As I bring the recent railway theme to a halt, I'm going to end it with the same topic I started it off with - the Lochee line.
The map section I scanned in shows Lochee West Station & Lochee Station, with the line then continuing up towards Downfield.
Before it reaches the Kingsway, another line branches off East to Fair Muir and Maryfield goods stations.
The aerial photo is from around the mid 60's and it too has the Lochee line visible on it.
The easiest way to spot it is - you see that small dark square clump of trees near the bottom right of the picture, well the thin grey track brushing passed it is the Lochee line, and in fact that is where Lochee West Station was located.
You can follow the line on the photo all the way along it's swooping curve through Lochee and up beside the Kingsway Ice Rink.
You'd probably be best to save the large versions onto your own computer and go back & forward between the 2 to match them up.
And just in case the obvious escapes you - the left side of the map corresponds to the bottom of the photo, so you'll need to twist the images around in your mind!
If you look at the satellite image on google maps you can still make out traces of the line if you know where to look
ReplyDeleteAm so confused. If the tracks went along south road then where was the train going to? Perth? And if the train went through the law how did it get up the conshy road?
ReplyDeleteThe trains were pulled up the hill at that point by stationary engines.
ReplyDelete.
ReplyDeleteFor Historian...
The Dundee to Newtyle Railway originally left the station on Ward Road (where BT's 'Telephone House' is now) and went straight up the hill to just below where the High Kirk is now. If you zoom in on the map at::-
http://maps.nls.uk/towns/view/?id=411
you can see the original line marked in red, leaving Ward Road, going up the hill, then taking a slight curve at the tunnel entrance to go round the hill then head across the Crossroads Station, which still stands in the grounds of Kings Cross Hospital. The map is from 1846, when the Law Incline was still in use. As Clint says, the carriages were pulled up the incline by a stationary engine, sited just outside the tunnel entrance. Hence the curve...
Shortly after this, West Station and the 'Lochee Deviation' came into use. The Dundee/Newtyle railway then left West Station, headed west and branched off the main Dundee/Perth line just before Invergowrie. It then curved round by South Road, passing through Liff Station, which was near the Lino Works, Lochee West at Elmwood Road and Lochee Station itself.
It then headed up to Fairmuir Goods Yard, by way of what became Beechwood, and passed under Clepington Road, between where Johnstone Avenue and the entrance to Kingsway Retail Park is now. The hump of the bridge is still there.
At Fairmuir Goods Yard, it joined the original line heading out to Downfield.
The following two links may be of interest to you. I'll paste a description from each. The first is from Elliot Simpson's site:-
"In the mid-1960s, I took a series of photos of the remains of the railway that ran from Dundee to Newtyle. Now, 40 years on, I have trawled the internet and compiled an account into which I've inserted my photos, etc. Where possible I have included links to the internet sources, but I have also copied the material into this site in case the links ceased to connect after a while."
That site is at:-
http://www.elliottsimpson.com/historyofme/DNR00.html
The second is at:-
http://theatreorgans.com/hammond/keng/kenhtml/Dundee%20Newtyle%20Railway/Dundee%20&%20Newtyle%20Rlwy%20%28Index%29.htm
"THE DUNDEE & NEWTYLE RAILWAY TODAY By Bill Reid
From my photographs and screen graps [sic] from Google Earth and Google Street Views Plus train video screen grab photos and Internet maps.
8=)
...and let's not forget Don Paterson's God's Gift To Women which references the stations on the Dundee-Newtyle line in its poem titles.
ReplyDeleteThank you Brian. All much clearer now :) ps: interesting to see The Royal Lunatic Asylum in the stobbie!
ReplyDeleteThe Elliot Simpson link was a great read. Thanks again Brian :)
ReplyDeleteOn the aerial view the road bridge is complete, but you can clearly see the Fifies crossing the river. Two of the Maxwelltown multis are there, but not the other two.
ReplyDeleteBefore the year is out those multis will be as much part of 'Old Dundee' as the Fifies!
Bridie,
ReplyDeleteThe particular Don Paterson poems (interspersed among non-DNR titles) are:
10:45: Dundee Ward Road
00:00: Law Tunnel
11:00: Baldovan
21:00: Baldragon
01:00: Rosemill
12:00: Dronley
19:00: Auchterhouse
14:50: Rosekinghall
At the end of the book, like a hidden track as it is not listed in the contents, is:
02:50: Newtyle
Excellent...thanks for that Anon.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Bridie.
ReplyDeletenot railway but - seeing the row of prefabs running up rosemount rd/harrison avenue reminded me there are/were prefabs on the west side of lawside academy we used to cut through the paths to the bus stops, the auld anes that used to live in them were very friendly and would always say hello from their wee gardens as we trooped through.after they were demolished I found and ate turnip from what was once a garden on the bus home coz Id spent my dinner money on fags! ah the good auld days
ReplyDelete@ "Clint"
ReplyDeleteGoogle Earth has a time slider going back to 1945. It shows most of the line through the city.
Besides Lochee Station, there still seems to be a building at Crossroads Station in the grounds of King's Cross Hospital. Google Street View just allows a glimpse from the Cleppie, but it looks derelict.
The (then) new Lawside Academy is near the left edge of the aerial photograph at the junction of School Road and Rannoch Road. The school opened in 1966 and the building looks complete probably dating the photograph to around 66 or 67.
ReplyDeleteThe line didn't run through the ice rink it ran to the right hand side of the rink between the ice rink and a engineering supplies companies yard (Brown & Tawse)
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