A carved early locomotive above the door fixes the building to the railway age even though the station stands beyond the town centre.
Quick facts
- Date
- About 1848; later mansard attic
- Architect / designer
- Designer not recorded
- Type
- Former railway-era hotel with locomotive relief
- Designation
- Listed building, Category B (LB21341)
- OS grid reference
- NN 94877 13057
Architecture and continuing use
The two-storey, three-window stuccoed front has black-painted architraves and a Roman Ionic pilaster doorway. A fine bas-relief of a 2-2-2 locomotive sits above the entrance. A later mansard provides attic accommodation, and a low adjoining cottage extends the group.
Its story
The hotel was built around 1848, the year the Scottish Central Railway opened Auchterarder station. Its name and locomotive relief promoted the new transport connection from a High Street site. The station lay to the south-east, so the hotel helped draw railway identity into the town proper.
What to notice
- The small locomotive relief above the entrance.
- Ionic pilasters and Greek ornament around the doorway.
- The later mansard rising above the original two-storey front.
Reading the surroundings
View from the public pavement and respect any present occupant. Do not infer that the building operates as a hotel or is open to visitors.
Timeline
- 22 May 1848 Passenger traffic began on the Scottish Central route south-east of the burgh.
- Around 1848 The Railway Hotel was built with a locomotive relief above its door.
- Later 19th or 20th century A mansard attic enlarged the original roof space.
- 5 October 1971 The building entered the statutory list at Category B.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The designation preserves the historic hotel name but does not establish the building’s current business or residential use.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Railway Hotel, Auchterarder, LB21341 — Current designation status, official mapped location, date, fabric and significance.
- Trove: Railway Hotel, Auchterarder — National heritage inventory context connecting the former hotel with the High Street group.
- Perth and Kinross Council: Auchterarder Development Framework — Local-authority analysis of the town’s historic rig pattern, High Street character and landmark buildings.
Location
OS grid reference NN 94877 13057 · Location confidence: High for the current HES designation point; public text separately qualifies access, component identity and current use. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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