Border Union Railway

Last updated

Border Union Railway
Overview
Locale Dumfriesshire & Roxburghshire, Scotland;
Cumberland, England
History
Opened21 July 1859
Successor line London and North Eastern Railway
Closed31 December 1922
Technical
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in)
Route map

Contents

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Hawick
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Stobs
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Shankend
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Whitrope Summit
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Riccarton Junction
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Steele Road
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Newcastleton
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Langholm
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Gilnockie
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Canonbie
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Scotland
England
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Kershope Foot
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Nook Pasture
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Penton
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Riddings Junction
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Scotch Dyke
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Longtown
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Gretna (CR)│Gretna
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Longtown Depot
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Lyneside
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Floriston (CR)
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Harker
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Rockcliffe (CR)
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Parkhouse Halt
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Port Carlisle Junction
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Port Carlisle JnPort Carlisle Branch Jn
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Caldew Junctions
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Rome Street Junction
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Carlisle Citadel
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Forks JunctionCitadel South Junctions
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Bog Junction (under bridge)
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Currock JnUpperby JnLondon Rd Jn
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Petteril Bridge Junction
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Border Union (North British) Railways Act 1859
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837).svg
Long title An Act to authorize the North British Railway Company to make a Railway from their Hawick Line to the Port Carlisle Railway near Carlisle, with divers Branches therefrom, and for other Purposes.
Citation 22 & 23 Vict. c. xxiv

The Border Union Railway was a railway line which connected places in the south of Scotland and Cumberland in England. It was authorised on 21 July 1859 by the Border Union (North British) Railways Act 1859 (22 & 23 Vict. c. xxiv) and advertised as the Waverley Route by the promoters - the North British Railway. [1] It connected the Edinburgh and Hawick Railway at Hawick with Carlisle.

History

The first section of the route was opened between Carlisle and Scotch Dyke on 12 October 1861, to Newcastleton on 1 March 1862, Riccarton Junction on 2 June 1862 and throughout on 24 June 1862. [1] The railway was built as a double-track main line throughout.

Connections to other lines

Current operations

The line was closed to all traffic by British Railways on 5 January 1969. The line was dismantled in 1971. [1]

The Waverley Route Heritage Association have preserved a part of the former route at Whitrope and are working on reopening the section from its base at Whitrope itself down into Riccarton Junction as a heritage railway. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waverley Route</span> Partially open railway line serving Edinburgh, Midlothian and Scottish Borders

The Waverley Route was a railway line that ran south from Edinburgh, through Midlothian and the Scottish Borders, to Carlisle. The line was built by the North British Railway; the stretch from Edinburgh to Hawick opened in 1849 and the remainder to Carlisle opened in 1862. The line was nicknamed after the immensely popular Waverley Novels, written by Sir Walter Scott.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitrope Siding</span> Heritage railway station near summit of former waverley route

Whitrope Siding was a trailing short siding or spur off the "up" (southbound) line, an associated trailing cross-over between up and down lines, a pair of railway cottages and a signal box on the Waverley Line or Waverley Route. It was used as a goods loading bay. The site is now the home of the Whitrope Heritage Centre, as well as the current terminus of the heritage Border Union Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Livingston South railway station</span> Railway station in West Lothian, Scotland

Livingston South railway station is one of two railway stations serving Livingston in West Lothian, Scotland. It is located on the Shotts Line, 14 miles (23 km) west of Edinburgh Waverley on the way to Glasgow Central. It is managed by ScotRail, who provide all train services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edinburgh–Dunblane line</span> Railway line in Scotland

The Edinburgh–Dunblane line is a railway line in East Central Scotland. It links the city of Edinburgh via Falkirk to the city of Stirling and the town of Dunblane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falkirk Grahamston railway station</span> Railway station in Falkirk, Scotland

Falkirk Grahamston railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town of Falkirk in Scotland. It is located on the Edinburgh to Dunblane Line and also the Cumbernauld Line. Train services are provided by ScotRail. The "Highland Chieftain", the daily London North Eastern Railway service from London King's Cross to Inverness and vice versa also calls here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dumbarton East railway station</span> Railway station in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland

Dumbarton East railway station serves the town of Dumbarton in the West Dunbartonshire region of Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is served by trains on the North Clyde Line, 15 miles (24 km) west of Glasgow Queen Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Easterhouse railway station</span> Railway station in Glasgow, Scotland

Easterhouse railway station serves the Easterhouse area of Glasgow, Scotland. It was built by the North British Railway as part of their Coatbridge Branch and opened when the branch opened on 1 February 1871. The station is 5¾ miles (9 km) east of Glasgow Queen Street railway station on the North Clyde Line and is managed by ScotRail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waverley Route Heritage Association</span> Heritage railway line in Scotland

Waverley Route Heritage Association is a heritage railway group involved with the history, heritage and preservation of the Waverley Route, based/centred on Whitrope, south of Hawick, Scotland.

The Ruabon–Barmouth line was a standard-gauge line owned by the Great Western Railway across the north of Wales which connected Ruabon, in the east, with Barmouth on the west coast.

The Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Railway was a Scottish railway line that connected Methven with Perth. It opened in 1858.

The Bathgate and Coatbridge Railway, also known as the "New Monkland Line", was built by Monkland Railways. It opened on 28 July 1863. The line was absorbed into the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway on 31 July 1865. The following day, the line became part of the North British Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gorebridge railway station</span> Railway station in Midlothian, Scotland

Gorebridge is a railway station on the Borders Railway, which runs between Edinburgh Waverley and Tweedbank. The station, situated 11 miles 77 chains (19 km) south-east of Edinburgh Waverley, serves the town of Gorebridge in Midlothian, Scotland. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by ScotRail.

Cleland and Midcalder Line is a historic railway line in Scotland. Built by the Caledonian Railway and opened in 1869, it provides a link between Glasgow and Edinburgh through the mining communities of Lanarkshire and West Lothian.

The Border Counties Railway was a railway line connecting Hexham in Northumberland, with Riccarton Junction on the Waverley Route in Roxburghshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurencekirk railway station</span> Railway station in Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Laurencekirk railway station is a railway station serving the communities of Laurencekirk and The Mearns in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The station was reopened on 18 May 2009 at a cost of £3 million. It is sited 210 miles 44 chains (338.8 km) from Carlisle, and is between Montrose and Stonehaven, on the Dundee to Aberdeen line. There is a crossover at the north end of the station, which can be used to facilitate trains turning back if the line south to Montrose is blocked.

The Hamilton and Strathaven Railway was a historic railway in Scotland. It ran from a junction with the Hamilton Branch of the Caledonian Railway to a terminus at Strathaven. The railway was worked from the start by the Caledonian Railway, who absorbed the railway company in 1864.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riccarton Junction railway station</span> Railway Station

Riccarton Junction, in the county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, was a railway village and station. In its heyday it had 118 residents and its own school, post office and grocery store. The station was an interchange between the Border Counties Railway branch to Hexham and the North British Railway's (NBR's) Border Union Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deadwater, Northumberland</span> Human settlement in England

Deadwater is a small settlement in Northumberland, England, about 3 miles (5 km) north west of Kielder, Northumberland, on the English side of the border between Scotland and England. It is regarded as the source of the River North Tyne, which merges with the River South Tyne near Hexham, and continues around 93 miles/150 km to the North Sea.

Plashetts is a small settlement in Northumberland, in England south east of Kielder, Northumberland. It is about 22 miles (35 km) north west of Hexham. Part of the settlement is now beneath the surface of Kielder Water.

Carlisle Canal railway station was opened in 1854 as the Carlisle terminus of the Port Carlisle Railway Company's line from Port Carlisle in Cumbria, England. That line was largely laid along the course of the Carlisle Canal, hence the station's name.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Awdry (1990)
  2. Matt Stoddon (2005). ""About / Waverley Route Heritage Association"". wrha.org.uk. WRHA. Retrieved 9 September 2015.

Sources