The Caledonian Main Line is a railway connecting the Scottish cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh with Carlisle, via Carstairs and Beattock. It was opened in 1847 by the Caledonian Railway. The approach to Glasgow used railways already built, primarily for mineral traffic; these were later by-passed by a more direct route. Today, the route forms the northern section of the West Coast Main Line, and was electrified in the early 1970s.
Background
From 1830 onwards considerable attention was given to the means by which Glasgow and Edinburgh might be connected to London, and as English railways began to develop into a network, the urgency of making a railway accelerated. The difficult terrain of the Southern Uplands and Cumberland made the selection of a route controversial. After much difficulty, the Caledonian Railway was authorised to build a line via Beattock; this was known as the Annandale Route.
On 10 September 1847 the line was opened between Carlisle and Beattock. The station at Carlisle was built and operated jointly with the London and North Western Railway. (Later other companies shared in the operation there.) Construction continued and on 15 February 1848 the line was opened between Beattock and Glasgow, completing the Carlisle to Glasgow route. Finally the line from Carstairs to Edinburgh opened on 1 April 1848.C J A Robertson, The Origins of the Scottish Railway System, 1722 - 1844, John Donald Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh, 1983, David Ross, The Caledonian: Scotland's Imperial Railway: A History, Stenlake Publishing Limited, Catrine, 2014,
Competition for traffic to England The main line as planned was hoped to be the sole connection between Scottish cities and the English network. In fact this proved ill-founded, as the North British Railway (NBR) opened its line to Berwick-upon-Tweed, forming part of a line to London that became known as the East Coast Main Line in alliance with English lines. At first this route involved two changes of trains until bridges over the River Tweed at Berwick and the River Tyne at Newcastle were completed. This route was competitive for transits from Edinburgh to London, but Glasgow was less conveniently served.
On the west side of the country the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) had a route between Glasgow and Carlisle; however it was hampered by reliance on the Caledonian Railway route for the final approach to Carlisle, and primacy of the Caledonian Railway and its English ally, the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), there. The route was uncompetitive for traffic to and from Edinburgh.
A third route was another North British Railway route that became known as the Waverley Route between Edinburgh and Carlisle. This route too suffered from the dominance of the Caledonian and at Carlisle. When the Midland Railway opened its line from London to Carlisle via Leeds, the and the Waverley route had access southwards over a friendly railway at last.
First configuration
Carlisle to Carstairs
At first the southern termination of the line was at Carlisle station, later named Carlisle Citadel; passengers and goods were handled there. The line ran broadly north across gently undulating country at first, crossing the River Esk and entering Scotland near Gretna, then climbing following the Kirtle Water to Lockerbie. Climbing further, the line followed the Annan Water to Beattock, and on to Beattock Summit - the highest point on the line. Crossing the watershed, the line now descended in the upper Clyde Valley; the course of the Clyde here is much more hilly and the line follows a series of broad reverse curves as it continues through Abington and Thankerton, emerging on to slightly flatter terrain at Carstairs.
Carstairs to Glasgow
Now turning north-west, the Glasgow line continues past Lanark and near Carluke, joining the Wishaw and Coltness Railway (W&CR) at Garriongill Junction. The had been built as a "coal railway", primarily intended for the haulage of coal and iron ore. It had been upgraded and modernised, and leased by the Caledonian Railway. The main line used the line to Motherwell, from which point the original route is not part of the modern main line. It turned north through to Whifflat (now spelt Whifflet), joining the Glasgow, Garnkirk and Coatbridge Railway (GG&CR). This too had been built as a coal railway, and had been upgraded and renamed the Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway; it too was leased by the Caledonian Railway. From Whifflat the line ran to Coatbridge, and then turned west on through Garnkirk, terminating at the Glasgow terminus at Townhead.
The approach to Glasgow made a long northward sweep, and the Townhead terminus was not well located for central Glasgow. During the process of obtaining parliamentary authorisation for its line, the Caledonian discovered that an independent Clydesdale Junction Railway was also being authorised. The Caledonian quickly took control of the Clydesdale Junction by leasing it during construction; it opened throughout on 1 June 1849. Its route left the Wishaw and Coltness line at Motherwell, and ran via Uddingston and Rutherglen to a terminus called Southside in Glasgow, at the junction of Cathcart Road and Pollokshaws Road. This too was inconveniently located for the city centre, but the Caledonian now had two routes to two terminal stations in Glasgow. The Clydesdale Junction route now forms the northern end of the modern Caledonian main line, extended from South Side to cross the River Clyde to Glasgow Central Station.John Thomas revised J S Paterson, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 6, Scotland, the Lowlands and the Borders, David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 1984,
Carstairs to Edinburgh
The Edinburgh section of the Caledonian Main Line left Carstairs station and ran north-east. For several years passenger trains from Carlisle divided at Carstairs; the Glasgow portion proceeded, and the Edinburgh portion reversed direction towards the capital. It is likely that goods trains too ran to Carstairs and remarshalled there. A cut-off line was constructed enabling direct running from Carlisle towards Edinburgh, but it was little used and it was soon closed. Later a shorter chord line was built having the same effect.
The line continued past Cobbinshaw and Kirknewton, descending into Edinburgh in the valley of the Water of Leith. The terminus was at Lothian Road; this was later altered to Princes Street by a short extension and enlargement.
History
1848–1879: Early years In its early years the Caledonian Railway sought to become dominant in large areas of Scotland by leasing nascent companies. It was able to do so by guaranteeing lease payments in perpetuity, which avoided any need for cash at the time, but heavily indebted the company later. It saw the best opportunities to the north of the central belt, and in Ayrshire. As the company matured, it encouraged local promoters to start construction of branch lines, taking them over by purchase if they were successful.
The principal effect of this on the main line was the construction of a branch line from Gartsherrie to Greenhill Junction, there meeting the Scottish Central Railway, and giving access to Stirling and Perth. A first, short section of this branch used the route of the earlier Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway (M&KR), another modernised coal railway. The was not brought into the Caledonian family, and through trains from the Caledonian at Motherwell towards Stirling used a rival company's track until nationalisation of the railways in 1948.
A development that had not been foreseen was the emergence of the Monklands iron industry, which generated a huge demand for good quality iron ore and coal, and the Caledonian was fortunate that considerable reserves lay in areas served by it, or otherwise accessible over it.
These factors led to a limited number of intermediate stations on the main line, and a concentration of effort elsewhere. There were no new branches off the main line at first, but the "Lanark" station was a considerable distance from the important Burgh, and local interests promoted a branch line to Lanark, which opened in 1855.
The Symington, Biggar and Broughton Railway promoted a branch to Biggar; it was opened in 1860 after the local company had been acquired by the Caledonian, and the line was extended to Peebles in 1864.
In 1863 an independent branch line was opened to Dumfries, the Dumfries, Lochmaben and Lockerbie Railway was opened. The Caledonian acquired the line in 1865. The Portpatrick Railway had opened in 1861-1862 and the Caledonian worked it. This gave it access from Lockerbie to Stranraer and Portpatrick, enabling it to develop ferry services to the north of Ireland. It routed traffic from there to Glasgow and Edinburgh via Lockerbie, bringing considerable additional traffic to the main line. When the Portpatrick Railway was reconstituted into the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway, the Caledonian was a one-quarter owner.
The Dolphinton Branch was opened in 1867 from Carstairs; Dolphinton was a small settlement and the construction of the line was purely tactical.
Mineral extraction in Cumberland around Workington developed considerably, and much of the output went to the Lanarkshire iron works over the Caledonian Main Line. In 1869 an independent Solway Junction Railway was opened, with a long viaduct over the Solway Firth, and shortening the journey from Workington to the Monklands.
From the outset, the rival Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SW) had intended to build an independent line to Carlisle from Gretna, but this was forbidden by Parliament during the authorisation process. The was required to make a junction with the Caledonian Main Line at Gretna Junction, and to run over the line into Carlisle. That arrangement started in 1850, and the former still operates, making the connection at Gretna Junction as before. All the other branches referred to in this section have closed, with the exception of the Lanark branch.
1879–1923: Expansion
The first main line cemented the configuration of the Caledonian Railway route to England. It was enhanced by subsequent improvement of the route into Glasgow, as well as extension of the Edinburgh terminal named Princes Street, completed in 1870 and the expansion of goods facilities in Carlisle. The final development of the route had taken place by 1879, when the Glasgow terminal at Glasgow Central was opened. The station was considerably more convenient than the terminals previously in use. The original routing over the Wishaw and Coltness and the Glasgow Garnkirk and Coatbridge lines was now by-passed for main line passenger traffic, although still in use for local passenger traffic and considerable mineral usage. The Buchanan Street terminal was now focussed on passenger services to the Stirling line.
At Carlisle the first passenger station remained in use, but the original goods facilities had been enhanced by the opening of a separate Viaduct goods station, and a route for goods and mineral trains passing the passenger station giving direct independent access from the Maryport and Carlisle Railway route; iron ore from Workington to the ironworks of the Monklands and become hugely significant by this time. The goods by-pass lines at Carlisle became very extensive and were jointly owned and operated by several railway companies.
By 1879 the shape of the Caledonian Main Line was substantially developed. Most of the branches that left the main line directly had been opened by then. The principal subsequent developments were:
comprehensive suburban development in greater Glasgow, redoubled in the last decades of the twentieth century; duplication of the route from Law Junction in to Glasgow serving ironworks that later became Ravenscraig Steelworks, and giving enhanced access northwards to freight marshalling facilities at Mossend Yard;