When a major building is seriously damaged or destroyed there is always a debate: restore or replace. On 17 July 2021 the largely wooden-built Grade B listed building that served platform 1 at Troon station in Scotland was destroyed beyond repair. The building, which dated to 1892, was designed by James Miller for the Glasgow & South Western Railway.
Following consultations it was decided to undertake the construction of a replica of the original station based on the surviving elements – the eight steel beams – from the destroyed building. The replacement building was designed to follow the same curved footprint as the original. The roof covering is Welsh slate surmounted by clay ridge tiles to the same pattern as the original. The cast iron rainwater goods also reproduced the originals. The seven-bay glazed canopy was also seriously damaged and the glazed roofs, with finials, were also replicated reusing the original brackets.
The success of the project in recreating the appearance of the original, allied to the quality of the workmanship and the attention to detail, saw Network Rail and the contractors AMCO awarded The Arch Company Award for Urban Heritage when the 2024 National Railway Heritage Awards were announced on 4 December 2024.
On Friday 11 April 2025 representatives of the National Railway Heritage Awards, Network Rail and AMCO met at the newly restored station for the formal unveiling of the plaque awarded at the ceremony in December at Merchant Taylors’ Hall in London.
The attendees at the plaque unveiling, from left, Greg Beecroft (NRHA judge), Duncan Sooman (NRHA judge), James Ledgerwood (ScotRail), Andy Savage (NRHA Chairman), James Montgomery (Network Rail Project Manager for Troon station), Louise McSmith (Network Rail Project Manager with her daughter – possibly the youngest person ever to be present at an NRHA plaque unveiling!), Dave McGahon (AMCO Giffen), Alan Kane (AMCO Giffen), Helen Agnew (Network Rail Project Manager), John Yellowlees NRHA judge and ScotRail ambassador) and Eddie McGloin (NRHA judge).
The unveiled plaque at Troon station.
The scale of the damage at Troon station following the disastrous fire of 17 July 2021.
The station as rebuilt from virtually the same angle; the scale of the work undertaken along with the quality of the workmanship and the attention to detail made the project an excellent winner of The Arch Company Award for Urban Heritage at the 2024 National Railway Heritage Awards.