Our Projects

Friends of Wemyss Bay Station was established to reinstate and maintain the floral displays, but we have worked to enhance the station in other ways. All of this has been funded from the sale of books at our shop.

For details of our projects, click on the links below:

Caledonian Seat

Bobby Statue

Clyde Map

Gallery

Wemyss Bay Station Timeline

Station Clock

Leo du Feu Artwork

Landscaping

Caledonian Seat

There are three seats on the seaward side of the station concourse. Two of them are modern, but one of them is over 100 years old. It is to a standard design used by the Caledonian Railway, the company that rebuilt the station in 1902/03. The National Railway Museum at York had the seat in store, but decided not to keep it. They very kindly agreed that we could have it, for further use at a Caledonian station. We had to meet the cost of moving the seat from York and having it thoroughly renovated in Glasgow by Safestrip Contracts. It was received covered in many layers of paint, with the top coat being bright blue. It was installed on the concourse in 2016. We could have purchased several seats for the cost of transporting and restoring it, but it is good to have one matching those that were provided when the rebuilt station came into use.

Bobby Statue

The bronze statue of a young boy, Bobby, was unveiled on the concourse in 2017. He was inspired by the statue of Annie at Gourock and is by the same sculptor, Angela Hunter. Bobby is seen going on holiday, with his model yacht and fishing line. He commemorates the many thousands who passed through the station for their annual break in the fresh sea air.

Angela Hunter produced the figure in clay and it was made into a bronze by Powderhall Bronze, Edinburgh, using the traditional lost wax method.

The statue was named Bobby after an online competition was held, inviting followers of our social media pages to suggest a good name for our new statue. Bobby was by far the most popular; however it happened to be quite an appropriate choice because some say that Wemyss Bay is named after one Robert Wemyss, a fisherman originally from Fife who lived here in a hut over 200 years ago.

Bobby has proved to be very popular and hardly a day goes by without people posing by him for a photograph.

Clyde Map

In 2017 we were able to acquire an historic map of the Firth of Clyde. These maps were once widely used on steamers and at stations in the area. They appeared in various guises, ranging from large posters to small illustrations in timetables and leaflets. Our map was in quite fragile condition and had been affected by damp. We had it professionally restored at the Scottish Conservation Studio and their advice was that it should be carefully stored and not exposed to light. Therefore, we have had an exact photographic replica made. This is now displayed in the main entrance to the station. It is pleasing to see people looking at the map, discussing their travels.

We were able to provide a digital image of the map to PS Waverley, enabling a copy to be displayed on board the steamer.

Small copies of the map are available for sale at the bookshop.

The Gallery

Our Gallery will always be “work in progress”, as we are given more artefacts and pictures for display. We aim to make this room a welcoming space, where you can find out more about the station and pier, or just sit comfortably reading a book. The bookshelves are modern, but the rest of the furniture is contemporary with the station building.

Visitors can study numerous folders of historic photographs and records concerning the station and pier. Artefacts on display include:A model of turbine steamer Duchess of Montrose which was previously displayed in the former Royal Oak bar in Largs. The vessel was built by William Denny & Bros. Limited and was used for summer cruises on the Clyde from 1930 until 1964. Duchess of Montrose has a special link with Wemyss Bay, because she worked the ferry service to Innellan and Rothesay during the Second World War, when many of the paddle steamers had been requisitioned for use as mine sweepers.

Timber destination boards, as used on Clyde steamers. These are displayed in a modern rack, to traditional design, but the upper part was saved from the paddle steamer Marchioness of Lorne. She was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co Limited in 1935 and served on the Clyde, mostly to the Holy Loch piers, until 1954.

Royal National Lifeboat Institution certificate dated 13th August 1903 recording the award of a Silver Medal to Mr Hector Robertson for gallantly assisting to save the crew of a yacht that foundered off Wemyss Bay. Check out how the Glasgow Herald reported on the calamity.

Wemyss Bay Station Timeline

A timeline showing the history of Wemyss Bay station and pier has been displayed on the station concourse since 2018. The content was compiled by Nancy Cameron and Greg Beecroft, but the display was professionally designed by Iain McGregor of Bootlace Creative, who is based in Station Road, Skelmorlie. We were very pleased to be able to use a local designer. It was manufactured to a robust specification byService Graphics, Glasgow.

We often see people studying the timeline, in order to learn more about the history of our remarkable station and pier.

A brochure with the content of the timeline is available for sale at the bookshop

Station Tower Clock

The clock in the station’s clock tower became unreliable and did not show the correct time. Nor did it switch between Summer and Winter time. Maintenance was difficult, because access is via steps built into an internal wall that fall far short of modern safety requirements.

We could not arrange repairs ourselves, but provided funds so that Network Rail could get the clock working properly. The cost was shared equally by the Friends and the Railway Heritage Trust.

The mechanical works was replaced by an electronic device which receives the time signal by radio from the National Physical Laboratory’s transmitter at Anthorn, Cumbria. The internal lighting of the dials was replaced by LEDs, to reduce electricity consumption and greatly reduce the frequency at which anyone needs to go to the top of the tower.

Leo du Feu Artwork

We commissioned artist Leo du Feu to complete two artworks for the station. Leo has provided paintings at other ScotRail stations and his studio is in the station building at Burntisland.

A painting to draw attention to our bookshop was installed in 2023. This particularly highlights the floral displays that we care for and the books that fund most of this work.

A triptych by Leo was installed in 2024 on a former poster board on the pier walkway. That was after the board had been renovated for us by local craftsman, Neil MacRaild. The triptych illustrates the voyage from Wemyss Bay, with the station and the two ferries, Argyle and Bute, featuring prominently. There is much other detail to take in, with many breeds of seabird illustrated. Numerous ships that have carried passengers on the Firth of Clyde can also be seen, ranging from Comet, the world’s first sea-going steam ship, to the new Glen Sannox.

Landscaping

Soon after the Friends were established in 2009, an unkempt area by the entrance to the station car park was landscaped. This became increasingly difficult to maintain, especially as drivers sometimes parked on the land.

We had hard landscaping installed in 2024, which should be much easier to keep neat and tidy. We should like to provide some large, potted plants in this area, but that depends on finding more gardening volunteers.