Gourock Railway Station - Cutbacks

Cutbacks

The station was built to take large numbers of passengers boarding the steamers, but has been considerably reduced in size for the smaller traffic volumes of today. Originally the curving station had 17 canopy bays each side over three railway lines, three bays full width then the westmost 19 bays covered one line which continued on, and a central concourse with adjacent offices and stores etc. fronting the pier. In the 1980s the westmost end of the station was cut back by 18 bays, and in the 1990s the adjacent timber quay was demolished. More recently the remaining glazed canopies over the platforms have been taken down, leaving only the cast iron supporting structure and the slate roofs and glazed canopies over a section incorporating a ticket office and a waiting room. The adjacent Bay Hotel was also demolished in the 1990s with its site being grassed over and in 2006 a portable ticket office was put in place at the end wall which had been erected when the station was cut back and the old ticket office was closed.