Laigh Milton Viaduct on the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway, opened in 1812
Numerous horse-drawn waggonways were constructed in Scotland during the Industrial Revolution, mainly in connection with the iron and coal-mining industries of the Central Belt.
The earliest railways, beginning with the Tranent to Cockenzie Waggonway in 1722, had wooden rails, and several lines had been built by the time the first cast-iron rails were produced in 1767.
Many of the later waggonways were built to the Scotch gauge of 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm), and were subsequently converted to standard-gauge steam railways.
| Name of Line | Opened | Route | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alloa Waggonway | 1768 | Collyland & Alloa Pits to Alloa glassworks | |
| Ardrossan and Johnstone Railway | 1831 | Kilwinning collieries to Ardrossan Harbour | Merged with the Glasgow and South Western Railway |
| Auchincruive Waggonway | c.1784 | Newton-on-Ayr to Annbank | Abandoned |
| Bainsford waggonway | 1810 | Carron Works to the Forth & Clyde Canal at Burnhouse Basin[1] | |
| Ballochney Railway | 1828 | Arden Colliery, Ballochney to Kipps (connection with Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway) | Merged into Monkland Railways |
| Brora colliery tramway | 1770 | Brora colliery to Brora Salt Works, Sutherland | |
| Calderbank | c.1797 | Calderbank Ironworks to Monkland Canal | |
| Carron Railway | c.1766 | Kinnaird & Carronhall collieries to Carron Works | |
| Craigie Waggonway | c.1855 | Craigie Pits to Ayr | Lifted after 1865 |
| Drumpeller Railway | 1847 | Bankhead collieries to Monkland Canal at Cuilhill Gullet | |
| Dundee and Newtyle Railway | 1831 | Newtyle to Dundee | Taken over by the Dundee and Perth Railway |
| Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway | 1831 | Dalkeith to Edinburgh (St Leonards) & Fisherrow Harbour, Musselburgh | Sold to the North British Railway |
| Edmonstone Railway (or Newton Railway) | 1818 | Newton Colliery to Little France, Edinburgh[2] | |
| Elgin Wagonway | c.1773 | Berrylaw pits (west of Dunfermline) to the coast at Limekilns and Charlestown, Fife | Developed as the Dunfermline and Charlestown Railway |
| Fairlie Mains | 1818 | Peatland coalworks to Kilmarnock and Troon Railway at Drybridge | |
| Fordell Railway | c.1752 | Fordell Collieries to St Davids Harbour, Inverkeithing Bay | |
| Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway | 1831 | Gartsherrie (Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway junction) to Garnkirk and Glasgow | Merged into Monkland Railways |
| Govan Railway | 1775-78 | Govan Colliery to Wherry Wharf, Windmillcroft Quay, Glasgow | Extended as Polloc and Govan Railway |
| Halbeath Railway | 1783 | Halbeath Colliery to Inverkeithing Harbour | |
| Hurlet Waggonway | 1820 | Hurlet Coal & Limeworks to Glasgow, Paisley & Ardrossan Canal at Rosshall quay, Paisley | |
| Irvine Colliery | c.1836 | Irvine Colliery to Irvine Harbour | |
| Kilmarnock and Troon Railway | 1812 | Kilmarnock to Troon harbour | |
| Knightswood Waggonway | c.1750 | Woodside Colliery, Knightswood to River Clyde at Yoker | |
| Legbrannock Waggonway | 1800 | Legbrannock collieries to eastern end of Monkland Canal at Calderbank | |
| Marquis of Lothian's waggonway | 1832 | Coal pits at Arniston Engine to Dalhousie (connection with Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway ) | Sold to North British Railway |
| Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway | 1826 | Palacecraig & Kipps collieries to the Forth and Clyde Canal at Kirkintilloch, plus branches | |
| Newbigging Limeworks | c.1817 | Newbigging Limestone Mine to Carron Harbour, Fife[3] | |
| Newton-upon-Ayr | c.1775 | Newton-upon-Ayr pits to Ayr harbour | |
| Newtyle and Coupar Angus Railway | 1837 | Newtyle (junction with Dundee and Newtyle Railway) to Coupar Angus | Taken over by the Scottish Midland Junction Railway |
| Newtyle and Glammis Railway | 1838 | Newtyle (junction with Dundee and Newtyle Railway) to Glamis | Taken over by the Scottish Midland Junction Railway |
| Omoa Waggonway | 1813 | Newarthill collieries to Omoa Ironworks, Cleland, North Lanarkshire | |
| Paisley and Renfrew Railway | 1837 | Paisley to Renfrew Wharf on the River Clyde | Sold to the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway in 1847 |
| Pinkie Railway (Hopes Railway) | 1815 | Pinkie Hill pits to Musselburgh & Fisherrow Harbour | |
| Polloc and Govan Railway | 1840 | Rutherglen to Broomielaw Harbour, Glasgow | |
| Ravenscraig and Jameston Railway | ? | Ravenscraig Quarry to Jameston Quarry, Dalry, North Ayrshire | |
| Sauchie | by 1806 | Devonside & Tillicoultry pits & ironworks to Clackmannan Pow | |
| Shotts Ironworks | by 1813 | ||
| Stevenston Waggonway | by 1812 | Stevenston Canal Basin at Saltcoats to the harbour | Closed by 1852 |
| Townhill waggonway | 1841 | Townhill colliery to the Halbeath Railway at Guttergates | |
| Tranent to Cockenzie Waggonway | 1722 | Tranent coalpits to Cockenzie Salt Pans & Port Seton Harbour | Re-routed to Cockenzie Harbour in 1815 |
| Venture Fair waggonway (Symes' Railway) | 1812 | Venture Fair Colliery to Dunfermline | |
| Wemyss waggonway | by 1795 | Wemyss Coalpits to Methil Harbour | |
| Wilsontown | c.1805 | Climpy colliery to Wilsontown Ironworks, South Lanarkshire | |
| Wishaw and Coltness Railway | 1833 | Chapel Colliery, Newmains to the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway near Whifflet |
References
- Priestley's Navigable Rivers and Canals, Joseph Priestley 1831
- National Library of Scotland: Map images
- Baxter, Bertram (1966). Stone Blocks and Iron Rails. David & Charles
- Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. CN 8983.
- Thomas & Turnock, John & Thomas (1971). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. Volume 6 Scotland the Lowlands and the Borders. David & Charles
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