Kings Cross Hospital
Crossroads Station
Kings Cross Hospital |
Crossroads Station |
The track through the tunnel and the north side of Dundee ran more or less level for 4.75 miles until it reached the second incline at Rose Mill in the Sidlaws. The 1833 Journal of Agriculture states that "The level spaces are so constructed that they each form two straight lines, with the view that should it afterwards be thought expedient to adopt stationary engines instead of horses, they could be erected at the meeting of the straight lines for the dragging of waggons along the levels."
It is probably for this reason that there are several buildings which now appear to be out of align with the road system because they were aligned to the track. One of these was the station master's house in the grounds of Kings Cross Hospital, Clepington Road. The photo (right) was taken by Dave Burnett, who used to live in this area in the 1950s in May 1973 (and my thanks to him for permission to use it). I understand that the circular aperture between the upper window used to hold the station clock. It is likely that the diagonal boundary to the field in the left photo represents the edge of the rail track as it head towards Kings Cross Hospital from the south.
Another building which was aligned to the track was Trendell Simpson, the printers in Lintrathen Street. This latter building was bought by my father in 1948 and the business has been in the family ever since. As a boy I used to watch the steam shunter, from the upper floor windows, "playing" with the trucks in the Fairmuir marshaling yard at the back of the building.
Please feel free to contact me by e-mail at elliottsimpson@hotmail.com
May 2019