Shell Bridge, North Crescent Road 1 29
April 2005
The Shell Bridge was built in 1888 to span the
Caledonian Railway Line that used to run between Glasgow and Montgomerie Pier
Station, Ardrossan. At the same time,
a forty-two feet Cowans Sheldon railway turntable was installed nearby. The turntable
was extended by nine feet in 1900. Passengers
last travelled on the Caledonia Line in August 1967. The line was formally closed
on 6 May 1968 and the track was removed in the early 1970s. Although
Shell Bridge is not its original name, it was so called because it was near the
site of the former Shell Oil Refinery which existed from 1927 to 1988. From
the late 1980s to the early 2000s, the site was occupied by Saztec,
a computer
data processing firm. If you
know more accurate dates, please contact WebsiteAuthor@ArdrossanPhotographs.net.
An old milestone can be seen in the centre of the photograph. If you
have useful information about the milestone, please
contact WebsiteAuthor@ArdrossanPhotographs.net.
Work
to demolish the Shell Bridge and realign the road started on 25
February 2008. The road opened to traffic on 12 May 2008.