The Caledonian Railway (CR) was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in 1845 with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively extended its network and reached Edinburgh and Aberdeen, with a dense network of branch lines in the area surrounding Glasgow. It was absorbed into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923. Many of its principal routes are still used, and the original main line between Carlisle and Glasgow is in use as part of the West Coast Main Line railway.
The Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) was a railway company in Scotland. It served a triangular area of south-west Scotland between Glasgow, Stranraer and Carlisle. It was formed on 28 October 1850 by the merger of two earlier railways, the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway and the Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway. Already established in Ayrshire, it consolidated its position there and extended southwards, eventually reaching Stranraer. Its main business was mineral traffic, especially coal, and passengers, but its more southerly territory was very thinly populated and local traffic, passenger and goods, was limited, while operationally parts of its network were difficult.
Lockerbie railway station is a railway station serving the town of Lockerbie, on the West Coast Main Line, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located 75 miles south of Glasgow Central and 324 miles north of London Euston. The station is owned by Network Rail.
The Callander and Oban Railway company was established with the intention of linking the sea port of Oban to the railway network. This involved a long line from Callander through wild and thinly populated terrain, and shortage of money meant that the line was opened in stages from 1866 to 1880.
The Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway (L&AR) was an independent railway company built to provide the Caledonian Railway with a shorter route for mineral traffic from the coalfields of Lanarkshire to Ardrossan Harbour, in Scotland.
The Symington, Biggar and Broughton Railway was a railway company in southern Scotland. It built a line connecting Biggar, and later Peebles, to the main line railway at Symington. It was taken over by the Caledonian Railway in 1861, and was completed in 1864.
The Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway (GP&GR) was an early Scottish railway, opened in 1841, providing train services between Greenock and Glasgow. At the time the River Clyde was not accessible to sea-going ships, and the intention was to compete with river boats that brought goods to and from the city. In fact passenger traffic proved surprisingly buoyant, and connecting steamer services to island resorts in the Firth of Clyde provided a very great source of business.
The Cathcart District Railway was proposed to serve the arising demand for suburban residential travel on the south side of Glasgow, Scotland. It was planned as a loop running to and from Glasgow Central station, but at first only the eastern arm, to Cathcart via Queens Park, was built, opening in 1886. The western arm was opened in 1894 and trains operated round the loop. A frequent passenger train service was operated, and there was also a limited goods and mineral operation.
The Alloa Railway was intended to bridge the River Forth linking Alloa with the south without using a ferry.
The Scottish Midland Junction Railway was authorised in 1845 to build a line from Perth to Forfar. Other companies obtained authorisation in the same year, and together they formed a route from central Scotland to Aberdeen. The SMJR opened its main line on 4 August 1848. Proposals to merge with other railways were rejected by Parliament at first, but in 1856 the SMJR merged with the Aberdeen Railway to form the Scottish North Eastern Railway. The SNER was itself absorbed into the larger Caledonian Railway in 1866. The original SMJR main line was now a small section of a main line from Carlisle and central Scotland to Aberdeen.
The Caledonian Railway main line in Scotland connected Glasgow and Edinburgh with Carlisle, via Carstairs and Beattock.
The Paisley and Barrhead District Railway was a railway in Scotland that ran between the towns of Paisley and Barrhead. It was intended to serve industrial premises and develop local passenger and goods business.
The Dundee and Perth Railway was a Scottish railway company. It opened its line in 1847 from Dundee to a temporary station at Barnhill and extended to Perth station in 1849. It hoped to link with other railways to reach Aberdeen and changed its name to the Dundee and Perth and Aberdeen Railway Junction Company, but this early attempt was frustrated, and for some years it failed to make a physical connection with other railways in Dundee.
The Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway was a single track railway branch line, 22 miles (35 km) long, in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire in England in the United Kingdom. It was opened in succession by two companies, the first in 1861 to connect the important wool-producing town of Witney to the main line network, and the second in 1873 as the rump of an ambitious scheme to connect to Cheltenham, but which ran only between Witney and Fairford. The junction with the main line was at Yarnton, north of Oxford.
Beattock railway station was a station which served the village of Beattock, in the parish of Kirkpatrick-Juxta in the Scottish county of Dumfries and Galloway. It was served by trains on what was originally the Caledonian Main Line, and is now known as the West Coast Main Line. Between 1881 and 1964, Beattock was also the junction for the short branch line to Moffat. Following closure in 1972, the nearest station is at Lockerbie.
The Alyth Railway was a short branch railway line built in Strathmore in Scotland, connecting the town of Alyth to the main line network. It opened in 1861. Its junction was remote from any large population centre except Dundee, which was only reached by a primitive line with three rope worked inclines. This was modernised in 1868 and the Alyth branch, now with a good connection to Dundee, became busy. Nonetheless, the population of Alyth declined, and so did usage of the line, and it closed in 1951.
Lochmaben railway station was a station which served Lochmaben, in the Scottish county of Dumfries and Galloway. It was served by trains on a local line which ran between the Caledonian Main Line at Lockerbie and the Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway at Dumfries.
The Peebles Railway was a railway company that built a line connecting the town of Peebles in Peeblesshire, Scotland, with Edinburgh. It opened on 4 July 1855, and it worked its own trains.
Whitstone and Bridgerule was a railway station on the Bude Branch that closed in 1966. The station was opened in 1898 by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) when the line was extended from Holsworthy station to the new terminus of the line at Bude.
The Brechin and Edzell District Railway was a local line in Scotland connecting Edzell, then a developing tourist centre, to the nearby main population centre of Brechin, where there was a branch of the Caledonian Railway. The short line opened in 1896, and it was worked by the Caledonian Railway.
