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61-594: When numerous collieries needed a railway connection the Wemyss Estate built a connecting line to Methil Harbour and improved the harbour itself. The local network became known as The Wemyss Private Railway and the Estate's interest was transferred to the Wemyss Coal Company. These terms have been used interchangeably by authors. The collieries were nationalised in 1947 and the sidings connections at

122-693: A considerable coal resource lay. A new branch was built from the Muiredge line running north parallel to the FCC Wellsgreen line, passing round the east and north sides of Wellsgreen and then striking west to Earlseat. The line was 2 1 ⁄ 2 miles long, and starting in July 1903, it was completed in four months. The location of the new pit was remote, and Wemyss established a free workers' passenger train service, erecting platforms at Earlseat and at Cowley Road, Methil, and at Denbeath. On 12 August 1907

183-681: A considerable manpower. The WCC had early on provided miners' houses, but now travel from outside the immediate area was a necessity. Wemyss decided to install an electric passenger tramway, linked to the existing Kirkcaldy municipal system, for the use of employees. It opened in August 1906; it was 3 ft 6in gauge and cost Wemyss personally £52,000; he formed the Wemyss and District Tramways Company Ltd to operate it. It ran 7 1 ⁄ 2 miles from Gallatown to Leven via Coaltown, East Wemyss, Roisie, Muiredge, Denbeath and Methil. Electricity generated for

244-566: A form of compensation, but Wemyss declined the agreement. Although the matter only affected a six-mile mineral railway, it proved extremely contentious for the North British Railway board, and at a turbulent shareholders' meeting on 23 March 1899, a critical vote resulted in the resignation of the Chairman. Wemyss' own position as a NBR board member was becoming impossible and he resigned from the board on 16 May 1899. Conacher too,

305-469: A lengthy line and in fact a direct connection was made with the NBR main line adjacent. The new Methil dock was entirely successful, and mechanical handling equipment and other modern aids ensured rapid loading of shipping. Nonetheless Wemyss did not wish to be a long term operator of harbour facilities, particularly because he foresaw that considerable development would be needed in later years to keep abreast of

366-499: A little west of Leven. Nothing came of this discussion at first, but in 1878 a definite scheme was produced to connect Buckhaven with Thornton. Thornton was chosen as the junction because of the convenience of bringing coal from Dunfermline. Matters progressed and on 17 October 1879 a Certificate for the construction of the railway was issued by the Board of Trade; an act of Parliament was not required because no compulsory land acquisition

427-457: A new connecting railway from Muiredge Den to Methil; at six miles in length it was to connect numerous collieries in the district. The NBR immediately took the view that this was prohibited under the thirling agreement, and lengthy and antagonistic correspondence followed. The NBR argued that the licence to build new colliery connections was personal to Wemyss (not the WCC) and did not allow him to carry

488-515: A new line running between West Wemyss and Wemyss Castle, and broadly parallel to the existing Buckhaven line. The new railway was over a mile long, with a zigzag to gain height and gradients of 1 in 69 against loaded trains to reach the high level line. Construction of the line started in February 1895, and was complete in October 1895. From 1894 difficult discussions took place between the NBR and

549-530: A personal capacity, but on 17 March 1894 the Wemyss Coal Company Ltd (WCC) was formed. Wemyss transferred much of his business interest to the company; other shareholders were chiefly local coalmasters. Naturally Wemyss was a dominant shareholder and a driving force; his later correspondence with the NBR often put forward his views personally as well as on behalf of the WCC. (The Wemyss Colliery Trust

610-528: A reversal at Thornton, on the NBR main line, and this caused significant delay; a direct line passing under the main line was built in 1886 - 1887; it had steep gradients, falling from the Dunfermline direction at 1 in 52 and rising again at 1 in 74. Wemyss contributed £1,000 to the cost of construction. Shortly after October 1887 a lease was agreed between Wemyss and the Fife Coal Company for

671-635: A rich coalfield area, in 1848 - 1849. The Leven Railway opened in 1854 connecting Leven with the EP&;DR at Thornton; the Leven Railway saw the long-term future as extending to Anstruther and serving the fishing communities. The objective was achieved in 1863 after amalgamation with the East of Fife Railway, the two companies together forming the Leven and East of Fife Railway in 1861. They were absorbed by

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732-459: A serious accident took place at Spence's Box at the Summer Road crossing; the workers' train was waiting at the junction signal for a clear road, and a descending loaded mineral train got out of control and ran through the signals, destroying the pug engine and carriages of the workers' train. The approach of the out-of-control train was given warning and most of the passengers and crew had left

793-458: A thirling agreement (that is, a mutually binding limitation agreement) in which the coalmasters and Wemyss himself undertook for 21 years to ship all their coal from NBR harbours, and not to condone the construction of any rival railway wholly or partly in Fife. Short private colliery railway connections were allowed under the agreement. In May 1897 Wemyss indicated to the NBR that he planned to build

854-657: The North British Railway (NBR) in 1877. The region east of Anstruther remained unconnected for some years until the Anstruther and St Andrews Railway opened its line in 1883 - 1887; together these lines formed the Fife Coast Railway . The first direct railway connection to serve a colliery was opened at the end of 1868 when the Muiredge branch opened by the Leven and East of Fife Railway; it left

915-559: The 1887 Wellsgreen line, then crossing it by a diamond crossing; the earlier restrictive agreements required Wellsgreen traffic to be worked to Wemyss Castle. It then ran north and east, joining the Bowman branch to Isabella pit, and then crossing the route of the NBR Muiredge branch. Running north-south this had become dormant when more direct routes for Muiredge coal had been built, and the NBR had agreed that it might be severed to allow

976-541: The Duncan sidings were extended eastwards to serve it, and at the same time the line was extended south to reach the Hugo pit, which previously had only been able to access West Wemyss through the hutch tunnel. The North British Railway had developed Burntisland as its main harbour in Fife, and much of the rail-connected coal traffic went there; this was a considerable mileage, and income to the NBR, and local coalmasters resented

1037-543: The East Fife coalmasters, but for some time Wemyss was unable to persuade the NBR to attend to the issue, although he pressed Conacher to agree to build the new works at Methil, in a series of meetings and increasingly urgent letters in 1893. In the face of this pressure the NBR started work on the No. 2 Dock at Methil in 1894; it took until January 1900 to get it ready. Until this time Wemyss had been financing his businesses in

1098-527: The General Manager of the NBR, was accused of dishonest management, and he resigned as from 1 July 1899. In July 1898 Wemyss was divorced by his wife, having had intimate relations in London with an actress. He married Lady Eva Cecilia Wellesley on 28 November 1899 and sailed to Egypt and South Africa on honeymoon. The Second Boer War had just started, and Wemyss became involved as an army officer and

1159-614: The Hugo pit became productive; it was in high land above West Wemyss, and an inclined tunnel was dug, down which hutches of coal were lowered on a double track rope worked inclined plane, of 25 inches gauge. At the lower end of the tunnel the plane reached the small harbour of West Wemyss, already reached by the Victoria and Barncraig hutch tramways. An enlargement of West Wemyss Harbour was made at this time too, starting in 1872 and completed in September 1873. The improvement at West Wemyss

1220-479: The Leven Harbour Company, Wemyys approached them to purchase their business. They were receptive, as all their initial capital had been expended and further construction was needed, which they were unable to fund. Struggling with heavy indebtedness, the company sold out to the Wemyss Estate (Randolph Wemyss, his tenant colliers and certain other business interests) in 1883 for £12,000. By this purchase

1281-510: The NBR Muiredge branch, and a connection from the new Rosie pit, which ran as a high level siding parallel to, and above, the W&;B line. In 1882 the Duncan pit started operation, near West Wemyss station, and a short branch was built to serve it, opening in 1882. It was built by the NBR at Wemyss' expense, and the output was conveyed to Burntisland. Lady Lilian pit resumed operation (on the site of an earlier unsuccessful scheme) in 1891 - 1893 and

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1342-471: The NBR extending and enlarging the dock themselves as might be necessary. Further acrimonious correspondence followed, the result of which was that the NBR declined to improve the Methil docks, while Wemyss threatened, for the time being in vain, to build an additional dock facility himself. However, in the 1905 parliamentary session he deposited a bill for a Wemyss Dock at Buckhaven. The Lords committee refused

1403-430: The NBR that they would develop Methil Dock and the railway facilities in line with the growth of exported minerals, and a second dock basin at Methil was planned. However Walker died suddenly on 24 April 1891, and his successor John Conacher was considerably less amenable to Wemyss' intentions. The NBR had been spending money on developing Burntisland harbour, and Conacher saw the attraction in avoiding duplication and taking

1464-402: The NBR would itself improve Methil. So it was that on 2 August 1907 the act was passed, empowering the North British Railway to construct Methil no. 3 Dock and associated railway connections; the NBR was required to complete it as soon as possible. Wemyss withdrew his bill, and in 1908 the NBR let a contract to Robert McAlpine for the no. 3 Dock. It was to be located east of the earlier docks and

1525-435: The North British Railway, owner of the docks, and he too seems to have been antagonistic to Wemyss. Widening and deepening the shipping access to Methil was, he said, impractical, and Wemyss replied in a letter stating that he had prepared a scheme that could be implemented, but that if the NBR would not act on the matter, Wemyss would build a new dock himself. His original undertaking not to do so had been, he said, contingent on

1586-638: The Wellesley mines was used on the system. The trams ran into the Kirkcaldy system and were integrated with it, but there were four high-capacity cars reserved for the times of shift changes James Erskine Wemyss James Erskine Wemyss (9 July 1789 – 3 April 1854) was a Scottish MP and Rear-Admiral . He was the son of William Wemyss by his wife Frances, daughter of Sir William Erskine, 1st Baronet . In 1820 he succeeded his father as Member of Parliament for Fife , sitting until 1831. He represented

1647-544: The Wellsgreen traffic on the new line. Until that time it had been routed to Wemyss Castle and carried by the NBR. A new eastward spur from the Wellsgreen branch was provided, shortening the transit to Methil considerably. However the NBR reminded Wemyss of the earlier agreement that Wellsgreen traffic would travel via Wemyss Castle, and after some prevarication Wemyss was obliged to concede that obligation in August 1903. Wemyss now set about connecting pits at Earlseat, where

1708-596: The Wemyss Estate acquired the branch railway to Leven Harbour. Wemyss needed to extend the Buckhaven line to Leven Harbour, and strong opposition might be expected from the North British Railway, who would lose mileage by it. Wemyss forged an agreement with them, finalised on 21 April 1883, by agreeing to the Burntisland carriage rates applying to coal traffic from outside the immediate area to Methil and Leven. Wemyss also agreed not to allow competing railways access to

1769-516: The Wemyss Estate and its coalmaster tenants. The NBR was continuing to advance the benefits of developing Burntisland, and Wemyss as a Director of the NBR was heartily opposed to that as being wasteful for the NBR. His position was anomalous as his interests in the WCC were also contrary to any development of harbours elsewhere than at Methil. Conacher and a section of the NBR directors favoured Burntisland and were reluctant to expend money on developing Methil. The negotiations ended on 20 February 1896 with

1830-460: The Wemyss and Buckhaven line; passenger trains ran between Thornton, Buckhaven and Methil; only mineral traffic continued to Leven Harbour, but the new, well-equipped Methil Dock opened on 5 May 1887 also. The cost of the dock and railway extension had been £227,000. In eight months of 1887 Methil shipped 220,000 tons, rising to 409,000 in the full year 1888; Burntisland throughput fell substantially in

1891-664: The area over his lands; the North British anticipated an incursion by the rival Caledonian Railway and this may have been significant in securing their consent to Wemyss' line. The line to extend the Buckhaven line to Leven Harbour, which became known as the Leven Connection Railway , two miles long, opened on 17 September 1884. Parliamentary authorisation was not required. The line was inspected by Major General Hutchinson on 3 March 1887 and opened to passenger traffic on 5 May 1887, operating as an extension of

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1952-552: The branch had included a branch to Methil Harbour, but this was not carried out. It is likely that a mineral siding connection was made to the Pirnie Pit at this time; Pirnie is on the east side of the branch a short distance away. (The pit became called Leven no. 3 in November 1877 and North British Railway engines came to the pit and extended sidings there.) Muiredge coal was moved by rail northwards to Cameron Bridge, and there

2013-598: The coal to the shore. There were many places on the coast where boats could take on cargo, but it was only in the nineteenth century that harbours were developed. Tubs were hauled on rails within the pits, although they can not be considered railways; notable among these was the inclined plane in the Wemyss no. 7 pit which ran out under the Firth of Forth from West Wemyss, from 1824. It was a single track operated by steam engine and haulage cable; as workings at various levels were served, branches were made at those levels. Because of

2074-593: The county again from 1832 to 1847. By his wife Lady Emma, daughter of William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll , he was father of James Hay Erskine Wemyss , also later MP for Fife. This article about a Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (since 1801), for a Scottish constituency is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This biographical article related to the Royal Navy

2135-416: The expansion of trade. Discussions took place with the North British Railway in 1888 which resulted in the sale of the facilities to that company. This became effective on 1 February 1889 and included the Wemyss and Buckhaven line and the Methil extension, the Methil and Leven docks, and the railways serving them. Wemyss undertook never to construct or allow a railway or dock on his lands that would compete with

2196-431: The expense when there were several small harbours locally that were not used. The dock accommodation at Methil was very limited, being only capable of handling ships up to 150 tons. As the rate of coal extraction increased, the lack of useful local harbour facilities became of increasing significance, and in 1879 Wemyss and his tenant coalmasters agreed on the construction of a proper dock at Methil. To avoid opposition from

2257-475: The exploitation of a pit at Wellsgreen; this too would need a railway connection. Wemyss required that to join his lines at Wemyss Castle station, by agreement with the NBR; the branch ran south from the colliery. After September 1888 production at the Randolph pit started; there was consideration of making a mineral railway eastward from it to join the Duncan connection on the W&BR, but this would have been

2318-574: The first railways came to the area, and the railways did not immediately serve the coal workings, concentrating instead on agricultural and industrial centres. The Edinburgh and Northern Railway was authorised in 1845 to build from Burntisland to Perth and Dundee (reached by ferry), and after a name change to the Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee Railway (EP&DR), it opened its line in the years 1847 to 1848, running broadly south to north through Thornton. A line ran westward from Thornton to Dunfermline, also

2379-643: The gradient of the incline, 29 degrees, ordinary turnout connections were not possible as the trams would tip sideways on the turnout; a form of drawbridge was used to make the connections. Before 1856 the Victoria Pit and Barcraig Pit, respectively west and east of the little harbour of West Wemyss, were connected to it by short tramways. It is likely that these were hutch roads, along which the tubs used underground were conveyed, propelled by manpower or horses; they were almost certainly narrow gauge. The mineral workings had long been established using shipping when

2440-414: The intensive traffic. In 1895 Methil harbour had shipped 727,564 tons, overtaking Burntisland, and abstracting some business from smaller ports which could not accept the larger vessels coming into use. From 1904 a further increase in shipments from Methil was expected, and the no. 2 dock was already smaller than many of the vessels currently in use. W. F. Jackson had succeeded Conacher as General Manager of

2501-502: The lands of the estate. Coal had been worked in Fife for many centuries, probably since the thirteenth century. As well as its household use it was extensively used for salt panning; sea water was evaporated by heating to produce salt, an essential commodity, and in the sixteenth century the area around Methil and Wemyss had the most extensive group of salt pans in Fife, all belonging to the Wemyss Estate. Coal and salt were exported, and several primitive waggonways were established to bring

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2562-404: The line was passed as fit for passenger operation, and it opened formally on 1 August 1881. It was worked by the North British Railway. There were intermediate stations at West Wemyss (at the present-day Standing Stane Road) and Wemyys Castle, close to the town of East Wemyss. It had private accommodation for Wemyss and his family. A short branch was made at the end of 1880 or early in 1881 to join

2623-450: The main line at Cameron Bridge and ran south for a little over a mile. The Muiredge Colliery was immediately north of Buckhaven; it was revived by Bowman and Cairns, having earlier been worked by the Wemyss Estate, but the earlier activity had not been profitable and had lapsed. There was a public goods station at Muiredge in addition to the colliery connection. The branch opened shortly before 20 December 1868. The act of Parliament authorising

2684-431: The minerals of others on the line. The matter went to arbitration, and the arbitrator gave his decision on 10 March 1899: he found in favour of Wemyss. The NBR complied with the obligations of the finding, but continued to try to dissuade Wemyss from building the line by proposing concessions on the continued use of the NBR lines. This involved an attempt to make an agreement with Wemyss that would pay him £3,000 annually as

2745-490: The new line to pass through west to east. Spur connections north and south were made to the stubs of that line; the junction area was known as Muiredge Plunks. The line continued east through Starkey's Wood, turning tightly to the south-west and crossing over the Methil extension railway, to terminate at Denbeath pit on the shore. The line had cost £17,186; it was formally opened on 9 January 1901. Wemyss returned from South Africa in July 1901 and proposed an arrangement to carry

2806-545: The pits followed; the main line railways of Great Britain were nationalised in 1948, but the central section, now known as the Wemyss Private Railway remained in private hands. However the mineral activity in East Fife declined and in 1970 the Wemyss Private Railway closed down. The family of Wemyss was "unquestionably the oldest on the County", tracing its line back to Michael Wemyss, who died in 1165. In 1633

2867-518: The preamble, on the grounds of his undertaking to the NBR, and that no one else was precluded from taking the necessary steps. In the following year the NBR, stung into action by the finding, presented a proposal themselves but it ran out of time for the 1906 session and was deposited in April 1907. At the same time, Wemyss, possibly suspecting tactical play, submitted a modified version of his own scheme, while stating that he had no wish to proceed with it if

2928-418: The profit in the longer haul from Wemyss' estates to Burntisland. Accordingly, the NBR failed to carry out any significant improvement at Methil. Wemyss and his tenants found that the limitations of the harbour were unreasonably constraining their businesses: ships suffering 14 days waiting in the roads for a berth and five days to load were recorded as typical. The NBR harbour at Burntisland was unattractive to

2989-432: The same period. Meanwhile, by 1890 Leven was not shipping anything. A link line was built from the Leven nos 1 and 2 pits branch to join the new line near Methil. There was a significant difference in levels and the link line descended at 1 in 19; a runaway trap siding was provided to protect the main line. The mineral traffic built up rapidly, and included heavy flows from Dunfermline. The routing for those trains involved

3050-423: The sole haulier for coal from any distance, and Leven Harbour was unsatisfactory, and not easily reached by rail from many of the East Fife pits. Several other small harbours were developed, but this too failed to resolve the problem, and in any case numerous new pits had been opened remote from the existing railway. In May 1874 a committee of coalmasters discussed building their own line to the developing Methil Dock,

3111-497: The title of Earl of Wemyss was bestowed, but the heir to the title, David Lord Elcho engaged in the Rebellion of 1745, and was later attainted, and was unable to succeed to the title. A junior branch of the family succeeded, and in 1820 James Erskine Wemyss became the head of the family. He died in 1854, and was succeeded by James Hay Erskine Wemyss . On his death in 1864 his eldest son Randolph Gordon Erskine Wemyss (1858 - 1908)

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3172-418: The train. From 1894 the possible absorption by the WCC of the activity of the coalmaster Bowman was discussed, but Bowman's price was considered too much. In 1905 most of Bowman's leases expired and the WCC took over the work directly at that time. The Estate Railway then consisted of 8 miles of running line and 18 miles of sidings. Although now entirely mineral lines, modern signalling systems were in use for

3233-516: The transferred lines and harbours. This was a most significant concession, as he was handing monopoly control to the NBR; at the time he had an excellent relationship with the chairman of the NBR, John Walker, and this may have influenced him. The purchase cost £225,000; the Wemyss Castle station was to be maintained by the NBR for the private use of Wemyss, and Wemyss was given a seat on the NBR board. Wemyss had an understanding with Walker and

3294-492: Was absent while matters developed at home. The contentious new railway between Muiredge Den and Methil was started in October 1899; it was completed and opened in January 1901. It was six miles in length, and single track, starting in the west at Duncan siding, linking Lochhead and Hugo pits, with a new east-facing connection to Michael. It then crossed the Wemyss and Buckhaven line and turned north up Wemyss Den, running close to

3355-433: Was completed in November 1879. The branch railway was worked by the North British Railway, which by this time had taken over the Leven and East of Fife Railway company. From the outset Leven Harbour suffered from silting and continuous dredging was required, and it was not profitable. If this move was intended to free the Wemyss Estate coal masters from their constraints it failed, for the North British Railway continued to be

3416-414: Was established on 28 October 1897, taking possession of all the colliery interests in the estate by perpetual feu.) In 1894 considerable further development of the pits took place, and in particular a pit later named Michael Colliery on the foreshore west of East Wemyss town was established, intended to win undersea coal. A new railway was planned, climbing from the new pit to form a triangular junction with

3477-538: Was heir to the lairdship at the age of six. It was in trust until his majority ; the Trustees managed the affairs of the Estate, led by his mother. The Estate comprised very extensive lands in the County of Fife , and coal was mined on estate lands from, at the latest, the eighteenth century. Randolph Wemyss was possessed of an exceptionally dynamic business mind and developed the mineral extraction; as he did so it emerged that huge quantities of winnable coal lay under

3538-410: Was needed and there were no objections to the scheme; nor was a new joint stock company to be established. It was to be financed by the Wemyss Estate. The line was a little over four miles long; by the end of 1880 a demonstration goods train was run, but the line was not properly finished, and the Board of Trade inspection took place on 30 July 1881, by Major General Hutchinson. With some qualifications,

3599-445: Was no satisfactory rail connection to any nearby harbour at the time. There was much demand for transfer to shipping, and Bowman and Cairns decided to construct a direct mineral railway to Methil; they built it from May 1869, running down Muiredge Den and along the foreshore to Methil West Pier. Horse traction on the single line was used at first but a locomotive was employed by 1870. The line was 1 1 ⁄ 4 miles long. In 1872–1873

3660-618: Was undoubtedly very large. The single track crossing of the River Leven was to be widened to four tracks, and considerable additional sidings accommodation was to be provided. The railway facilities alone were to cost £50,000. As part of the scheme, Leven Harbour, already badly silted up, was closed. In 1913 coal exports reached a total of 3,224,000 tons, of which two-thirds was handled by the Wemyss Estate Railway. The huge and concentrated mining activity obviously required

3721-486: Was welcome, but it remained a small and inconvenient harbour, and the absence of any modern facility in the area led eventually to the formation of the Leven Harbour Dock and Railway Company by act of Parliament on 24 July 1876. As well as construction of a wet dock at Leven, the company was to build a five furlong railway from the Leven and East of Fife Railway at Leven station. The construction cost £40,000 and

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