Cattermuir Crossing

Image: © Lairich Rig Taken: 30 Mar 2012

The Forth and Clyde Junction Railway crossed the road at this point; nothing now remains of the level crossing. The cottage at the corner was the gatehouse associated with the crossing. Stewart Noble, in his book "The Vanished Railways of Old Western Dunbartonshire" (2010), mentions that the cottage was given to one of the navvies who had helped to build the line, on the condition that his family operate the gates of the level crossing. In 1930, the navvy's grandson(*), moved out of the cottage and into a nearby hut (shown in Image and Image), which had originally been one of the railway line's parcels vans. He built the chimney that can be seen on the hut, for his coal fire. He lived in the hut until 1971, in which year he bought the cottage. (*) The book names the occupant "John Smith", but an email correspondent assures me that he was in fact called John Blair; he adds that the cottage was thereafter bought by Ms Brenda Fraser (who died in early 2020), and that it is now (as of December 2020) unoccupied. I am grateful for these corrections and additions. Out of shot to the left is a long mound that indicates the former course of the line; it is shown separately in Image

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