Railways and Addiewell

Addiewell was a lovely station, with a station building where you bought your tickets. It used to win competitions for best-kept station. John Kelly was the station master there for a number of years.

I remember being taken down to the station to see the queen's train coming through and to wave to her as she passed, all we saw was the royal crest but no queen she did not even look out, this must have been in the 1950s I think, all us kids early waiting and waving for nothing !

I remember the Queen passing by on the train Catherine. All us kids standing on the ashie path like a load of numpties waving our wee flags and we never even got a look! Do you remember the co-op trips to Burnt Island on the train from Addiewell? I remember these well- going over the Forth Bridge and throwing pennies out the window (I don't think one penny ever hit the water). Then getting off the train at Burnt Island and getting our wee goodie bags from the co-op van; I think there was a wee bottle of milk, a bag of Golden Wonder crisps, a cake and a sausage roll. Then down to the beach- didn't matter if it was raining or not, everybody went in the water, mammys and all. Father sitting on a deck chair with his trousers rolled up, collar and tie on, fag in the mouth and two pair of gallasies on because he said he was cold (I could never figure that one out). Then it was down to the shows- codonas I think. I never won a gold fish to this day!

I think the whole of the place lined up to see the Queen and all we saw were drawn blinds. I do still have the coronation mug we were given at school. It's in the back of a cupboard somewhere.

I remember the co-op trips to Burnt Island. When the train got near the Forth Bridge everybody started telling the children to look out the windows. I remember the water was always freezing but we had to get in whether we wanted to or not. It seemed like a long way away but is really not that far from Addiewell, we just didn't know that when we were young.

A snippit about Addiewell station. From the Trove, Australia's digitised newspaper site. Cite-http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66552377. Appeared in 'The Advocate' in Tasmania September 21st 1921. Recently a Scot talked, without a moments pause, mainly to monologue, from Edinburgh; to Glasgow (96 minutes was the actual time)-and he was not very much the better of drink, writes the "Morning Post." He addressed himself to a young engineer and his girl, who listened patiently, on the whole. 'We came to to a' station named Addiewell, which inspired him »thus: "Addiewell.' Du yo ken wha goat the station made at Addiewell? It was Sandy Paterson, him that had the brickworks- No Bobbie Paterson, the coal maister. Sandy,'no' Bobbie, ye understand." "But I don't know any thing about the district," said the young engineer. "Am I no' jist telling you about it, mon. Man I kin tell ye about ony place in Scotland," or London, if ye, like. Do ye ken Aldershot?" (Fifteen minutes of Aldershot).

So, what do we know about Sandy and Bobbie Paterson?

My dad, Cecil Murray, was the Station Master at Addiewell from 1956 until the Beeching cuts.We stayed in the Station House nearby.I think just about every station on that line had a Station Master in those days.

Remember Addiewell St well - picked the papers from the train after school and took them back to Kate Carols wee shop at the bottom of Livingston S. My pay was a pok o sweets out the jars in the shop, by the way it was 1 pok o sweets a week great memoriors

In the late 1940's I was friendly with the stationmasters son,Jim Plenderleith. Used to go up to the  house there beside the station. They had a big backyard with apple trees. There was a footbridge adjoining the main rail bridge where we could run across to the station when we knew the express to Edinburgh was coming down the hill. What a blast as the train went by. On the other side of the station, the south side, there was a derelict building known as the "old water works". This roofless ruin had what looked like a small swimming pool in the centre filled with old masonry and water. The water was stagnant and full of pond life. We never quite found a use for it other than as a hide-a-way. Close by was an old mine shaft entrance about six feet in diameter. At ground level! Covered with a rusty piece of corrugated tin. Even we knew this was dangerous. Used to drop stones down there and wait for the splash. A long way down!