West Railway Station (Old and New), Dundee - Ref: WC1112
This photograph, dating from around 1890, shows the 2nd Dundee West Station (which the Scottish Central Company had built in 1863), with the 3rd station taking shape behind (designs date from 1888).
The second station was considered insufficient for Dundee's increasing rail traffic, and Thomas Barr submitted new plans in 1889. Blyth and Cunningham were the engineers for the project, a red sandstone edifice in the Scottish Baronial style.
The Scottish Central Company acquired the station when it bought the Dundee and Perth Railway, which had been formed in 1835. Originally, the Dundee terminus was little more than a wooden shed. Traffic increased immensely in the years following the opening of the Tay Bridge.
Alexander Wilson who took this photograph, was a supervisor in a Dundee jute mill for over 20 years. He bequeathed much of his collection and £50, to cover the costs involved, to the Free Library Committee of Dundee in 1923.