Auchincruive Waggonway

Last updated

Auchincruive Waggonway
Wagonway.jpg
The Little Eaton Waggonway in 1908
Overview
Locale Ayr and Auchincruive, South Ayrshire
Dates of operation1784 circa–1872 circa
SuccessorAbandoned
Technical
Track gauge Unknown
Length10.5 miles (16.9 km)

The Auchincruive Waggonway or Whitletts Waggonway was a mineral railway or 'Bogey line' that transported mainly coal, eventually running from the north side of Ayr harbour at Newton to Blackhouse, Whitletts, Dalmilling, Gibbsyard, Auchincruive Holm, Annbank and Enterkine. [1] Apart from carrying coal to the harbour, lime kilns, quarries and a salt works were also served. [2]

Contents

History

Writing in 1811 Aiton records that "Richard Oswald of Auchincruive, Esq; formed, some years ago, an iron rail-way, from his coal-works to near the town of Ayr, but could not obtain liberty to carry it through the Burgh-acres, to the harbour." [3] Aiton also notes that "Taylor Esq; has made a rail-way, of nearly the same length, from his coal-pits, in the lands of Newton, to the north harbour of Ayr." [4]

A section of typical flangeway track as used by Richard Trevithick Richard Trevithick railway (England).jpg
A section of typical flangeway track as used by Richard Trevithick

By 1792 the waggonway had reached Ayr harbour and a report of 1807 indicates that the old waggonway had been completely replaced. [5]

The waggonway was still in active use in 1838 when the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway was constructed with its terminus north of the river in Newton [6] and this necessitated the construction of a level manned crossing with gates. [7] The act authorising the construction of the line included an amendment that prevented the company from interfering with the waggonway's operation. [8] The GPK&AR's successor was the Glasgow & South Western Railway and they also were prevented from disrupting the smooth running of the waggonway when they extend their line south of the river. [9]

By 1837 the waggonway had been extended to Whitletts and by 1838 it had extended to Dalmilling, [10] reaching the Thorneyflat area after 1838 and the Auchincruive pits by 1846. [11] Annbank was in use by the 1860s and had closed by 1872. [12]

The pits

In the 1840s Messrs. George Taylor and Company owned pits near the Old Bridge; the Allison Pit near Russell Street; Newton Head Pit near Tam's Brig; as well as Saltfield and Green Pits near Newton Lodge. [13] Two pits that had closed by 1869 were Peelhill No. 1 just north of Oswald's Bridge and Peelhill No. 2 that lay between Mount Loudoun and Mount Stairs. The Holm Pit stood just downstream of Oswald's Bridge on the south side of the river and operated in the 1860s. [14] By 1839 nearly 70,000 tons of coal per year were being carried by the waggonway and exported by ship. [15] The Kerr Pit near Whitletts had closed by 1854, [16] Blackhouse Pit closed in 1863 [17] and Auchincruive Pits by the late 1860s. [18]

Associated infrastructure

It is known that various sorts of sleepers were used, including stone blocks that were favoured on horse-worked lines, as they did not interfere with the centre of the track wooden sleepers do as they run right across the centre of the trackbed. Five- or six-foot-long wood sleepers made from beech with areas for the chairs have been found as have both wood pegs and wrought iron spikes. [19]

A stone railway sleeper and chair imprint at Oaklea Bridge A Stone railway sleeper, Auchincruive Waggonway, South Ayrshire, Scotland.jpg
A stone railway sleeper and chair imprint at Oaklea Bridge
The surviving Brockle Bridge waggonway piers. Brockle Bridge piers, Auchincruive Waggonway, River Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland.jpg
The surviving Brockle Bridge waggonway piers.

The waggonway gauge is not known, however from relics such as wooden railway sleepers estimates suggest 3 ft 6in, 4 ft 2in or 4 ft 8.5in. [20] It is possible that the gauge was changed at some point during its long history. Most of the route was single track with numerous passing loops. [21] No indication of formal signalling is recorded.

It is not clear what sort of rails were used in the early days as sand would have accumulated on L-shaped rails; however, waggons without a flange may have been used. [22] A wrought iron rail and a section of L-shaped cast iron rail have been recorded. [23]

Operation of the Waggonway

In keeping with other such waggonways the line was probably worked by a combination of gravity, manually, by horses and eventually steam locomotives. Most of the coal carried to the North Quay from the pits at Whitletts and Auchincruive was transported in trains of four, two or three ton waggons hauled by horses. [24] At the quay stood the wooden 'hurries' where the coal was tipped into the holds of the fleet of colliers [25] and most transported to Ireland. In 1857 four hurries are shown on the OS map with double tracks leading to each. [26]

A horse would usually haul between 5 and 7 coal waggons carrying 26 cwt each. [27] The use of steam locomotives is recorded and by 1860 they were used with the record of a death caused by an accident involving a locomotive returning from Annbank in 1865. [28]

The Oswald's Bridge to Annbank sections of the line involved substantial earthworks to create the cuttings and the embankments as well as the impressive Brockle Bridge that crossed the River Ayr below Tarholm, however it was only in use for around fifteen years from 1865 and was closed in the 1870s and lifted well before 1775. [29]

The waggons were tipped at the hurry on the harbour edge and one end opened allowing the coal to tumble into the hold of the collier in a process that took about a minute for each waggon. [30]

It is unclear how many steam locomotives were used however one is described as being about 25 horsepower, requiring no tender as the water tank was positioned above the boiler and the coal was stored on either side of the driver's cab. [31]

The routes

Scotland relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Stevenston Canal
class=notpageimage|
Location of the Auchincruive Waggonway, South Ayrshire

The waggonway had a complex history with possible changes of route and frequent abandonment of branches and sidings as many of the pits had relatively short working lives. The waggonway at its greatest extent had a 'main line' that ran from a complex of sidings running to the side of the quay at Newton on Ayr up through Wallacetown, onwards past Blackhouse, Whitletts and Dalmilling from whence it ran towards Thorneyflat with a branch to Gibbsyard, Stevenson and Wheatpark, whilst running onwards via New Barns to Holm where the terminus was for a number of years. [32] [33] Crossing the River Ayr below Oswald's Bridge it continued sometime after 1865 towards Annbank via Brockle Quarry and Colvinston Farm to end near Enterkine No. 3 Pit, [34] at least five miles from Ayr. [35]

A number of other pits in the vicinity of the waggonway may also have been served by the waggonway although no hard evidence survives.

A cast-iron section of 19th century plateway from Stevenston Stevenston - Plateway Rail detail.JPG
A cast-iron section of 19th century plateway from Stevenston

A large embankment ran across the Long Holm to the Holm Pit at Oswald's Bridge and this was removed the 1920s although it is till visible as a cropmark. [36]

The waggonway and pits today

Little or nothing survives at many of the various pits and associated spoil heaps, however sections of the track bed can be identified in such places as Cutting Wood [37] and Pheasant Nook near Auchincruive as well as the remains of waggonway bridges across the River Ayr at Brockle Quarry [38] and below Oswald's Bridge. Road overbridges survive intact at Oaklea Farm [39] and Colvinston Farm. Stone railway sleepers with the imprint of the chair base and two drilled holes survive as part of the Oaklea Bridge. Foundations of buildings and the abutment of the old bridge survive in the vicinity of the old Holm Pit. [40] A section of the old trackbed near the site of Annbaank House is used as a footpath and is known locally as the old line. [41]

Micro-history

Other contemporary waggonways existed on the Craigie [42] and on the Holmiston [43] estates with sections of trackbed traceable near the Holmiston lime kiln above Wallace's Heel Well. A very short waggonway appears to have existed at Wallacetown as far back as 1775. [44]

Robert Burns would have been familiar with the Auchincruive Waggonway however he never commented on them. [45]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayr</span> Administrative centre and town in Scotland

Ayr is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population of 46,982, Ayr is the 15th largest settlement in Scotland and second largest town in Ayrshire by population. The town is contiguous with the smaller town of Prestwick to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayr (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1950–2005

Ayr was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 to 2005. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election.

Annbank is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is around five miles east of Ayr. Originally a mining settlement, it once had a rail link to Ayr via the Auchincruive Waggonway.

The Kilmarnock and Troon Railway was an early railway line in Ayrshire, Scotland. It was constructed to bring coal from pits around Kilmarnock to coastal shipping at Troon Harbour, and passengers were carried.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commondyke railway station</span> Former railway station in Scotland

Commondyke railway station was a railway station on the Muirkirk branch that served the mining village, farms and community of Commondyke and Birnieknowe, East Ayrshire, Scotland. The station was originally part of the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway before passing to the Glasgow and South-Western Railway, then the London, Midland and Scottish upon grouping and closing under British Railways. Passenger services to Muirkirk station ceased in 1950.

The Darvel Branch was an extension of the former Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway in Scotland built by the Glasgow and South Western Railway to allow trains to travel between Kilmarnock and Darvel.

Benslie is a small village in North Ayrshire, in the parish of Kilwinning, Scotland. Map reference NS 336 429.

Fergushill is a small community in North Ayrshire, Parish of Kilwinning, Scotland. The Barony of Fergushill was held by the Fergushill family of that Ilk and the area has a complex history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Industry and the Eglinton Castle estate</span>

The Eglinton Castle estate was situated at Irvine, on the outskirts of Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland in the former district of Cunninghame. Eglinton Castle, was once home to the Montgomeries, Earls of Eglinton and chiefs of the Clan Montgomery. Eglinton Country Park now occupies part of the site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dalmore House and Estate</span> Country House

Dalmore was a country house and small estate in the Parish of Stair, East Ayrshire, on the River Ayr, East Ayrshire, Scotland

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaw Monument</span> Church in South Ayrshire, Scotland

The Shaw Monument is an 18th-century structure that has been interpreted as a folly and stands about 1 mile East of Prestwick, overlooking Prestwick Airport in South Ayrshire, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stevenston Canal</span>

The Stevenston Canal was a waterway in North Ayrshire, Scotland, built for Robert Reid Cunningham of Seabank and Patrick Warner of the Ardeer Estate, which ran to the port of Saltcoats from Ardeer, and Stevenston with a number of short branches to coal pits along the length of the cut. The canal opened on 19 September 1772, the first commercial canal in Scotland. It closed in the 1830s, when it was abandoned following the exhaustion of the coal mines and the rise of importance of Ardrossan as a harbour. At the time of its construction it was said to be the "most complete water system of colliery transport ever devised in Britain."

The Glasgow and South Western Railway operated a number of cross-country lines in Ayrshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craigie Waggonway</span> Former railway line in Scotland

The Craigie Waggonway was a short lived mineral railway or 'Bogey line' of just over a mile in length that transported coal from five or more coal pits on the Craigie Estate to Ayr where it was either used locally or was taken to the harbour in carts for export, mainly to Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killochan railway station</span> Former railway station in Scotland

Killochan railway station was located in a rural part of South Ayrshire, Scotland and mainly served the nearby Killochan Castle estate. The Killochan bank is the name given to this section of the line, running from Girvan on an uphill gradient to just north of the old station site. Maybole is around nine miles away and Girvan two miles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girvan (old) railway station</span> Railway station in South Ayrshire, Scotland, UK

Girvan Old railway station was a terminus station opened in Girvan, in Carrick, South Ayrshire, Scotland by the Maybole and Girvan Railway. Although ambitions existed to extend the line through to Stranraer it was built on a site that would not permit this and so when the line was built the Girvan New station was opened on 5 October 1877 by the Girvan and Portpatrick Junction Railway on the route to Pinmore and eventually through to Stranraer railway station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garrochburn Goods Depot</span>

Garrochburn Goods Depot or Garrochburn Siding was a railway freight facility located off the B744 near the hamlet of Crosshands that lies north-west of Mauchline, East Ayrshire, Scotland. It served the industrial and agricultural requirements for transportation in the vicinity of Crosshands and the surrounding rural area, originally on behalf of the Glasgow and South-Western Railway. Garrochburn Goods Depot was 40.4 miles (65.0 km) from Glasgow, 6.82 miles (10.98 km) from Kilmarnock and 2.72 miles (4.38 km) from Mauchline. The old clachan of Ladeside once stood nearby and the mill at Dalsangan remains as a private house having lost its water supply upon the draining of Loch Brown when the railway was built, that is apart from that of the Garroch or Ladeside Burn that cuts under the railway to the south of the old siding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weston Bridge Halt railway station</span>

Weston Bridge Platform railway station or Weston Bridge Halt railway station was opened to serve miners travelling to the Ayr Colliery No. 9 Pit that stood near Annbank and those from the village that worked at other pits in the area, East Ayrshire, Scotland. The station was on the line that was originally part of the Ayr and Cumnock Branch of the Glasgow and South Western Railway. The location was well chosen as it lay close to the village, the hamlet of Burnbrae and at the busy crossroads at Weston Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blacksyke Tower</span>

The Blacksyke Tower, Blacksyke Engine House, Caprington Colliery Engine House or even Lusk's Folly is a Scheduled Monument associated with a double lime kiln complex in the Parish of Riccarton and is a building of national importance. The Blacksyke site is a significant survival of early coal and lime industries. The engine house's mock Gothic tower house style is very unusual and rare survival of its type. This late-18th-century engine house would be one of the oldest surviving examples of its kind in the United Kingdom. The track bed of the wagonway and several sidings that linked the complex with the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway can still be clearly made out.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle and Barony of Gadgirth</span>

The Castle and Barony of Gadgirth was held by the Chalmer family, originally De Camera, with successive castles and a mansion house overlooking the River Ayr at the border of the Parish of Coylton, the old district of Kyle, now part of South Ayrshire, Scotland.

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. Ayr Arch & Nat Hist Soc. p. 120.
  2. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 109.
  3. ↑ Aiton, William (1953). The Royal Burgh of Ayr. Ayr Arch & Nat Hist Soc. p. 555.
  4. ↑ Aiton, William (1953). The Royal Burgh of Ayr. Ayr Arch & Nat Hist Soc. p. 556.
  5. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 105.
  6. ↑ Wham, Alasdair (2013). Ayrshire's Forgotten Railways. p. 27.
  7. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 112.
  8. ↑ Wham, Alasdair (2013). Ayrshire's Forgotten Railways. p. 27.
  9. ↑ Wham, Alasdair (2013). Ayrshire's Forgotten Railways. p. 29.
  10. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 111.
  11. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 117.
  12. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 127.
  13. ↑ Dunlop, Annie (1953). The Royal Burgh of Ayr. Ayr Arch & Nat Hist Soc. p. 203.
  14. ↑ Love, Dane (2010). The River Ayr Way. p. 29.
  15. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 113.
  16. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 117.
  17. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 123.
  18. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 127.
  19. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 128.
  20. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 132.
  21. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 108.
  22. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 106.
  23. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 128.
  24. ↑ Dunlop, Annie (1953). The Royal Burgh of Ayr. p. 204.
  25. ↑ Dunlop, Annie (1953). The Royal Burgh of Ayr. p. 204.
  26. ↑ "Ayr Sheet XXXIII.6, Newton Upon Ayr, Survey date: 1857 Publication date:1860". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  27. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 106.
  28. ↑ Wham, Alasdair (2013). Ayrshire's Forgotten Railways. p. 79.
  29. ↑ Wham, Alasdair (2013). Ayrshire's Forgotten Railways. p. 81.
  30. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 107.
  31. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 124.
  32. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. Ayr Arch & Nat Hist Soc. p. 121.
  33. ↑ "Rail Map Online". Rail Map. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  34. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. Ayr Arch & Nat Hist Soc. p. 120.
  35. ↑ Wham, Alasdair (2013). Ayrshire's Forgotten Railways. p. 29.
  36. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 130.
  37. ↑ Wham, Alasdair (2013). Ayrshire's Forgotten Railways. p. 79.
  38. ↑ "Ayrshire 033.04, Publication date: 1896, Revised: 1895". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  39. ↑ Wham, Alasdair (2013). Ayrshire's Forgotten Railways. p. 79.
  40. ↑ "Ayr Sheet XXXIII.4, Saint Quivox, Survey date:1857, Publication date:1860". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  41. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. p. 131.
  42. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. Ayr Arch & Nat Hist Soc. p. 135.
  43. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. Ayr Arch & Nat Hist Soc. p. 138.
  44. ↑ Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. Ayr Arch & Nat Hist Soc. p. 133.
  45. ↑ Wham, Alasdair (2013). Ayrshire's Forgotten Railways. p. 79.
References
  1. Aiton, William (1811). General View of the Agriculture of the County of Ayr. Ayr : Wilson & Paul.
  2. Broad, Harry (1981). Rails to Ayr. 18th & 19th Century Coal Waggonways. Ayr Arch & Nat Hist Soc.
  3. Dunlop, Annie (1953). The Royal Burgh of Ayr. Edinburgh : Oliver and Boyd.
  4. Love, Dane (2010). The River Ayr Way. Auchinleck : Carn Publishing. ISBN   978-0-9518128-8-4.
  5. Robertson, William (1905). Old Ayrshire Days. Ayr : Stephen & Pollock.
  6. Wham, Alasdair (2013). Ayrshire's Forgotten Railways. Usk : Oakwood Press. ISBN   978-0-85361-729-7.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.