Whitrope Siding

Whitrope Siding lies in the Scottish Borders near the highest point on the old Waverley Route, Whitrope Summit at 307 metres above sea level. Just 300 metres south of Whitrope Tunnel and four kilometres north of Hermitage, it once served as a goods loading bay. Today the site holds the Whitrope Heritage Centre and marks the current southern end of the heritage Border Union Railway. Two railway cottages and a signal box once stood here, giving the place a small but important role in the line’s history. The heritage centre keeps the memory of the Waverley Route alive. Inside a Mk2 carriage and a buffet carriage, visitors find displays of artefacts and photographs from the line’s past. Two locomotives stand on the track: a 1962 shunter and a 1950s diesel, joined by a railbus moved from Derbyshire. Over 800 metres of track now run south from the tunnel towards Bridge 200, with plans to rebuild the signal box and extend the line further. Visitors walk past the two static carriages and the locomotives before reaching the platform on the down side. The surrounding hills and the long Whitrope Tunnel nearby frame the scene. The heritage railway offers a quiet look at railway history, far from busy stations, where the past is kept running on a short stretch of track.