Old Paper Mill Railway Bridge Abutments

Image: © Ian Dodds Taken: 22 Jun 2021

The current OS paper map shows this bridge as still standing. Considering that the paper mill the short spur once served was demolished in 2002, and the site cleared in 2004, it seems likely this is a mistake though. I was struck by the sheer size the bridge must have been, especially considering that all it did was attach Westfield Paper Mill to the main (at the time) railway line between Bathgate and Slamannan. It first appears on maps in the 1910s, but the line was last operational in the 1960s. The paper mill was described by the OS in their research for their initial 1850s maps as dealing exclusively with the production of coarse brown paper. This must have been big business in its day - brown paper bags and parcel wrap were obviously what kept the world turning back then, judging by the size the premises became.

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