79-726: The Glasgow to Aberfoyle Line was a railway line in Scotland, built in stages, leaving the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway near Lenzie . Tourist traffic was a dominant part of the motivation for building the line, and road tours to the Trossachs from Aberfoyle formed a significant part of the traffic. The first section to open was the Campsie branch of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, to Lennoxtown , in 1848; this became known as
158-482: A breaksman in each break in front of the trains. Sometimes the engines remain attached to the tail of the trains in descending the incline, and sometimes the trains proceed without an engine. This depends on whether the engine is required at Queen's Street or not, but in every case the breaksmen, who travel on the incline breaks in front of the train, are placed in charge of the train. On the 25th of last November, 13 empty waggons were required at Queen's street station, and
237-546: A change of train at Blanefield, in most cases into the Sentinel rail car (see below). There were also seven journeys from Queen Street to Kilsyth. By the 1920s the rail services were suffering heavily from competition from cheaper and more flexible services offered by charabanc and motor bus operators. Passenger services on the Forth and Clyde Junction Railway from Stirling to Loch Lomond were suspended entirely from 1934, with
316-622: A colliery or other mineral source, to a waterway for onward transport. Notable early lines were the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway of 1812 and the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway of 1826, the first of the "coal railways" of the Monklands area. The Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway (G&GR) was authorised in the same year, and it opened in 1831. There were unfulfilled ideas of connecting Glasgow and Edinburgh as early as 1824 and when
395-511: A connection with the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway at a station called Kirkintilloch, some distance east of the present-day Lenzie. However the M&;KR had a different track gauge, and the connection involved a change of train for passengers and transshipment for goods and minerals. On 5 July 1848 the E&;GR opened its Campsie branch. This left the E&GR main line at Lenzie Junction, near
474-477: A loose collaboration. In 1844 the E&GR agreed a takeover with them, and from the first day of 1846 took on the operation of their lines, while Parliamentary permission for formal takeover was sought. On 3 July 1846 this was refused by Parliament, and the E&GR withdrew from the informal arrangement at the end of 1846. At this time the Caledonian Railway was planning its route linking Glasgow, and
553-704: A meeting at which a Strathendrick and Loch Lomond Railway was proposed. This would continue from the Blane Valley line from Killearn through Aberfoyle to Inversnaid, on the east shore of Loch Lomond. However the Duke of Montrose , who owned much of the land in the Trossachs, was opposed to the scheme and it fell into temporary abeyance. In October 1879 Keyden proposed a modified scheme, that would run from Killearn to Aberfoyle. The Forth and Clyde Junction Railway had been opened between Balloch and Stirling in 1856, and
632-437: A message to that effect was telegraphed to Cowlairs, where there is a large depot. A train of 13 empty waggons, with two incline breaks and two breaksmen in front, and an engine and tender behind the waggons, was formed at the top of the incline at the west end of Cowlairs station on the day in question, and it was despatched by signal at 5.6 pm to Queen's Street. "Line Clear" had been received from Queen's Street telegraph hut, and
711-551: A proposal to have the signalling arranged as a long tablet section from Lennoxtown (the junction with the NBR Campsie Branch) to Gartness Junction (on the F&;CJR), and he insisted on a tablet station being provided at Killearn station. The line was opened on 1 October 1882, with full public operation the following day. The passenger train service was from Glasgow Queen Street to Aberfoyle, the entire line being worked as
790-576: A throughout route. However the S&;AR complained that the timetable adopted by the NBR was "most unsatisfactory and disappointing". Aberfoyle station was not equipped to handle cattle traffic that was on offer, nor to crane quarried stone that was brought to the line from the extensive quarries nearby. A new Killearn station was opened, nearer the village than the Blane Valley Railway station of
869-642: A year's salary in lieu of notice, but the directors erased that part of Keyden's entry from the official record. On 1 August 1891 the S&AR and the BVR were absorbed by the North British Railway. The 1895 Bradshaw shows four through journeys daily from Glasgow Queen Street to Aberfoyle; the trains called at both Killearn (Old station) and Killearn (New station); there were also a number of short journeys. In addition there were five trains from Queen Street to Kilsyth and Bonnybridge Central, running over
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#1732790915288948-477: The Caledonian Railway , among many others, was authorised by Act of Parliament; its capitalisation was £1,500,000, to build a line from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Carlisle, linking there with English railways. Well before its Act, the Caledonian had set about capturing as many other railways, whether completed or still only proposals, as it could. It did so by concluding leases of those lines; the advantage of that
1027-669: The Coldstream Guards in 1872, transferred to the 5th Royal Irish Lancers in 1874, and retired from active duty in 1878. From October 1881 to January 1903, he was Colonel commanding the 3rd ( Militia ) Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders , stationed at Stirling. He served in the Second Boer War (medal and two clasps). Montrose again saw active service fighting with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in
1106-609: The First World War . He later served as Captain-General of the Royal Company of Archers , the King's Bodyguard for Scotland. Montrose was aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria , King Edward VII and George V successively. He was Lord Lieutenant of Stirlingshire from 1885 to 1925, Hereditary Sheriff of Dumbartonshire (now Dunbartonshire ), Lord Clerk Register from 1890 until his death, and Lord High Commissioner to
1185-409: The 1920s, the decline of the line was inevitable. Cost reduction measures achieved little and in 1951 the passenger service was withdrawn. Some goods traffic continued until 1966. The entire line is now closed. The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway opened in 1842; it was Scotland's first main line railway. Its passenger business surpassed all expectations, and the railway was profitable. The E&GR made
1264-532: The Aberfoyle line would run over the F&CJR between Gartness and Buchyvie, then striking north again to reach Aberfoyle. A private road was to be built from Aberfoyle to Loch Katrine, and a connecting coach service would run to Loch Lomond. The railway would be called the Strathendrick and Aberfoyle Railway , and the North British Railway and the Blane Valley Railway promised financial support. (In fact
1343-506: The Aberfoyle passenger service continuing for the time being, on the section of the F&CJR between Gartness Junction and Buchlyvie. Soon most services from Glasgow terminated at Blanefield, and passengers for Aberfoyle had to change there for a shuttle service operated by a Sentinel steam railcar . By the summer of 1950 Kirkintilloch was served by twelve trains a day; Lennoxtown by seven; Blanefield by five; and Aberfoyle by three. The line from Kirkintilloch to Aberfoyle closed to passengers
1422-584: The Blane Valley company subscribed £11,000, but there were extreme sensitivities among NBR shareholders about the allocation of the company's capital, and the chairman had to undertake that the NBR would not be subscribing for shares.) The cost of construction was estimated at £51,947. On 12 August 1880 the Strathendrick and Aberfoyle Railway was authorised. Seven months later subscribed capital amounted to £7,534, but nonetheless tenders were invited for construction. Kennedy tendered £29,682. The meeting to award
1501-659: The Caledonian concluded an agreement to take over the Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway and the Wishaw and Coltness Railway . The other coal railways aligned themselves away from the Caledonian Railway's influence, and in 1848 they merged to form the Monkland Railways . The Haymarket terminal was at the western extremity of Edinburgh and inconveniently located, and an Act was obtained on 4 July 1844 to extend
1580-482: The Campsie branch as far as Killearn; it was authorised in 1861. They hoped to generate high class residential construction in the attractive area for wealthy Glasgow businesspeople, but the hope was not fulfilled. The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway subscribed a third of the capital and agreed to work the line. In addition the promoters hoped to reach the Trossachs, then an exceptionally popular tourist destination. However
1659-497: The Campsie branch was unsuitable for the extension, so the Blane Valley line built its own Lennoxtown station, but the earlier terminus remained in use, with trains reversing out to continue their journey. The station was known then as Lennoxtown (Old) and the arrangement lasted until 1 October 1881. On 3 June 1877 the first section of the Kelvin Valley Railway was opened. The line was planned to run from Maryhill, on
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#17327909152881738-507: The G&;GR got its authorising Act, there were thoughts of extending from Broomielaw in Glasgow over the G&GR to Edinburgh and Leith; the connection to sea-going shipping was paramount. In 1830 the railway engineers Thomas Grainger and John Miller were commissioned to survey for such a line. There was to be a tunnel under the centre of Glasgow but there was furious opposition to this; it
1817-1013: The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1916–1917. In January 1900 he accepted the Presidency of the Scotland Branch of the British Empire League . Montrose was appointed a Knight of the Order of the Thistle (KT) in 1879 and was Chancellor of the Order from 1917. In 1876, Montrose married Violet Hermione Graham , daughter of Sir Frederick Graham, 3rd Baronet and his wife Lady Jane St Maur, daughter of Edward St Maur, 12th Duke of Somerset . They had five children: Montrose died in December 1925 in
1896-616: The Kirkintilloch station referred to above; the junction was more commonly known later as Campsie Junction . The line ran north from there in the Kelvin Valley, passing through the town of Kirkintilloch and Milton of Campsie to Lennoxtown. The branch ran into and through exceptionally picturesque terrain, and it became popular as the picnic line . Local people promoted the Blane Valley Railway , which extended
1975-561: The Lancashire shareholders, insensitive to the fear of Caledonian hegemony and reluctant to spend money acquiring canals, which they considered to be beaten competitors, overturned the arrangement, and Gregson was dismissed. (In 1849 the E&GR purchased the Union Canal for £209,000, still against the opposition of the Lancashire shareholders.) On 1 April 1848 the Caledonian Railway opened its line between Edinburgh and Glasgow. It
2054-516: The Liverpool and Manchester line), promoted a viable railway. The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was authorised by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway Act 1838 ( 1 & 2 Vict. c. lviii) on 4 July. The bill had been in committee for 37 days. The first contract was let in late 1838, to William Aiton and his company. Bad weather delayed the progress of the work but on New Years Day 1842
2133-515: The Longridge terminus: "The line terminates in a large field, about a mile from a small village called Whitburn". Although the line connected a number of pits, it was dependent on a long haul to Coatbridge, handing over to the W&;C railway at Morningside, and the line was not commercially successful. Raising money to continue eastwards to a more lucrative destination proved beyond the resources of
2212-474: The North British Railway had commenced their passenger service, on 17 June. For a time the two stations were separate, and with separate goods stations in addition. The primitive passenger accommodation at first was only temporary: from 3 August 1846 E&GR passengers were accommodated at a single platform partly under the northernmost of the Waverley Bridge's three wide arches." On 17 May 1847
2291-518: The S&AR had intended lower standards and cheaper construction, but the NBR declined to work the line in that case. The NBR Engineer inspected the progress in the summer of 1882 and found that Kennedy's work was seriously deficient, and Kennedy was required to make good the shortcomings. The line was submitted to Major-General Hutchinson of the Board of Trade on 27 July 1882, but he found it unfit to accept traffic of any kind; in particular he objected to
2370-634: The Slamannan Railway at Causewayend, heading westward to Blackbraes. There was already a considerable network of mineral tramways in the area, leading to the Union Canal, serving pits and tile works. The Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway (WM&CR) was another of the "coal railways" serving mineral sites in Lanarkshire. It opened in 1845, and ran from a junction with the Wishaw and Coltness Railway at Morningside, to Longridge. The Board of Trade Inspecting Officer commented about
2449-651: The Stirling and Perth line from the Edinburgh direction, and to do so it sponsored the Stirlingshire Midland Junction Railway . The nominally independent company got its authorising Act of Parliament on 16 July 1846, to build a line from Polmont (on the E&GR) through Grahamston (part of Falkirk), crossing the Forth and Clyde Canal and turning north to join the SCR near Larbert. Its capital
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2528-660: The board proposed an amalgamation with the Monkland Railways , the Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway and the Scottish Central Railway , and the Forth and Clyde Canal, the Union Canal and the Monkland Canal . (The canals still carried substantial mineral traffic.) That group of companies worked as a voluntary combination for a few months under Bryan Padgett Gregson, an experienced manager of canals and railways from Lancashire. In late 1846
2607-408: The breaksmen entered the tunnel they found it full of smoke and steam. The passenger train collided with the derailed rear part of the trains of wagons. Hamilton Ellis described the operation after the banking engines were first discontinued: Rails continued to break under the heavy banking engines and the stationary engine was brought out of retirement, and Newall’s untwisted cable substituted for
2686-446: The clerk at Queen's Street would not accept the train, as the empties had not arrived. As soon as the 11 empties arrived, he telegraphed "line clear" and a train, which consisted of three incline breaks and three breaksmen, a carriage truck, a horse box, a 3rd [class carriage], a 1st, a 3rd, a 1st, a guard's van, a 1st, a 3rd, a 1st, a 3rd, and a guard's van, coupled in the order given, left Cowlairs for Queen's Street station at 5.15 pm. As
2765-519: The company ran out of money when the line had been constructed as far as the turnpike road some distance south of Killearn. The line opened for goods traffic on 5 November 1866, and for passengers on 1 July 1867, to a "Killearn" station some way short of the town. (At this time the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway had been absorbed by the North British Railway .) The new line was eight and a quarter miles in length. The Lennoxtown terminus of
2844-402: The company. In 1847 the company decided that it could not continue independently, and the negotiated the sale of their line to the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway. A legal prohibition on amalgamation of companies which had not expended half of their authorised capital delayed the process until 1849, when an Act was obtained, authorising the sale to the E&GR, which took full effect in 1850. In
2923-536: The connection at Maryhill was not properly formed; this was finally achieved on 1 October 1879. The link from the Kilsyth line to the Campsie branch was a short spur between Kelvin Valley East and West Junctions. The Blane Valley Railway had planned to reach the Trossachs, but had run out of money a little way south of Killearn. On 16 September 1879 James Keyden, the driving force behind the Blane Valley line, held
3002-407: The contract award when only a quarter of the contract sum had been subscribed, and demanded that the contract be cancelled. The Strathendrick set about a further round of canvassing for subscriptions, with various dubious benefits offered. Kennedy subscribed a further £20,000 and was given a directorship. The North British Railway also insisted on its own technical standards for the line being observed;
3081-403: The contract was in progress when Kennedy learnt that a competitor had tendered £28,521. He burst into the tender meeting and declared that a mistake had been made in his tender, and that it should have been £28,435, and that he would take some stock in the company if necessary. This astonishing irregularity was overlooked and Kennedy was awarded the contract. The North British Railway now heard of
3160-414: The descent. There was soon difficulty with the hemp rope slipping in damp weather, and two banking engines named Samson and Hercules, were introduced in 1844, but they were found to be damaging to the track, and the powerful exhaust caused vibrations in the roof, leading to leakage of the canal water. The banking engines were sent to the Monklands area in 1848, and wire rope haulage with the stationary engine
3239-405: The earlier hemp rope. The cable was 2.78 miles long and weighed 24 tons. Leaving Glasgow the train moved slowly to the tunnel mouth and there a chain secured to a hemp messenger rope, lashed in turn to the cable, was linked to the front drawhook [which was inverted]. The locomotive then set back slightly to make the messenger rope taut. This of course brought the main cable up against the underside of
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3318-518: The engine, where a pulley wheel was mounted to engage with it and prevent it from fouling. With the locomotive thus secured to the cable, the driver, advised by the foreman cable attendant, gave a whistle signal, and the Queen Street signalman then telegraphed the Cowlairs box. If and when the line was clear, the Cowlairs signalman sounded three blasts on a horn, piped down through the tunnel and
3397-507: The entire line was closed and soon lifted. Campsie branch of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway; opened 5 July 1848. Blane Valley Railway; opened 5 November 1866. Strathendrick and Aberfoyle Railway; opened 2 October 1882. The section of the line between Kirkintilloch and Strathblane has been reused as part of the Strathkelvin Railway Path . Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway
3476-507: The following year. An accident took place in 1869 and the Inspecting Officer's report gives a flavour of the operations on the incline: Trains are worked up the incline between Queen's Street station and Cowlairs by attaching them to an endless wire rope, which is worked by a stationary engine at the top of the incline, and trains are piloted down the incline from Cowlairs to Queen's Street station, by attaching heavy breaks with
3555-637: The form of construction was already obsolete; "half logs" were used in some places. The construction of the E&GR line to the Haymarket terminal in Edinburgh cost £1,200,000 for 46 miles (74 km). The 30 miles (48 km) of the Liverpool and Manchester had cost £1,407,000. A ceremonial opening of the line took place on 19 February 1842 and the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway opened for passenger traffic on 21 February 1842, between its Glasgow station (sometimes referred to at first as Dundas Street, and later named Queen Street) and Edinburgh, where
3634-535: The hiatus period, and with the authorisation of the Edinburgh and Bathgate Railway , the WM&;CR enlisted E&GR financial help and set about extending from Longridge to Bathgate. The E&GR wished to exclude the Caledonian Railway from the area. The line opened to goods and mineral traffic early in 1850, and passenger traffic started in May 1850, after the takeover by the E&GR. The Stirling and Dunfermline Railway
3713-530: The line from Campsie Junction to Kilsyth West Junction. By 1922 the service had been augmented to 6 trains daily, with a typical journey time of 105 minutes; there were also several short journeys on the line. Two trains gave road connections to the Trossachs; for example the 08:08 train from Queen Street gave a connection to the Trossachs arriving at 11:15. There were also four trains running from Queen Street to Kilsyth New and Bonnybridge Central. In 1938 there were seven journeys but all except one of these required
3792-629: The line to a more central location. The North British Railway was building its main line from North Bridge station to Berwick-upon-Tweed , there to connect with the Newcastle and Berwick Railway (later to form the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway ). The E&GR extended their line eastwards from Haymarket to their own station at North Bridge immediately adjacent to the NBR station. The line opened for passenger traffic on 1 August 1846. The NBR had started operations on 22 June 1846. By then
3871-731: The line: the Garngaber Viaduct carried the line over Bothlin Burn and the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway ; Castlecary Viaduct consists of 8 arches and is 200 yards long. The Falkirk (or Callendar) tunnel is 845 yards long. Approaching Linlithgow the Avon Viaduct consists of 23 arches; Winchburgh tunnel is 372 yards in length; and the Almond Valley Viaduct has 36 arches; it cost £130,000 to build. The permanent way consisted of malleable iron rails on stone blocks;
3950-437: The main line between Edinburgh and Glasgow. It was electrified and improved under the auspices of the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme . 8-car electric Class 385 trains started operating from Monday 29 July 2019 between Glasgow and Edinburgh via Falkirk High. The fastest trains are scheduled to take 42 minutes. The earliest railways in Scotland were waggonways, intended for horse drawn operation, in most cases from
4029-526: The next year, on 1 October 1951. The Aberfoyle line north of Campsie Glen closed completely eight years later, with the ending of the remaining goods services in October 1959. The original Campsie Branch part of the line lasted a little longer, but in 1964 the last remaining passenger services to Kirkintilloch were ended, followed in April 1966 by closure of the final remaining goods services to Lennoxtown, and
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#17327909152884108-403: The north-western margin of Glasgow, to Kilsyth, but only the short section from a junction with the Campsie branch to Kilsyth was ready. Kilsyth was an important town and there were great celebrations at its linkage to the railway network. Passenger trains from Glasgow ran via Lenzie and Lennoxtown. It was not until 4 June 1879 that the Kelvin Valley Railway was extended to Maryhill, and even then
4187-519: The observance of the Sabbath was held as sacred by much of Scottish public opinion at the time. Edinburgh time was observed, 4.5 minutes later than Glasgow time. The intermediate stations were at Corstorphine (later Saughton), Gogar, Ratho, Winchburgh, Linlithgow, Polmont, Falkirk, Castlecary, Croy, Kirkintilloch (later Lenzie) and Bishopbriggs. There was a ticket platform at Cowlairs. The opening created phenomenal passenger demand, three times what
4266-399: The other routes. There was a siding connection to the E&GR line. The E&GR and NBR joint station was formally inaugurated on 22 February 1848. The accommodation at the station was clearly cramped, largely due to the built up surroundings limiting available land. Extension was under way in subsequent years but in 1852 a financial crisis within the North British Railway called a halt to
4345-552: The permanent joint passenger station came into use. The North British Railway referred to it simply as "Edinburgh" station, or "North Bridge", although it was also known as the General station. On the same day the Edinburgh Leith and Granton Railway (formerly the Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway ) opened its line from Scotland Street to Canal Street station, adjacent to the new Edinburgh station and at right angles to
4424-430: The picnic line, and was much used for the purpose by city dwellers. This was followed by the independent Blane Valley Railway in 1866, which reached Killearn . Finally the Strathendrick and Aberfoyle Railway constructed the northernmost section, which opened in 1882. Running through sparsely populated terrain, the line never made money although the tourist traffic was useful. When road transport became practicable from
4503-487: The power of its own engine. A boardwalk about 100 yards long laid in the four foot way prevented the dropped messenger with its chain getting into mischief in the few moments before the winding engine stopped. For the downward journey the procedure was simple. On arrival at Cowlairs the train engine would be detached and run round its carriages, after it had shunted on to the head end three or more special brake wagons. Tickets were meanwhile collected. The engine would then propel
4582-518: The public were invited to walk through the tunnel at Glasgow Queen Street. Policeman were stationed to prevent the entrance of disorderly persons. The tunnel was whitewashed and gas lit, and the proceeds went to the Paisley Relief Fund and workmen injured on the railway. The Glasgow terminal was designed by James Carswell. The line was engineered as a main line, and substantial earthworks, viaducts and tunnels were incorporated into
4661-459: The route, forming an almost perfectly level route, apart from the climb out of the Glasgow terminal. The original intention was to descend gently into Glasgow, crossing over the Forth and Clyde Canal , but opposition from the canal company obliged the E&GR to be brought under it instead, resulting in a steep descent at 1 in 41 from Cowlairs mostly in tunnel. Cowlairs tunnel is 1000 yards (914 m) in length. There were other major structures on
4740-403: The same name. The inevitable confusion for passengers was only partly reduced by renaming the station New Killearn and the Blane Valley station Old Killearn. The Blane Valley station was later named Dumgoyn Hill after a local beauty spot, and later again renamed Dumgoyne. The coach link with Inversnaid failed to be started, as the road intended to be used was little more than a farm track. However
4819-429: The sparsely populated terrain: a proposed Milngavie, Strathendrick and Port of Mentieth Railway . A director of the Blane Valley observed that "it is directly antagonistic to our interests and bound to abstract a large amount of traffic". Keyden was secretary of the S&AR and at the next board meeting, in an office provided by himself, was required to record his own dismissal in the minute book. He added that he expected
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#17327909152884898-549: The station was at Haymarket, at the western edge of the New Town . It was Scotland's first trunk line. Goods traffic started in March 1842. There were four passenger trains each way daily; and there were ten intermediate stations and the journey took 150 minutes. Two passenger trains ran each way on Sundays, "timed at hours which would not interfere with the ordinary period of divine service". This provoked great controversy as
4977-453: The telegraph clerk at Cowlairs, after telegraphing to Queen's Street that the train of empties had left, telegraphed "engine behind". The rear part of the train became derailed in the tunnel, and the train became divided; the front part continued and the telegraph clerk failed to satisfy himself that the whole train had arrived; later, At this time a passenger train from Helensburgh had been twice telegraphed from Cowlairs to Queen's Street, but
5056-484: The toll road to Loch Katrine was built, its cost being shared with the North British Railway, the Duke of Montrose, and the Aberfoyle Quarry. The road proved immensely popular with tourists and regularly provided income to the railway company. The company badly needed the money; in its first three months of operation its revenue was £138, £88 and £82 respectively. Keyden now projected a further railway across
5135-491: The train gently over the top of the incline, whence it trundled down into the city with all the brakes squealing. The coal railways of the Monkland district had been very successful early entrants in the field of conveying minerals to market, but as technological pioneers they were now at a disadvantage, with their primitive track and a track gauge that was now non-standard, preventing through running. They worked together in
5214-403: The winding engine was started. As the cable began to pull, simultaneously the driver started his locomotive and the train, thus double powered, swept solemnly up to Cowlairs. South of the Cowlairs engine house, the gradient eased off and the locomotive, working hard, would gain on the slowing cable, so that the messenger automatically dropped off the inverted drawhook and left the train entirely to
5293-485: The work and the original single platform under North Bridge was brought back into use. Stage coach operation on the route of the E&GR fought a brave but futile rearguard action, but the Union Canal and the Forth and Clyde Canal continued to trade in goods and especially mineral traffic, although they lost nearly all of their passenger business. In 1845 there was a frenzy of railway promotion in Scotland, and
5372-423: The years 1845 – 1846, Alexander Bain installed an electric telegraph system along the line; the cost to him was £50 per mile. The incline section was worked by stationary engine and cable haulage: an 80 hp (60 kW) high pressure steam engine was constructed at Cowlairs, and a continuous hemp rope was used to pull trains up the gradients. Special brake vehicles were attached to downwards trains to control
5451-537: Was a ticket platform at Cowlairs . The line was extended eastwards from Haymarket to North Bridge in 1846, and a joint station for connection with the North British Railway was opened on what is now Edinburgh Waverley railway station in 1847. Patronage on the line quickly reached double the railway's initial estimates, and by 1850 58 locomotives and 216 coaches were needed to handle the traffic. Goods traffic started in March 1842 and slowly increased, overtaking passenger revenue by 1855. The line still runs today as
5530-537: Was authorised by act of Parliament on 4 July 1838. It was opened to passenger traffic on 21 February 1842, between its Glasgow Queen Street railway station (sometimes referred to at first as Dundas Street) and Haymarket railway station in Edinburgh. Construction cost £1,200,000 for 46 miles (74 km). The intermediate stations were at Corstorphine (later Saughton ), Gogar , Ratho , Winchburgh , Linlithgow , Polmont , Falkirk , Castlecary , Croy , Kirkintilloch (later Lenzie ) and Bishopbriggs . There
5609-462: Was authorised on 16 July 1846. As well as linking the named places, there were to be branches to Alloa and Tillicoultry. The line opened between Dunfermline and Alloa on 28 August 1850, and Alloa Harbour and Tillicoultry were connected on 3 June 1851. The section from Alloa to Stirling was completed on 1 July 1852. At Dunfermline, the line made an end-on connection with the Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee Railway, giving onward connection to Fife. The company
5688-518: Was difficult in operational terms, but in July the Caledonian accelerated its passenger trains and added new fast services, and cheap fares. The E&GR responded with fare reductions, and a desperate price war soon developed. It could not continue and in September fares were increased by mutual agreement. The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway opened its Shieldhill branch on 28 August 1847. This ran from
5767-530: Was expected, and by 1850 company needed 58 locomotives and 216 coaches to handle the traffic. The quantity of passenger business on the line considerably exceeded the estimates, reaching almost double the daily volume; third class travel was especially buoyant, although in the first years third class passengers did not have seating accommodation, and even second class carriages did not have glazed windows. Goods traffic started in March 1842 and slowly increased, overtaking passenger traffic in revenue terms by 1855. In
5846-483: Was so strong that the proposal failed. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway had opened in 1830, and was more successful than its promoters expected, showing that an intercity railway could be commercially successful. The pressure to connect the two great cities of central Scotland continued, and in the second half of the 1830s money became freely available, and investors, chiefly in England (many of them shareholders in
5925-423: Was that the lease charge payments only became due later, and were annual percentages: no large front-end payment was necessary. The Caledonian would soon have its own line, albeit somewhat longer than the E&GR, between Glasgow and Edinburgh, and its predatory behaviour led to alarm in the E&GR board room that further Caledonian acquisitions and leases would result in serious harm to the E&GR. Accordingly,
6004-550: Was the third but eldest-surviving son of James Graham, 4th Duke of Montrose and his wife, the Hon. Caroline Agnes Horsley Beresford , daughter of John Beresford, 2nd Baron Decies . He had two elder brothers, both named James and thus was not expected to succeed, but both died prematurely in succession. He was educated at Eton College and succeeded his father as Duke of Montrose , in the Peerage of Scotland, in 1874. Montrose joined
6083-721: Was used instead. The endless rope for the incline was driven by two beam engines at Cowlairs, of the high pressure type, made by Kerr, Neilson and Company of Glasgow. They had 28 inch cylinders, and 72 inch stroke. The crankshaft had a spur wheel of 12 feet diameter, which drove the cable drum through gearing. The main cable drum was 18 feet in diameter, mounted in a pit under the track. The beam engines were supplied with steam at 50 psi by 8 boilers, each 30 feet long and 5 feet diameter. The boilers were replaced in 1862 – 1863 by seven Cornish boilers. The cable haulage continued in operation until 31 January 1908, when banking engines took over. The stationary engines at Cowlairs were scrapped
6162-487: Was vested in the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway by Act of 28 June 1858. When the Caledonian Railway opened its line throughout in 1848, it had a connection to Greenhill, joining the E&GR and the Scottish Central Railway there. The SCR gave access to Stirling and Perth and was an important connecting route. Moreover, the Caledonian and the SCR concluded a working arrangement which they expected to lead to formal merger. The E&GR needed to ensure that it got access to
6241-426: Was £450,000, and branches were authorised to Carron Ironworks and to Falkirk Ironworks. Douglas Graham, 5th Duke of Montrose Douglas Beresford Malise Ronald Graham, 5th Duke of Montrose , KT (7 November 1852 – 10 December 1925), styled Lord Douglas Graham until 1872 and Marquess of Graham until 1874, was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and landowner. Born at St George Hanover Square in 1852, he
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