During October 1926, the building inspector of the Middle Ward district of Lanarkshire reported an increasing tendency on the part of people to use for human habitation, temporary buildings of a somewhat insecure nature!

A large number of railway carriages had been thrown on the auction market, and the inspector was having considerable difficulty in keeping them under observation.

Wooden huts, too, are going up in various places. In some instances the occupants of these shanties were people who got behind with their rent in the county council houses, and the whole idea underlying this movement, the inspector pointed out, appeared to he cheap housing accommodation. Can you imagine living in an old railway carriage?

A case was cited of a man and wife and SEVEN children in disused carriage at Wishaw. It was going on in Blantyre too and at Newarthill. Similar structures had been placed, without permission at Blantyre and Wishaw. In the the case of the Blantyre carriage which suddenly popped up, it was being used as a shop, selling confectionery, and the one in Newarthill being used for manufacture of ice-cream.

The District Committee are took action in these cases to remove them.

Picture is not Blantyre but for illustration only.

On social media:

Margaret Brown Burns There was one in Blantyre used as a henhouse

The Blantyre Project where was that Margaret?

Margaret Brown Burns Morris Cres

Margaret Elma Griffin My Grandpa McGregor had one he was caretaker of the Church just going out of Burnbank near the Cross he did it all up and it was used to store cleaning and gardening equipment for the Church

Jim Cochrane There was one at the back of the stack yard at Malcolmwood for years

Tim May they were used as cheap holiday homes for people from Aberdeen to come out for holidays in Ballater up here in the 50’s and 60’s