Gorebridge History

Gorebridge Station

Written by John Ballantyne - Chairman of the Gorebridge & District History Society

Edinburgh will be linked to the Borders by rail again, after work officially began on the Waverley which will run from Edinburgh to Tweedbank  near Galashiels in the Scottish Borders. The line will bring new life to Gorebridge and its economy. 

The original Gorebridge station opened on 14 July 1847 as part of the North British Railway's new line that was to reach Hawick and Carlisle. The station closed to passengers on 6 January 1969 as part of the overall closure of the Waverley route between Edinburgh and Carlisle.

Coal and gunpowder were the two main industries in Gorebridge in the latter half of the 19th century. The latter was an important part of Gorebridge’s economy at the time of the coming of the railway. So much so that two tunnels were built just beyond the station to prevent any sparks from the trains accidentally reaching the powder magazine at Ashbank.

Gorebridge was the terminus for many trains and the signalmen were kept very busy. In addition to the main double track running through, there were a couple of sidings and a loading platform in the station yard (just where the front doors of the eight, perhaps soon to be removed, houses stand). One saw coal being off-loaded for local coal merchants, who had a yard in the station. Each bag weighed 112lbs.

Sometimes cattle or sheep were loaded or off-loaded and many times we saw bullocks being driven away to local markets. The beasts sometimes managed to escape up to the main street before being rounded up – which caused great excitement. The cattle always seemed to race up the street on the opposite side from the butchers’ shops.

The engines on the Waverley line had wonderful names – names to remember ¬– many of them from Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley novels. I remember seeing some of them: Madge Wildfire, Guy Mannering, Jeannie Deans, Ivanhoe, and Heart of Midlothian.

The station entrance and ticket hall is now Porter’s Restaurant. The station master lived in the flat above.

By the 1960s the Waverley Line was gradually running down. It was closed to goods on 28th December 1964 and Gorebridge became an unmanned station before finally closing on 6th January 1969. I suppose if coal had still been king, it would have been a different story, but all the pits had gone and the Beeching Act came into force.
How wonderful it will be to hear the sound of the train again in Gorebridge.