History
The station was opened on 1 January 1883 by the Glasgow and South Western Railway, during the extension of the former Ardrossan Railway to Largs. It became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The station then passed on to the Scottish Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.
When Sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by ScotRail until the Privatisation of British Railways.
Originally a two side platform station, the eastbound platform was demolished in 1987, with passenger trains for both directions now using the westbound platform. The eastbound track remains and is used for freight (mainly to and from Hunterston Terminal). A ticket office is still present at this station and is manned for most services.
There were locomotive sheds just slightly to the west of the station, built in 1881. This was a fairly large complex including offices, stores and workshops and employed over 300 people at its peak. The succession of diesel engines over steam led to the sheds' demise, and they were demolished in 1975. A single siding is in place at the site.
Read more about this topic: Ardrossan South Beach Railway Station
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