Words & Photos By Jeremy Watson
Motivated by considerable concern about its condition, Dumbarton Stations Improvement Trust (DSIT) commissioned a comprehensive assessment of Dumbarton Central Station.
Funded through the WDC Common Good Fund a team of conservation specialists headed by Leslie Kerr not only identified problems, but also potential for the premises.
And in the process several intriguing features were discovered, or re-discovered, which have been long concealed from public view.
Many readers may in fact remember being able to enter the station through a grand entrance in the Church Street / Townend Road underpass.
On passing through the ornate iron gates, you found yourself in a hall with the ticket offices, waiting room, baggage rooms and such like.
Clerestory lighting through windows along the platform edges above, added to the ambience.
Some may have been aware of the room in one corner that the council used for functions – complete with a hearth and roaring fire.
A past employee remembers how in his younger days he would collect coal from the steam train supplies to feed this fire.
At that time, with health and safety being of little concern, he would cross the lines with buckets of coal and feed hearths in the rooms on the upper levels.
All this lower level was rather ornate: brickwork, stonework and timber partitions having a neo-Gothic feel about them.
A pair of stairs swept up on each side – lined with glazed tiles and iron railings.
As you reached the platforms on the higher level you would have seen the pair of platforms and facilities much as you recognise them now.
All this epitomised the importance, the exuberance, the grandeur of rail travel of the day.
Steam travel north to the Highlands or east to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
So much of that has been lost.
Well, has it?
You may be surprised to learn a great deal still exists, albeit rather forlorn and decayed; shut off in the lower areas.
Users of the station will be aware of some of the decay and water ingress, of vegetation, the dark deposits of mould and the white deposits of efflorescence.
On each of the two platforms are large, corrugated metal boxes.
These conceal the original stairs.
While these spaces have been cleaned to some extent since these photographs were taken, they remain much the same.
The objectives of DSIT are to promote the restoration of the station to its former glory – even if this means some adaptations to meet modern day operational standards.
The advent of electrification of the railways had a profound effect, on the upper level in particular.
With stations requiring fewer staff, passengers these days pretty much look after themselves.
The lower areas, those that were the grandest were considered obsolete and abandoned or leased out.
But leaving passengers much to their own devices is one of the issues of concern.
None of Dumbarton’s three stations has disabled persons access to suitable standards – if at all.
Did you know the current access to the platforms were actually built for postal vehicles?
That is why they are rather steep.
Larger items including baggage were taken to the platforms with basic hoists, the remnants of which can still be seen in the lower area.
DSIT’s ideals still seem far off, but some of them should be attainable.
West Dunbartonshire Council is upgrading the area around Station Road and along the linkage route to the town centre.
This station has a very strong symbiotic relationship with Dumbarton.
As it gives the first impression of the town to visitors and represents the town in many ways to locals, it is extremely important we work towards its upgrading.
As it is built on two levels, the challenges become complex, but they can be met.
The photographs in this article are primarily to do with the hidden features.
You all already know the rest of the premises.
These should be of interest, perhaps inspire you, maybe even trigger some memories.
If so, we would love to hear from you.
To find out more about the station and West Dunbartonshire’s rich built heritage visit EXPLORE WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE website and Jeremy Watson can be contacted via the Your Comments page.
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