Building record MAB18871 - RAILWAY WORKS, INVERURIE

Former railway works, built for the Great North of Scotland Railway between 1898 and 1905.

Former railway works, built for the Great North of Scotland Railway between 1898 and 1905. Designed by William Pickersgill, the GNSR Company Engineer, as a replacement for their cramped site at Kittybrewster, Aberdeen. The single storey steel-framed, granite-clad works buildings covered an area of 4.5 acres, and were powered by the company's own generator. The Works complex comprised a boiler, erecting and machine shop (demolished), paint shop (demolished), smithy, furnace and foundry shop, the carriage and wagon shop and one small double-aisled to the west of the site. There is also a substantial managers drawing office and to the north east of the works, a small estate of purpose-built workers' housing (once known as 'the Colony'). The Works at Inverurie were, for their time, advanced in terms of layout and equipment and included a 60 ton electric travelling crane for easy movement of locomotives over each other in the erecting shop, and a very wide use of electricity for lighting and powering various machines. The Works closed on 31st December 1969, shortly after Dr Beeching axed lines North of Aberdeen. It was later occupied by other types of firms. The Works played a significant part in the development and history of Inverurie and the wider industrial and economic history of the North East. They retain a high value within the industrial and railway history of Scotland, especially as this is one of only three locomotive works sites in Scotland which remain appreciably intact. Within the context of the United Kingdom as a whole, the buildings of Inverurie Works make a valuable contribution to railway architectural heritage, and are particularly representative of the later generation of locomotive works. The distinctive saw-tooth profiled roof of the carriage and wagon shop is a landmark feature of the skyline of Inverurie. A standing building survey was carried out by MAS in December 2009 in advance of proposed residential development of part of the site.

Period Notes
Built 1898-1905; closed 31 Dec 1969.

Author unknown, , PRESS & JOURNAL, 11/11/1991 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1416.

Author unknown, , PRESS & JOURNAL, 28/09/78 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1416.

Hume, JR, 1977, Industrial Archaeology of Scotland, 103 (Bibliographic reference). SAB730.

SHEPHERD, I.A.G.S., 2006, DONSIDE & STRATHBOGIE: ARCHITECTURAL GUIDE, P.125 (Bibliographic reference). SAB3366.

MURRAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICES, 2009, LOCO WORKS, HARLAW RD, INVERURIE:BUILDING SURVEY, SBS (Bibliographic reference). SAB4658.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2011, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND. NEW SERIES, VOLUME 11, 2010, p.25 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5535.

Jan 1 1994 , C 35952, C 35952 (Ground Photograph). SAB20053.

Jan 1 1995 , AAS/GR/95/CT145, AAS/GR/95/CT145 (Ground Photograph). SAB32922.

Jul 28 2003 , AAS-GR-03-07-009 - 018, AAS-GR-03-07-009 - 018 (Ground Photograph). SAB35681.

Mar 25 1971 , H35/71/18/13-14, H35/71/18/13-14 (Ground Photograph). SAB20052.

Oct 4 2007 , AAS/07/02/DG1813-5, AAS/07/02/DG1813-5 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB19250.

Record last edited

Apr 6 2022 3:18PM