferry ports, can't imagine there would be many folk wanting to interchange between the Rothesay ferry and the Great Cumbrae Island ferry, so the major traffic must always have been to/from Glasgow, but if the lengthy cross-country route via the Inverclyde Reservoirs was ever seriously contemplated, it surely must have easier to build a shortish section of railway track down the hill from Upper Skelmorlie into Largs.

Until 1975 the Cumbraes - and Arran - were in the County of Bute. Rothesay was the county town and would have been the location of the Council Offices.

The Councillors for Great Cumbrae (and Arran) would have bee required to attend council meetings (no Zoom, nor even conference call facilities back then) and would require a means to interchange between the Cumbrae and Bute ferries. Although Largs was the main port for Cumbrae, my 1960s timetables show several times a day the ferry from Millport extended beyond Largs to Wemyss Bay and would have provided a means for that connection to be made.

On Mondays the first Millport to Wemyss Bay ferry departed earlier than the rest of the week and the timetables actually showed the connecting time to Rothesay. My guess would be the Monday timing would be for the older children of Cumbrae to attend Secondary school in Rothesay where they would stay in lodgings for the week and return home on Friday. Do we have any Cumbrae folk who can confirm this theory? Although education in Largs would be logistically more sensible, back then the norm was to attend the nearest school in your county.

Obviously the main flows would be to/from Glasgow and to a lesser extent the other ports further up river such as Gourock and Craigendoran. Although the rail journey to Glasgow would be shorter from Wemyss Bay than from Largs, when the 30 minute sailing time between Largs and Wemyss Bay is taken into account the difference in journey time to Glasgow was negligible - the TTs showed connections by both routes.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Looks like a Largs -> Wemyss Bay connection / alternative route might have proven useful.

Largs Line Closed due to Landslips

It has been reported on another forum that Ardrossan South Beach - Largs is closed ufn due to two landslips onto the line between Hunterston and Fairlie and one embankment slip below the line a little further South. Photos on NR and ScotRail Twitter show the slip nearest to Fairlie as being the...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[Southsider]

Until 1975 the Cumbraes - and Arran - were in the County of Bute. Rothesay was the county town and would have been the location of the Council Offices.

The Councillors for Great Cumbrae (and Arran) would have bee required to attend council meetings (no Zoom, nor even conference call facilities back then) and would require a means to interchange between the Cumbrae and Bute ferries. Although Largs was the main port for Cumbrae, my 1960s timetables show several times a day the ferry from Millport extended beyond Largs to Wemyss Bay and would have provided a means for that connection to be made.

On Mondays the first Millport to Wemyss Bay ferry departed earlier than the rest of the week and the timetables actually showed the connecting time to Rothesay. My guess would be the Monday timing would be for the older children of Cumbrae to attend Secondary school in Rothesay where they would stay in lodgings for the week and return home on Friday. Do we have any Cumbrae folk who can confirm this theory? Although education in Largs would be logistically more sensible, back then the norm was to attend the nearest school in your county.

Obviously the main flows would be to/from Glasgow and to a lesser extent the other ports further up river such as Gourock and Craigendoran. Although the rail journey to Glasgow would be shorter from Wemyss Bay than from Largs, when the 30 minute sailing time between Largs and Wemyss Bay is taken into account the difference in journey time to Glasgow was negligible - the TTs showed connections by both routes.

You are correct regarding the schooling arrangements.