88-564: The Fife Coast Railway was a railway line running round the southern and eastern part of the county of Fife , in Scotland. It was built in stages by four railway companies: St Andrews itself had already been reached from Leuchars in 1852 by The St. Andrews Railway . As well as the textile industries, the line served fishing and agriculture, and an important passenger traffic built up. The lines had been engineered by Thomas Bouch and some difficulties were experienced with inadequately specified technical equipment. Coal exports assumed
176-823: A volcanic plug in the east. At 522 metres (1,713 ft), the West Lomond is the highest point in Fife. The coast has fine but small harbours, from the industrial docks in Burntisland and Rosyth to the fishing villages of the East Neuk such as Anstruther and Pittenweem . The large area of flat land to the north of the Lomond Hills, through which the River Eden flows, is known as the Howe of Fife . North of
264-410: A dispute over the terms of the working agreement could not be resolved, they gave notice that they would cease to work the line from 31 July 1854: about two weeks' notice. The Leven Railway had already overspent its authorised capital and could not simply acquire rolling stock and other plant as well as a replacement for the failing Bury locomotive. At the eleventh hour, General Lindsay of Balcarres funded
352-457: A dividend of 2% compared with the Leven's 8%. This accentuated the feeling that terminating at Kilconquhar was not conducive to generating income, and the next stage onward to Anstruther was urgent. At the same time there was common ground that the two Companies should be merged, although the detail of the arrangement was not without controversy. Parliamentary bills were to be submitted to authorise
440-591: A fifth in 1872. The Leven Railway's original act had authorised a branch to Leven Harbour, but this had never been constructed. At this period coal extraction in the area grew considerably, and the Leven Harbour Dock and Railway Company was established to improve the docks at Leven and to arrange a railway connection. It got an authorising act of Parliament, the Leven Harbour Act 1876 ( 39 & 40 Vict. c. clxxiii) on 24 July 1876. The capital
528-563: A group of 11 men from Fife, who became known as the Fife adventurers , to colonise the Isle of Lewis in an attempt to begin the "civilisation" and de-gaelicisation of the region. This endeavour lasted until 1609 when the colonists, having been opposed by the native population, were bought out by Kenneth Mackenzie , the clan chief of the Mackenzies . Fife became a centre of heavy industry in
616-625: A huge importance in the last decades of the nineteenth century, and harbours at Leven and Methil were extended considerably. The line thrived up until 1939, but road transport took its toll on both passenger and freight business, and the importance of coal declined, and the line closed to passengers in 1965 and to goods traffic in 1966. Following the success of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway , Scotland's first trunk railway, which opened in 1842, promoters started to think of ambitious schemes for other Scottish lines. The easy availability of money as
704-430: A kingdom may derive from a misinterpretation of an extract from Wyntoun . The name is recorded as Fib in A.D. 1150 and Fif in 1165. It was often associated with Fothriff . The hill-fort of Clatchard Craig , near Newburgh , was occupied as an important Pictish stronghold between the sixth and eighth centuries AD. Fife was an important royal and political centre from the reign of King Malcolm III onwards, as
792-478: A large number of landings took place at one, overwhelming the railway's capacity to cart the fish to market. There was a colliery at Muiredge, immediately north of Buckhaven. It had earlier been worked by the Wemyss Estate but that had been given up. A new mineral company, Bowman and Cairns took a lease to develop the mine, and requested a railway connection. This short branch was provided, running south from
880-547: A locomotive. In August land acquisition was high on the agenda, and the contractor went to Thornton to make the junction with the EP&;DR there. This caused an immediate problem, for the Leven Railway had agreed that the EP&DR would be able to approve the plans for the junction in advance. It emerged that Bouch should have arranged this and had failed to do so; moreover despite urgent requests he had still not produced
968-572: A loop there was constructed, and was operational at the end of December 1883. The Leven passenger trains diverted there from then onwards and the East of Fife station at Anstruther became a goods station only. The first train of the day was mixed, passenger and goods. There were three road coach journeys daily connecting Boarhills and St Andrews. Fife Fife ( / f aɪ f / FYFE , Scottish English : [fɐi̯f] ; Scottish Gaelic : Fìobha [ˈfiːvə] ; Scots : Fife )
SECTION 10
#17327987282841056-461: A policy of building low cost branch lines, arguing that the heavy expense of over-engineered railways crippled their profitability from the outset. The board of directors had no previous railway experience and at first they followed Bouch's recommendations implicitly. The company would have capital of £23,000 and the line would run from Thornton to Burnmill, on the north-west margin of Leven, with branches to Kirkland Mill and to Leven Harbour. Burn Mill
1144-484: A prospectus for the Leven Railway Company was issued. A less ambitious scheme was contemplated, running six miles from Thornton to Leven as a single track line; by avoiding the purchase of rolling stock (by contracting with the EP&DR to work the line) the capital cost of the project could be kept to £25,000. As the scheme took shape, Thomas Bouch was appointed as engineer to the company. He pursued
1232-456: Is a council area , historic county , registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland . It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth , with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i.e., the historic counties of Perthshire and Kinross-shire ) and Clackmannanshire . By custom it is widely held to have been one of the major Pictish kingdoms , known as Fib , and
1320-556: Is a complete list of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the year 1852 . Note that the first parliament of the United Kingdom was held in 1801; parliaments between 1707 and 1800 were either parliaments of Great Britain or of Ireland ). For acts passed up until 1707, see the list of acts of the Parliament of England and the list of acts of the Parliament of Scotland . For acts passed from 1707 to 1800, see
1408-696: Is held by the Scottish Liberal Democrats : North East Fife . Fife Council 's administrative headquarters and Police Scotland 's P Division (formerly Fife Constabulary ) are based in Glenrothes . The Council meetings take place in Fife House in the town centre. The west wing of the building was built by the Glenrothes Development Corporation (GDC) as their offices in 1969, which was later used as
1496-467: Is its chapter number. Acts passed before 1963 are cited using this number, preceded by the year(s) of the reign during which the relevant parliamentary session was held; thus the Union with Ireland Act 1800 is cited as "39 & 40 Geo. 3 c. 67", meaning the 67th act passed during the session that started in the 39th year of the reign of George III and which finished in the 40th year of that reign. Note that
1584-542: Is still commonly known as the Kingdom of Fife within Scotland. A person from Fife is known as a Fifer . In older documents the county was very occasionally known by the anglicisation Fifeshire . Fife is Scotland's 3rd largest local authority area by population . It had a resident population of 371,340 in 2022, over a third of whom live in the three principal settlements, Dunfermline , Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes . On
1672-531: The Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee Railway and it opened its lines progressively in 1847–1848. The route ran through Kirkcaldy, Markinch and Ladybank, forking there for Ferryport-on-Craig via Leuchars, and Perth. The original prospectus for the line had included a branch line from Leuchars to St Andrews, but this was dropped from the scheme as actually authorised, and it fell to local people in St Andrews to build their own branch line from Leuchars. They did so, and
1760-794: The Forth Road Bridge (public transport and cyclists only) and Queensferry Crossing , west on the Kincardine Bridge or north-east via the Tay Road Bridge , the exception being traffic headed north on the M90 . Tolls were abolished on the Tay Road Bridge and Forth Road Bridge on 11 February 2008. There are extinct volcanic features, such as the Lomond Hills which rise above rolling farmland, and Largo Law ,
1848-707: The House of Commons of the United Kingdom until 1885 and the Fife constituency in the Parliament of Scotland until the Acts of Union 1707 . Fife is represented by five constituency members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and four members of the United Kingdom parliament (MPs) who are sent to Holyrood and the British Parliament respectively. Following the 2015 general election , all four of
SECTION 20
#17327987282841936-696: The National Trust for Scotland or Historic Scotland . They include Dunfermline Abbey (the last resting place of Scottish royalty), the palace in Culross, Ravenscraig Castle in Kirkcaldy, Dysart Harbour area, Balgonie Castle near Coaltown of Balgonie, Falkland Palace (hunting palace of the Scottish Kings), Kellie Castle near Pittenweem, Hill of Tarvit (a historical house), St. Andrews Castle, St. Andrews Cathedral and St. Rule's Tower . Fife
2024-723: The St Andrews Railway opened in 1852. Immediately following the authorisation of the Edinburgh and Northern Railway in 1845, a prospectus was issued for an East of Fife Railway . It would either leave the E&;NR at Thornton and follow the valley of the River Leven, or leave it at Markinch and follow the valley of the River Orr (often spelt "Ore"). Either way, the line would pass through Cameron Bridge and run close to
2112-537: The list of acts of the Parliament of Great Britain . See also the list of acts of the Parliament of Ireland . For acts of the devolved parliaments and assemblies in the United Kingdom, see the list of acts of the Scottish Parliament , the list of acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly , and the list of acts and measures of Senedd Cymru ; see also the list of acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland . The number shown after each act 's title
2200-510: The 19th century. Coal had been mined in the area since at least the 12th century, but the number of pits increased ten-fold as demand for coal grew in the Victorian period. Previously rural villages such as Cowdenbeath rapidly swelled into towns as thousands moved to Fife to find work in its mines. The opening of the Forth and Tay rail bridges linked Fife with Dundee and Edinburgh and allowed
2288-580: The EP&DR was obliged to comply with the agreement. Captain Tyler of the Board of Trade inspected the line in early June; the Company was confident that the line would pass, but Tyler found a great number of shortcomings, and the anticipated opening had to be deferred. On 2 August 1854 he visited again and this time he approved it. There was a Directors' special run on the line on 5 August 1854, and it opened to
2376-471: The Leven Company with a proposition: instead of the Leven Company providing a locomotive, they could give the money for it to the EP&DR, who would work the line with one of its own engines. This was obviously some kind of trick, and the Leven Company declined. The EP&DR took huge offence and tried to coerce the Leven Company, but Bouch obtained a Hawthorn 0-4-0 tender locomotive, Leven no. 1, and
2464-434: The Leven and East of Fife line to Boarhills, calling at Anstruther new station on the way. The coaches of the trains ran through from Leven and were detached at Pittenweem, the Leven train continuing to Anstruther old station. The arrangement worked in reverse in the other direction, being necessitated by the absence of a loop of other track connections at Anstruther on the St Andrews line. In fact, as required by Major Marindin,
2552-588: The Lomond Hills can be found villages and small towns in a primarily agricultural landscape. The areas in the south and west of Fife, including the towns of Dunfermline , Glenrothes , Kirkcaldy and the Levenmouth region are lightly industrial and more densely populated. The only areas which could claim to be heavily industrial are Rosyth , around the naval dockyard and perhaps the Mossmorran Natural Gas Liquids fractionation plant on
2640-708: The MPs constituencies were held by the Scottish National Party . In the 2017 general election , Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath was regained by Labour . At the same election, the seat of North East Fife became the closest seat in the country with the SNP holding a majority of 2 over the Liberal Democrats . Three of the Scottish Parliament constituencies are held by the Scottish National Party : Cowdenbeath , Dunfermline and Mid Fife and Glenrothes . One
2728-503: The Markinch junction route. In 1844 and 1845 money for railway schemes had been easy to come by; now in 1846 the slump had set in and it was impossible to get subscriptions; nonetheless in 1847 the company obtained a further act, the East of Fife Railway (Markinch Deviation) Act 1847 ( 10 & 11 Vict. c. ccxxiv), modifying the route, but soon reality struck home, and in 1850 the company
Fife Coast Railway - Misplaced Pages Continue
2816-454: The NBR on the same day.) Anstruther had been reached by a railway in 1863, and St Andrews, 8 miles away, had been on the railway system since 1852: but the short gap in the railway network between the two important towns, with fertile agricultural land in between, demanded a connecting link. In February 1864 this was proposed in the press, and a survey was carried out. In September 1864 a prospectus
2904-441: The administrative area of the county council. The 1889 act also led to a review of boundaries, with several exclaves being transferred to a county they actually bordered, and parishes which straddled more than one county being adjusted such that each parish was entirely in a single county. These changes saw some adjustments to Fife's boundaries with Kinross-shire and Perthshire, with the most significant change being that Fife gained
2992-559: The ages. The Pictish king list and De Situ Albanie documents of the Poppleton manuscript mention the division of the Pictish realm or Albany into seven sub-kingdoms, one being Fife. The earliest known reference to the common epithet The Kingdom of Fife dates from only 1678, in a proposition that the term derives from the quasi-regal privileges of the Earl of Fife . The notion of
3080-465: The authority of the Sheriff of Fife . Over time, Scotland's shires became more significant than the old provinces, with more administrative functions being given to the sheriffs. The larger earldom of Fife, including Kinross and Clackmannan, was therefore gradually eclipsed in importance by the smaller shire of Fife. In 1667 Commissioners of Supply were established for each shire, which would serve as
3168-602: The availability of alternative docks. Although the Leven and East of Fife Railway was profitable on revenue account, it was vulnerable to a number of external factors. Nearly all its traffic was through to or from the North British Railway at Thornton. (The North British had taken over the Edinburgh Perth and Dundee Railway in 1862.) The trade cycle had diminished the company's income, and its lack of capital reserves made it difficult to consider expanding
3256-471: The branch, although the Muiredge colliery itself installed a tramway direct to Methil Harbour and used that, horse-drawn at first, to ship the coal out direct. In the years from 1868, Bouch's original (and cheap) timber bridges were becoming unserviceable. Several were replaced with iron bridges, and much of his early wrought iron rail was replaced with steel rail. A fourth locomotive was obtained in 1870 and
3344-438: The coast as far as Anstruther, a distance of about twenty miles. The easy topography of the area was such that the line would be "free from tunnelling or embanking". The capital of the company was to be £250,000, a huge amount for a simple branch line. Supported by prominent local persons, the scheme obtained its authorising act of Parliament, East of Fife Railway Act 1846 ( 9 & 10 Vict. c. cxc) on 16 July 1846, adopting
3432-538: The coastal East Neuk settlements were built, has declined in recent years with the main fishing fleet now operating from Pittenweem and the harbour in Anstruther being used as a marina for pleasure craft. There are several islands located off the coast of Fife, such as the Isle of May , Inchkeith and Inchcolm . The former Preston Island south of Valleyfield is no longer an island following land reclamation work. Cupar took over as county town from Crail in
3520-478: The county's sheriff court and meeting place for the commissioners of supply, replacing the town's medieval tolbooth which had performed the same functions. Fife County Council was abolished in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , which replaced Scotland's counties, burghs and landward districts with a two-tier structure of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts . Fife region
3608-784: The early 13th century. Glenrothes is now the administrative centre, after the decision to locate the headquarters of the newly established Fife Regional Council there in 1975. Fife's three major towns are Kirkcaldy , Dunfermline (awarded city status in 2022) and Glenrothes. According to the 2012 estimate, Dunfermline is the largest settlement by population, followed by Kirkcaldy then Glenrothes. The next most sizeable towns by population are St Andrews , Cowdenbeath , Rosyth , Methil and Dalgety Bay . Largest settlements by population: 54,990 50,370 38,360 18,410 13,570 12,030 10,890 9,710 9,420 8,960 7,300 6,760 6,630 5,940 5,190 4,820 4,570 4,210 4,050 3,950 3,750 3,160 3,010 15 %26 16 Vict. This
Fife Coast Railway - Misplaced Pages Continue
3696-518: The east end of Cameron Bridge station, authorised by an act of Parliament of 16 July 1866. A public goods station was to be provided at Muiredge in addition, and a branch a mile and a half long to serve Methil docks, although this latter was never built. The Muiredge branch was steeply graded, and opened at the end of 1868. The public goods depot was named Muiredge Sidings Goods at first, but then Buckhaven from June 1878 and from 5 May 1887 Buckhaven (Old). Several additional colliery sidings were later made to
3784-529: The economy improved resulted in a frenzy of railway promotion and the 1845 Parliamentary session saw a huge number of authorisations. Among them was the Edinburgh and Northern Railway , which was planned to link Edinburgh and Dundee, with an arm to Perth. Bridging the Firths of Forth and Tay was not technologically feasible and ferry crossings at both ends were to be part of the journey, for passengers and for goods. The Edinburgh and Northern soon changed its name to
3872-605: The extension to Anstruther and also the amalgamation of the two companies. On 22 July 1861, the Leven and East of Fife Railway Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. clviii) was passed, amalgamating the Companies: there would be three classes of shares: Leven shares would benefit from two thirds of the income, and East of Fife shares one third; preference shares were to be issued to finance a number of debts. The Leven and East of Fife Railway (Extension) Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. clix)
3960-525: The golden fringe being the coast and its chain of little ports with their thriving fishing fleets and rich trading links with the Low Countries . Wool , linen , coal and salt were all traded. Salt pans heated by local coal were historically a feature of the Fife coast. The distinctive red clay pan tiles seen on many old buildings in Fife arrived as ballast on trading boats and replaced the previously thatched roofs. In 1598, King James VI employed
4048-530: The headquarters of Fife Regional Council from shortly after its creation in 1975. Fife is a peninsula in eastern Scotland bordered on the north by the Firth of Tay , on the east by the North Sea and by the Firth of Forth to the south. The route to the west is partially blocked by the mass of the Ochil Hills . Almost all road traffic into and out of Fife has to pass over one of four bridges, south on
4136-469: The leaders of Scotland gradually moved southwards away from their ancient strongholds around Scone. Malcolm had his principal home in Dunfermline and his wife Margaret was the main benefactor of Dunfermline Abbey . The Abbey replaced Iona as the final resting place of Scotland's royal elite, with Robert I amongst those to be buried there. The Earl of Fife was until the 15th century considered
4224-491: The line itself, and wrote to Bouch in such strong terms that the letter was in effect dismissal. In 1856 the finances of the Company were buoyant; in the half year to 28 April 1856 the surplus was £1,204, nearly double that under the EP&DR working arrangement. In 1860 and 1861 the company was able to declare dividends of 8%. Some time prior to 23 April 1858 the quarter-mile spur to the Kirkland Works, authorised in
4312-534: The line of route and the curves in the track were substantially at variance with the approved plans, and that the track was "substandard throughout". He was sent south to procure one from the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway , which he did: a second-hand Bury 2-2-0. Leven no. 1 was sold to the Caledonian Railway . The EP&DR continued to harbour hostile feelings towards the Leven Railway, and when
4400-550: The line with the locomotive, but agreed to do so at reduced speed while the Leven Company obtained a better locomotive. Bouch blamed all this on the locomotive, but when Bouch could not be contacted for some time, the Directors called in an independent engineer, Robert Nicholson, locomotive engineer of the EP&DR, to advise them. He found that there had been nothing wrong with the Hawthorn engine, but that Bouch's setting out of
4488-602: The location of the St Andrews station and whether the line should link up with the St Andrews Railway there, the matter seemed to be settled. A working agreement with the North British Railway was negotiated (giving them 50% of gross receipts), and the matter went to Parliament. The Anstruther and St Andrews Railway was authorised by act of Parliament, the Anstruther and St. Andrews Railway Act 1880 ( 43 & 44 Vict. c. clxxx) on 26 August 1880. The share capital
SECTION 50
#17327987282844576-590: The main administrative body for the area until the creation of county councils in 1890. Following the Acts of Union in 1707, the English term "county" came to be used interchangeably with the older term "shire". Elected county councils were established in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 , taking most of the functions of the commissioners (which were eventually abolished in 1930). The two burghs of Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy were deemed capable of managing their own affairs and so were excluded from
4664-431: The modern convention is to use Arabic numerals in citations (thus "41 Geo. 3" rather than "41 Geo. III"). Acts of the last session of the Parliament of Great Britain and the first session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom are both cited as "41 Geo. 3". Some of these acts have a short title . Some of these acts have never had a short title. Some of these acts have a short title given to them by later acts, such as by
4752-487: The network. Amalgamation with the North British Railway was obviously imminent. This was in fact agreed, and on 28 June 1877 the North British Railway (Amalgamations) Act 1877 ( 40 & 41 Vict. c. lxi) was passed; the agreed date for the actual amalgamation was 1 August 1877. A final dividend of 10.5% for Leven stock and 5% for East of Fife stock was declared. (The St Andrews Railway was amalgamated with
4840-563: The northeast coast of Fife lies the historic town of St Andrews , home to the University of St Andrews —the most ancient university of Scotland and one of the oldest universities in the world —and the Old Course at St Andrews , considered the world's oldest golf course . Fife, bounded to the north by the Firth of Tay and to the south by the Firth of Forth , is a natural peninsula whose political boundaries have changed little over
4928-458: The original act of Parliament, was opened. In the middle of 1854 the Leven Railway was taking shape, and there was increasing demand for the settlements further east to be included in the railway network; many important fishing towns were located along the south-eastern coast of Fife. On 24 August 1854, just after the opening of the Leven line, a prospectus was issued for the East of Fife Railway . It
5016-563: The outskirts of Cowdenbeath. The east corner of Fife, along the string of villages between Earlsferry and Kingsbarns , and along with their hinterland, is known as the East Neuk (corner, or projecting point of land) of Fife; small settlements around sheltered harbours, with distinctive vernacular "Dutch" or corbie (crow) stepped gabled and stone-built architecture. The area has amongst the highest concentration of second homes and holiday lets in Scotland. The fishing industry , on which
5104-478: The plans in October. During the construction there was exceptional hostility from landowners; the land was fertile and although in most cases payment had been made to acquire the land, handing over the land shortly before harvest time was against the owners' nature and many obstacles were put in the way of the railway. The EP&DR was in serious financial difficulty as the Leven Railway took shape, and approached
5192-576: The principal peer of the Scottish realm, and reserved the right of crowning the nation's monarchs, reflecting the prestige of the area. A new royal palace was gradually constructed at Falkland , formerly the stronghold of Clan MacDuff , and was used by successive monarchs of the House of Stuart , who favoured Fife for its rich hunting grounds. King James VI of Scotland described Fife, in Middle Scots , as a: "beggar's mantle fringed wi gowd"
5280-532: The procurement of the necessary rolling stock, which was acquired remarkably quickly (from the Scottish Central Railway), and the line continued to run after the withdrawal of the EP&DR. The traffic was very buoyant, almost double what had been foreseen, and having an efficient locomotive was essential. Unfortunately the Bury locomotive was also defective, and although it could hardly cope with
5368-424: The public on 10 August 1854. There were four passenger trains each way daily, connecting with main line trains at Thornton. The stations at Cameron Bridge and Leven were rudimentary, and the authorised branches to Kirkland and Leven Harbour were not yet started. There was soon serious difficulty with the locomotive in negotiating the curves, which appear to have been very sharp. At first the EP&DR declined to work
SECTION 60
#17327987282845456-429: The public on 11 August 1857 There were four trains each way daily. Ridership on the line exceeded expectations, amounting soon to over a thousand a week; by April 1858 the shareholders' meeting was informed that capital expenditure had been £36,606, and the operating surplus (probably for the half year) was £861. At 31 July 1860 the surplus for the half year was £626; the Leven surplus was £1,433. The East of Fife declared
5544-576: The rapid transport of goods. Modern ports were constructed at Methil , Burntisland and Rosyth . Kirkcaldy became the world centre for the production of linoleum . Postwar Fife saw the development of Scotland's second new town , Glenrothes . Originally to provide housing for miners at a new coal mine, the town eventually attracted a high number of modern Silicon Glen companies to the region. Fife Council and Fife Constabulary also centre their operations in Glenrothes. There are numerous notable historical buildings in Fife, some of which are managed by
5632-418: The required certificate as to the method working the single line, and Tyler declined the approval to open to passengers. These matters were quickly attended to: probably the waggon road crossing was removed, and the main line was to be worked under the "one engine in steam" principle. The necessary approval was given, and the directors made a demonstration run throughout the line on 30 July. The line opened to
5720-464: The scheme might fail like the 1851 proposal. It was suggested building the line through Lower Largo and as far as Kilconquhar only at first; the insignificant village was a little inland and home only to a clay pit and a brickworks, and not obviously a destination in itself, and some opinions insisted on carrying the line throughout. But the Kilconquhar first stage prevailed, and the subscriptions were just about raised to get that far. A parliamentary bill
5808-420: The temporary goods station there was named Lundin Mill . Work on the viaduct and the route beyond proceeded well, and on 27 July 1857 Captain Tyler of the Board of Trade inspected it. Immediately north of Leven town a former waggon road (that is, tramway) crossed the line; it had connected a brickfield with the town. No signalling or other protection had been provided; moreover the Board of Trade had not been given
5896-440: The time completely undeveloped) and Lower Largo and the Kilconquhar terminus (to be called Kilconquhar and Elie ). None of these was a large community, nor had they any great industrial activity. The Board of the East of Fife line heard of the difficulties on the nearby Leven Railway, and had Bouch's work checked by an independent engineer. His report led the board to dismiss Bouch immediately, and Martin, one of Bouch's assistants,
5984-412: The town of Clackmannan . By the early thirteenth century Fothriff had been joined to the earldom of Fife. Sometime between the reign of David I (reigned 1124–1153) and the mid-thirteenth century, this part of Scotland was divided into shires , being areas administered by a sheriff . Kinross and Clackmannan were each given their own sheriffs, whilst the rest of the Fife and Fothriff area was placed under
6072-405: The traffic, the Leven Company had to make the best of it while a new Hawthorn locomotive was built. The goods wagons also were extremely poor. The new locomotive arrived in October 1855 and immediately on arrival it too was found to be unready for work. It is not clear whether Bouch, as the Engineer of the line, was responsible for locomotive matters; but the Directors now found many deficiencies with
6160-434: The two parishes of Culross and Tulliallan , which had previously formed an exclave of Perthshire. Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy were brought within the administrative area of the county council in 1930, but classed as large burghs , allowing them to continue to deliver many local government functions themselves. Fife County Council was based at County Buildings in Catherine Street in Cupar , which had been built in 1817 as
6248-611: The works themselves. In November 1882 it was announced that a railway connecting the Anstruther line and the St Andrews Railway at St Andrews was to be built. The North British Railway was to fund the work, which would include providing a new through station, and it would get free use of the new joint station. This was authorised by the Anstruther and St. Andrews Railway Act 1883 ( 46 & 47 Vict. c. c) on 16 July 1883. A rudimentary goods train service had already been started, on 1 May 1883, between Anstruther and Crail, following pressure from local farmers. The line as far as Boarhills
6336-506: The works were satisfactory, he was not satisfied with fencing and he found the permanent way to be rough, and wished a goods service to be operated for some time so as to consolidate the ballast. A goods service had started on 14 August, and Yolland being satisfied, a passenger service started on 1 September 1863. There were stations at Elie, St Monance, Pittenweem and Anstruther; there were three mixed (passenger and goods) trains each way daily, from Thornton to Anstruther. The Kilconquhar station
6424-419: Was a flour mill at that edge of Leven; the location was apparently chosen to enable later extension to Anstruther. Kirkland Mill was a large textile mill south of the river Leven a mile west of Leven itself. There was a large distillery and textile mill at Cameron Bridge, and numerous mills at Leven, where the terminal was some way north-west of the town; the attraction was the flour mill named Burn Mill. (The line
6512-418: Was also passed, authorising the line to Anstruther. A station at Pittenweem had been omitted from the original plans but was now inserted, and a loop line at Elie bringing the line closer to the town was deleted. £40,000 of further preference shares was authorised to pay for the new line. On 13 August 1863 the Board of Trade inspector, Colonel Yolland, carried out his inspection of the line, and although most of
6600-399: Was announced that "the prospect of the line being shortly proceeded with is now bright", implying that not enough subscriptions had been taken By this time (actually in 1877) the North British Railway had taken over both the St Andrews Railway (from Leuchars) and the Leven and East of Fife Railway. In February 1880 after a considerable controversy over the route of the line, and particularly
6688-448: Was brought in. In September 1856 the Company wrote to Hawthorn's asking them to supply a locomotive identical to the one then running on the Leven line, and on 3 January 1857 the Directors were able to make a trial run from Leven to Drummochie (spelt Drummochy by some sources); the viaduct at Lower Largo was not yet ready for them to go further. This was successful and goods traffic started on 1 February 1857 as far as Drummochie, although
6776-473: Was converted to a through station, as earlier envisaged, and the Anstruther station was in Anstruther Wester. A third locomotive was obtained after the opening to Anstruther and a five trains a day were run in summer, one being goods only. Traffic was much better than expected and more rolling stock had to be acquired. Fish was an exceptionally heavy traffic at Anstruther, and it often happened that
6864-409: Was created covering the same area as the county, divided into three districts : Dunfermline , Kirkcaldy and North-East Fife . In 1996 the district councils were abolished and Fife Regional Council became a unitary authority known as Fife Council. Fife is one of the six local authorities in the city region of Edinburgh and southeast Scotland. There was a parliamentary constituency of Fife in
6952-596: Was deposited, and although there was a last minute ambiguity about the exact location of the Kilconquhar terminus, the East of Fife Railway Act 1855 ( 18 & 19 Vict. c. clxv) obtained royal assent without difficulty on 23 July 1855, with capital of £32,000. A further act of 5 June 1856, the East of Fife Railway (Deviation) Act 1856 ( 19 & 20 Vict. c. xxiv) regularised the Kilconquhar location. Intermediate stations were to be provided at Lundin Links (at
7040-435: Was dissolved by the East of Fife Railway Dissolution Act 1850 ( 13 & 14 Vict. c. xcvii). In 1847 the Edinburgh and Northern Railway, now retitled the Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee Railway , had opened part of its main line, with a station at Markinch. In 1848 a station at Thornton was opened. This emphasised to the people of Leven the loss of the railway connection that the East of Fife had promised. In October 1851
7128-580: Was issued, but there were mixed feelings locally about the profitability of the line, and after several meetings, it was announced in December 1866 that the scheme would be deferred for the time being. A further unsuccessful attempt to get a proposal activated took place in 1874, and in 1877 there was what seemed to be a better outcome, when on 24 August 1877 a meeting at Crail attracted considerable support, including subscriptions for shares. Yet in August 1878 it
7216-487: Was later extended south to the harbour.) A bill went to Parliament, and notwithstanding fierce opposition from a local landowner, C. Maitland Christie, the Leven Railway Act 1852 ( 15 & 16 Vict. c. xcv) received royal assent on 17 June 1852. The working arrangement with the EP&DR was revisited; it was to split any surplus income equally between the two companies, but the Leven Railway had to provide
7304-473: Was one of the ancient provinces of Scotland , under the authority of the Mormaer or Earl of Fife . The early province of Fife appears to have covered only that part of the later county lying east of a line from Newburgh to Scoonie . The western part of the later county was in the province of Fothriff , which also covered areas that would later become Kinross-shire and part of Clackmannanshire , including
7392-404: Was pressed forward and in August 1883 Major Marindin of the Board of Trade inspected the line. Marindin gave a positive report, although some details required to be resolved; in particular it was intended to detach coaches at Anstruther off trains for Boarhills, and there was no accommodation to do so at the new Anstruther station. (The old Anstruther station would be on a spur from the new line, and
7480-532: Was to be £57,000; a new through station was required at Anstruther, and there would be a terminus at St Andrews in the Argyle district. A contract was let on 7 January 1881 to John Coghill and Sons in the amount of £37,698 exclusive of permanent way, a lower price than expected. At first the works proceeded as expected, but the following year it was obvious that Coghill and Sons had over-reached themselves and were bankrupt in August 1882. The Company resolved to continue
7568-459: Was to become a goods station.) The line was single with a passing loop at Kingsbarns (although for the time being the line was to be worked on the one-engine-in-steam principle). Stations were at Anstruther, Crail, Kingsbarns and Boarhills. The steepest gradient was 1 in 60. Accordingly, the line opened for passenger traffic as far as Boarhills on 1 September 1883. There were five passenger trains daily except Sundays, and they ran from Pittenweem on
7656-409: Was to run from the Leven Railway along the coastal strip to end at Anstruther and Cellardyke, a small community immediately east of Anstruther. Thomas Bouch had been engaged as engineer—his shortcomings on the Leven line had not yet become apparent—and he estimated £58,411 to build the line. There was considerable concern that the money to build the line would not be forthcoming in the community, and that
7744-530: Was £25,000, and the railway part of the works extended to just over half a mile. The North British Railway, intending to take over the line, contributed £5,000 to the scheme. On 18 November 1879 the first vessel used the harbour; the branch railway was to be treated as a siding branch of the NBR with receipts for traffic on it divided between the NBR and the Dock and Railway company. The Leven Harbour never realised its potential, chiefly due to difficulty with silting, and
#283716