| Place-name: | Yellow Moss |
| Suggested Meaning: | yellow-coloured moss |
| element | SSE yellow ‘yellow’ |
| element: | S. moss ‘bog, marsh, soft wet-land’ |
| Blaeu Coila (1654): | No Entry |
| OS Name Books (1855-57): | Yellow Moss |
| Location: | Ordnance Survey (1894) |
Yellow Moss
The Ordnance Survey Name Book (1855-57) entry for Yellow Moss reads –
A moss through which a branch Railway passes from the G&SW [Glasgow & South Western] Railway to the Iron works at the Bank.
The branch railway from the main Glasgow to Carlisle line to the ill-fated New Cumnock Iron Works had a few challenges to overcome on its two-mile route. The most challenging of which was probably crossing the 300 yards of the Yellow Moss with the ‘railway raised on piles’
In later years a more robust mineral railway was constructed with the original line to the Iron Works now serving the Bank Coal Company while a branch of that line, at what was named the Creoch junction, served the Lanemark Coal Company.
A small bridge was built over the runner, the man made water channel running from Loch O’ Th’ Lowes to the River Nith, while a larger bridge was built over the River Nith, known locally as the Silver Brig.
The closure of these New Cumnock pits in the late 1960s heralded the demise of these branch railway lines, only for each of them to have a temporary new lease of life in later years which in turn required a replacement of the ageing Silver Brig. The original line (Line 4 ) served the Knockshinnoch Coal Preparation Plant (1983-2004) where wagon loads of coal from numerous opencast sites outwith the parish were delivered to be washed and returned. Later the Creoch branch (Line 5) served the opencast coal works in the parish, in the upper reaches of the River Nith.
Today, a stroll along the disused line provides good views of the Yellow Moss, the to east and the west of the tracks.
SSE yellow ‘yellow’
There are almost 20 named mosses in the parish of New Cumnock, including Black Moss along with Blood Moss and Burnt Moss which may also be a reference to the colour off the moss. Certainly, Yellow Moss falls into the category, albeit certainly the moss on the east side of the track is reddish in colour. The contrast is better shown in the Map 4 below.
Scots moss ‘bog, marsh, tract of wet land’
Scots moss is a ‘bog, marsh, tract of wet-land’ [1]. As mentioned above, there are almost 20 named mosses in the parish of New Cumnock and probably just as many unnamed reflecting the upland nature of the parish.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
| References |
| [1] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. |moss |
| Maps |
| Reproduced with the Permission of the National Library of Scotland |
| https://maps.nls.uk/ |
| Map 1: Ordnance Survey Maps – Six-inch 1st edition, Scotland, 1843-1882 (1857)|Yellow Moss |
| Map 2: Ordnance Survey Maps – Six-inch 1st edition, Scotland, 1843-1882 (1857)| Railway Line |
| Map 3: Ordnance Survey Maps – Six-inch 2nd and later editions, Scotland, 1892-1960 (1895) | Yellow Moss |
| Map 4: Ordnance Survey Maps – Six-inch 2nd and later editions, Scotland, 1892-1960 (1895) Yellow Moss (Background Map ESRI) |
| Ordnance Survey Name Books |
| By Permission of Scotland’s Places |
| scotlandsplaces.gov.uk |
| Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49| Yellow Moss |
NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY 