History
Arbroath pavement
In the nineteenth century, urban development in Scotland proceeded at great speed, and there was considerable demand for construction materials. The sedimentary rocks located around Arbroath were exceptionally suited to roofing slates and paving slabs, being easily worked into flat sheets, and this product became known as ''Arbroath pavement''. The most important quarry for extraction of the material was around the village of Carmyllie, a settlement located in high ground about 6 miles (8 km) west of Arbroath. With the exception of certain turnpike roads, the roadways in the area were very poor, and transport to market by horse and cart to Arbroath (for onward coastwise shipping) was difficult. The ''General Report'' of 1814 stated:The quarries of Carmyllie, near Arbroath, are famous for paving freestone, and are the most esteemed in Scotland. The stones are easily quarried; of various thicknesses; large dimensions; and so smooth, that they require little dressing, yet are hard and durable. These advantages, however, are lessened by the tedious land carriage to the port of shipping (Arbroath), distant seven miles, and without a railway.
A railway connection
The Carmylie Quarries ... are the most extensive in the country. They are situated six miles from Arbroath in the parish of Carmylie which forms part of the south eastern breast of the Sidlaw Hills and consists chiefly of a series of high grounds scarcely approaching to hills with their intervening valleys running from south west to east The quarries belong to the Earl of Dalhousie and are at present leased by Messrs Duncan Falconer & Co They have been worked for several centuries all over the parish.Earlier farmers had quarried stone on their own land and carted the stone to Arbroath in their milk carts; but about 1804 the
quarries began to be worked on a more extensive scale. Windmills with movable wooden frames were erected for the purpose of pumping the water ... The machinery employed at that time consisted of a small single power crane which with care might be made to lift a stone a ton in weight. The present state of things at Carmylie is much different from what it was even twenty or thirty years ago. There are about 300 men in constant employment at the place. The machinery consists of eight planing machines, several cutting machines, eight saws for jointing pavement, one machine for making steps, coping and tabling; two polishing machines, six steam engines and from twelve to fourteen steam and other cranes ... The weight of stones sent away from the Carmylie Quarries daily is about 150 tons. A single line of railway extends from the quarries - the rails going to the bottom - to Elliot Junction near Arbroath a distance of five miles. The Carmylie Railway as it is called passes near the village of Arbirlot and skirts the beautiful Kelly Den which is of so much interest to the geologist. The line was constructed by the Earl of Dalhousie who sold it some years ago to the Caledonian Railway Company. It is used exclusively for the carriage of paving and other stones from the Carmylie Quarries.
Sale to the SNER
The Scottish North Eastern Railway (SNER) purchased the line from the Marquess of Dalhousie in 1865, under the terms of the ''Scottish North-Eastern Railway Purchase of Carmyllie Railway Act, 1865''. The SNER itself was absorbed by the Caledonian Railway on 10 August 1866.Joint ownership
The Caledonian saw its future as the controller of a large railway network throughout much of Scotland, and it engaged in continuing absorptions of smaller concerns. Parliament began to take the view that this was anti-competitive and granted running powers to the rivalPassengers
The railway had been conceived for the transport of minerals down to the coast. Over the years agricultural products and household materials had been carried in ordinary goods trains also. The Government had wished to encourage the provision of rail passenger services in remote areas without the heavy costs of main line operating controls, and in 1896 the Light Railways Act 1896 was passed. A Board of Trade certificate was required without the expense of an individual Act of Parliament, and with (unspecified in legislation) relaxations of operational procedures. The branch line obtained authorisation to operate as a light railway in 1898, and the first passenger trains ran on 1 February 1900. Geraldine Mitton states that this was the first such operation in Scotland: "From Arbroath a light railway runs (7 miles) up country to the village of Carmyllie, 600 feet above the sea, famous for its quarries of "Arbroath pavement". This, the first light railway in Scotland, was opened for passenger traffic on 1st Feb. 1900." DuringGrouping and nationalisation
In 1923 the main line railways of Great Britain were "grouped" by the terms of theElliot private siding
In the early 1960s the Metal Box company established a new factory at Elliot, on the north side of the line and of the main road (A92). A private siding connection was installed off the Carmyllie branch, facing Carmyllie and requiring a backshunt off the main line.Closure
With the growth of efficient road transport, the residual goods service on the line also declined substantially, and the line closed on 19 May 1965, whenSubsequent use
Sections of the route between the former Elliot Junction station and Arbirlot have become a nature walk. The site of Elliot Junction station remains part of the operational railway between Dundee and Aberdeen, with the outline of the central island platform visible between the two running lines.Topography
The line was steeply graded, typically at 1 in 36 falling from Carmyllie. Passenger services operated from 1 February 1900 and closed on 2 December 1929. The service was suspended on 1 January 1917; it was back in the timetable in September 1917, Saturdays only; daily from 1 January 1918. * Carmyllie; * Denhead; * Cuthlie; * Arbirlot; * Elliot Junction Light Railway Platform; used by Carmyllie branch trains if platform in main line station was not available; * Elliot Junction; station on Dundee and Arbroath main line; closed 1 January 1917; back in timetable September 1917, Saturdays only; from 1 January 1918 served every day by branch trains, which started from Arbroath; main line trains resumed calls from 1 February 1919; the station was known as Elliot and Kellyfield Junction at one time.Notes
References
Further reading
* {{Historical Scottish railway companies North British Railway Caledonian Railway Pre-grouping British railway companies Early Scottish railway companies British joint railway companies Railway companies established in 1855 Railway lines opened in 1855 Railway companies disestablished in 1865 1855 establishments in Scotland Railway lines in Scotland Transport in Angus, Scotland