The Job: Opening on the Dundee and Arbroath Railway in 1838, Grade A listed Broughty Ferry is now Scotland’s oldest railway station still in operation. In recent decades the station had grown derelict, and would have been demolished had it not been for an impassioned campaign by the local community and its council to save it.
As a part of a comprehensive renovation, we were contracted to take care of the station windows. This included the iconic signal box, a cherished local landmark dating from 1887, which was moved along with all its old levers to a new location during the works.
Our Approach: Working on a functioning train station near a live railway line was the main challenge, requiring works to be boarded off so as not to interfere with day-to-day services.
The Victorian station's old sash and casement windows were in a sorry state. These were removed and brought to our Doune workshop for careful patching and renovation.
Sadly, the signal box windows and doors were beyond repair, but our joiners and glaziers were able to manufacture and fit new ones to precisely match the style of the originals.
At the same time, we fashioned a modern style of window for a later platform building, which was getting revamped to host a new restaurant. This is visible in the Instagram picture below next to the handsome repositioned signal box..
We feel very privileged to have played our part in restoring so precious a piece of our Scottish heritage.
What the Planning Secretary of Broughty Ferry Community Council said:
The station looks very attractive now and it is much better than having the whole thing demolished. If you knock down all the old things that give you a sense of place you lose a lot of the local character of the area. Hopefully now when people pass by on the train they will see it and think to stop here
