Some may recall the poem above. It featured in a cine film made by Ernest Mackie in the 1960s about the closure of the railway line through Largo and Lundin Links. It's a beautifully-written, sentimental piece that must have had particular resonance during the period immediately following the withdrawal of service. As the images below show, the stations lay derelict and overrun with weeds for some time before final demolition.  The condition of the closed station at Largo at that time was a stark contrast to its appearance in years gone by, when the award-winning gardens were carefully tended and a shell-covered sun-dial, statue and model of the Flying Scotsman (created by James Young) graced the station. 

The line had been in decline for some time before Dr Richard Beeching (referred to in the poem) made his recommendations for the restructuring of the railways around the country. The photograph of him at the end of this post was taken in 1962 at Edinburgh Waverley on his study trip which ultimately led to this line being cut, along with many others.
​

Following on from the demise of Largo Station, let's look at the final days of Lundin Links Station. The demolition of the station buildings at Lundin Links can be accurately dated thanks to a preserved paper trail. On 26 November 1971, the Fife County Council Master of Works acknowledged receipt of an application from Lundin Golf Club to demolish the station buildings (see below). The site of the station was adjacent to the golf course and some time after closure of the railway line, the Club purchased the disused site. 

The application appears to have been acted upon swiftly, as the note below dated 1 December states that the station buildings have been demolished and that the levelling of the site is underway. 

So after a spell of lying derelict, the station buildings were removed and the whole station site absorbed into the golf course. The location where the station buildings stood is now a course maintenance area, alongside the 17th fairway, adjacent to Links Road. For images of the station after closure but before demolition please click here and also here. Below is a photograph of the part of Links Road (once known as Station Road) where the station once was. Memories of the station or its demolition would be very welcome - please comment or get in touch through the 'contact' link.

This set of four poignant colour photographs show Largo Station mid-demolition back around 1970/71 (can anyone put a precise date on this?). Many thanks to Russell McLaren for kindly sharing these images, which were taken by his father. The family lived overlooking the station and were regular users of the train service. The photographs are taken from Station Park looking towards the sea, with the original 1857 station building in the foreground (partially demolished) and the later 1894 building on the far platform. Prior to demolition, the buildings had been stripped of valuable materials such as the roof tiles. Having closed in 1965 (the final passenger service running on 5 September) the station had sat derelict for a few years. By 1968 discussions had begun on converting the Largo Station site into a car park, with a view to reducing congestion on Main Street. This eventually came to fruition and the car park remains in use to this day. 

Below are a couple of images of Largo Station while still in use. Operational for more than a century, the station was once know for its well-kept gardens and attentive station masters - a great facility for locals and the start and end point of many a day trip and holiday. If you have memories or images of the station - please do get in touch. In the next post - details of the demolition of Lundin Links station.

The scene above of Lundin Golf Course dates to circa 1900. There are a number of distinctive golfers in the photograph, including a young caddie on the left of the group of three and a well-dressed chap further left who appears to have brought his dog with him. The slim golf bags contain far fewer clubs than today and everyone is sporting hats and jackets.

The background is no less interesting. Lundin Links train station is in the centre, complete with a steaming engine pulling a number of carriages. The blown-up image below flags a few points of interest:

1. Aithernie - shown as a private house prior to the extension added in 1906 (this is now the Old Manor Hotel)
2. Steam engine at station platform
3. Original station building - before the addition of a second station building shortly afterwards
4. Haworth Cottage (adjacent to Leven Road)
5. Gardens of Haworth (main house) and Homelands (both obscured by trees)

The slightly later photograph further below shows both the extension to Aithernie and the second station building, plus Haworth can be seen through the trees. The sloping land between features 4 and 5 would eventually be filled by the houses and gardens of the west part of Links Road.

Golfers, day trippers and summer visitors were important users of Lundin Links station. There was also a small amount of freight traffic. According to 'The Leven & East of Fife Railway' by Hajducki, Jodeluk and Simpson, this consisted:

"...largely of inward traffic of coal from the Fife Coal company and the Wemyss Coal Co. through merchants such as Thomson & Small and an outward traffic of potatoes from merchants such as John A.D. Steins and Isaac Poad & Sons Led. Until World War I there was a regular traffic in horses and horse-drawn carriages destined for the large houses in the village. Other traders who used the small goods yard in the years before the World War I included D.M. Patrick, golf club and golf ball manufacturers, and W.Dick coach builders."

The house of David Murdoch Patrick can be seen in the very top image (house with triple apex roof towards the right hand side above the bunker). This was the only house on Golf Road at that point. Today it is gaining a new neighbour (see below).

This circa 1910 view of Lundin Links Station looks across towards the east end of Leven Road (and Largo Law beyond). At the time the west part of the street, beyond Montrave Hall, had not be developed (see 1912 map below) and the area between Haworth and Aithernie had not been in-filled with houses. The golf links are in the foreground. Further below are a couple of zoomed-in views picking out further detail.

Above is the original station building (on the right) erected during the Standard Life era, while 'Aithernie' (now the Old Manor Hotel) sits above the station platform, on the left. The small hut-like structure by the railway line in front of Aithernie may have been a 'tablet catching' platform. As this section of railway was single track, a system was devised whereby the driver had to be in possession of a 'tablet' before proceeding down the next section of track. Tablets were often exchanged at special wooden platforms to ensure a speedy handover from signalman to driver.

Below is an annotated photograph showing the newer station building in the left foreground and the following buildings in the background:

1. Montrave Hall
2. Dalraven, 54 Leven Road
3. Haworth Cottage
4. Haworth

The above image of Largo Station is from the North British Railway Study Group's photographic collection. It is undated but looks to be from the inter-war period. The station masters during this era were William Simpson (circa 1902 to 1920), James Young (1920-29), Peter Low (1929-1935) and Alexander Thomson (1935-40). The detail below shows the Durham Hall (originally a school) in the left background and a carriage in the sidings.

​Note also the advertising around the station. There is an advert for The Scotsman newspaper above the Largo sign, a Tennent's Lager sign on the fence and a poster for Ely Cathedral on the side of the station building. Ely Cathedral is in Cambridgeshire - I wonder whether any locals were inspired to go and visit it? And was there a poster for Largo put up somewhere down there?

A previous post has shown an ice-cream van awaiting customers at Massney Braes by the beach at Lundin Links. The above image appears to show the same van but from a different angle on a different day. Probably dating to the early 1930s, there is plenty going on in the picture, so a couple of zoomed in images are shown below. The first image below shows the ice-cream van in more detail on the right. While on the left is a kind of stage - perhaps used by occasional performers (note also the lady reading a newspaper on the sand below this).  Also clearly visible is the old road bridge over the railway line, which was removed in 1970.

The second detailed image at the foot of this post, shows the former joiner's workshop in the upper right (originally the saltworks panhouse). Also visible are the old public toilets (long since demolished) - the white square building with castellated roof just left of centre in front of the trees. All in all there was more in the way of amenity and activity in this spot back then and during this era a bathing pool was very nearly built at the site too.

This is the 'Glenfinnan' approaching Largo having passed Viewforth (see buildings to the right on the shore). The image, which appeared in the July 1964 'Railway World' magazine, was captured by WJV Anderson in August of 1957 - which was exactly 100 years after the opening of the line. To the left of the line is the poultry farm at Buckthorns Farm. 

The magazine article noted that "like many other lines in Britain, the East Fife is under threat of closure. If the Beeching economic axe does chop it off, the memories will never be erased". Of course the axe did fall and the line closed in September 1965 to passenger traffic (with some goods services continuing for a brief spell thereafter).

The Glenfinnan locomotive had met its demise in 1960 after almost fifty years of service. An image of it being cut up can be seen here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/93456400@N04/14742346492

If you have memories of the railway through Largo and Lundin Links, please comment!

Two wonderful photographs to share today from blog reader Ian Downie, showing a steam train passing behind The Temple, Lower Largo in Spring of 1965. Both images were taken from the back of Rollo Villa.

The upper image is looking towards Bourtree Brae (seen above first carriage of train) and Cardy House (visible to left of train). The map below marks the direction of the shot. Interestingly, the image features the white-gated Serpentine level crossing (shown in detail in inset) - the means of crossing the railway line for users of the Serpentine path. There was a similar level crossing next to Cardy House and another to the east at Viewforth.

Below is a shot of the same train, taken from the same spot, but facing north east, as the locomotive heads in the direction of Viewforth and Dumbarnie Links, where marvellous sea views could be enjoyed by passengers. These photographs provide a great sense of what it must have been like to have these steam engines powering along right next to the houses and gardens of Largo and are especially poignant as in the same year that these images were captured, the line closed to passenger trains.

With many thanks to Ian Downie

John M. Fairlie came to Lundin Links station in October 1928, after five years at Aberfoyle station. He replaced Mr Henry Wilson who had been promoted to Oakley near Dunfermline after two years at Lundin Links. Mr Fairlie was born in 1869 in Killearn in Stirlingshire and was one of eight children. His father Archibald was a 'carrier' who delivered goods and was probably involved at the local railway station. By the age of 21, John had become a railway booking clerk in Glasgow. His work with the railways saw him move around over the years but Lundin Links was to be John Fairlie's last station. He retired in 1932 after 45 years service with the railways. His replacement at Lundin Links was female station master, Elizabeth Scott. Mr Fairlie's retirement spanned twenty years, until he died in 1952 at the age of 83.