In Scotland, a Converted Railway Station Sports Its Own Train

Fascinated by trains as a child? Looking to acquire a unique, quirky home or bed-and-breakfast in a scenic and somewhat remote locale? Head on up to Saughtree, in the Scottish Borders, where a former rail station has been converted into a dwelling perfect for any trainspotter.

Almost two hours south of Edinburgh, in the leafy Roxburghshire countryside, Saughtree railway station was once on the Borders County Railway, a 42-mile single-track route that connected the town of Hexham in England with Riccarton Junction in Scotland. The railway closed completely in 1963 and the station building, which dates back to 1867, was restored and converted into a home in the 1990s.

Nestled on 1.1 acres, the 2,902-square-foot slate-roofed building is configured with six bedrooms and six baths. The original ticket office is now a snug coffee station — the old station currently operates as a B&B — and everywhere are station signs and railway memorabilia: the sitting and dining room has a door with a “Staff Only” plaque while the wall has a Saughtree station sign.

Bedrooms, five of which are en suite, are dispersed throughout the building for maximum privacy. There are two small bedrooms and an en-suite bath off the ticket office/coffee station, another is located off a spacious dining/sitting room, and three more, one of them a two-story affair with a bedroom above a bathroom and dressing hall, are at the west end of the house, along with a second sitting room. The central kitchen looks out over the gardens to the south. There’s a red Aga for cooking and plenty of space for a breakfast table.

Mature trees and shrubs on the property are host to a range of wildlife. The terrace to the south is perfect for outdoor dining and entertaining; it offers a great view of rolling lawns and hills, while the north side of the house overlooks the train platform and train.

Available at offers over about $600,000, listing agents are Andrew Thomson and Flora Geoghegan at Savills. Also available are the old station platform and a stretch of railway line, along with Meg of Saughtree, a diesel locomotive, which pulls two wagons and a guard’s van. So yes, you can be the conductor on your own train on your own line in your own backyard!

All aboard! Choo-choo!