Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway
The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was a railway built to link Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The Act of Parliament for building the railway received its Royal Assent in 1837-8.
A major investor was Thomas Dunlop Douglas (1776–1869), a 'West Indian Merchant' of Glasgow.
It was inspected by Lieut.-Colonel Sir Frederick Smith in September, 1841, in whose report reference was made to the Glasgow incline, 1 in 43, falling towards Glasgow for 2077 yards. On this section occurs the Glasgow tunnel, 1148 yards long, and divided into three portions, connected by open cuttings each 40ft. long.
The line was opened as follows:-[1]
- Haymarket, Edinburgh to Queen-Street, Glasgow 22nd February 1842;
- Extended to Edinburgh Waverley in 1846;
- Extended from the Haymarket to North Bridge, Edinburgh on May 29th 1847;
- The Berwick-Edinburgh Railway was brought into use on June 22nd, 1846, and in the Carlisle direction, Hawick was reached on October 25th 1849.
1842 Cowlairs Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Works, in Springburn, Glasgow, was built for the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway
Some 0-4-2 engines of excellent design were built 1859 to 1864, mostly by Beyer, Peacock and Co for the railway. In them the small trailing wheels had outside bearings to keep the journals away from the heat of the fire box. These engines, which had 5ft wheel and 16in by 22in cylinders, were in service for about forty-five years.[2]
The line was absorbed into the North British Railway on 1 August 1865.
The line is still open as the Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk Line.
See Also
Sources of Information
[1] Wikipedia