FERRYHILL RAILWAY HERITAGE TRUST

The Aberdeen Railway Company built the first part of the shed before the opening of their railway from the south in April 1850. The shed continued through ownership by the Scottish North Eastern, Caledonian and LMS railways before final closure by BR in 1987. Although owned by the Caledonian Railway, the North British Railway used the shed’s facilities, a practice continued by the LNER.

The shed had an extension built in the 1860s and a further one in the 1880s to bring it to its present size. The Caledonian Railway expanded the site in the early twentieth century into adjacent fields, built a large additional shed and installed the 70ft turntable. They converted the original shed for wagon maintenance. The area of the additional new shed is now a housing development leaving the original shed, sidings and turntable.

Network Rail (NR) now owns the site that contains the sidings and turntable. Aberdeen City Council (ACC) took over the shed and area to provide storage for their equipment. They no longer have a use for the building but retain the use of part of the site. We are currently in discussion on obtaining a lease for the rest of the site, currently network rail owned.

The turntable is now a Grade ‘A’ listed structure and the shed Grade ‘B’. The turntable is on “The Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland” (www.buildingsatrisk.org.uk). The shed is brick-built, unusual for Aberdeen, and is one of the few remaining railway structures in the area. Built before 1850, it is a building from the dawn of the railways and its Grade ‘B’ reflects this importance.