The Leadhills and Wanlockhead Light Railway was a short branch railway built in Scotland to serve mining settlements, high in the

Lowther Hills The Lowther Hills, also sometimes known as the Lowthers, are an extensive area of hill country in the Southern Uplands of Scotland, though some sub-ranges of hills in this area also go under their own local names - see "Hillwalking" below. They f ...

, connecting them to the Carlisle - Carstairs main line. The line was opened in 1901 - 1902, and was the highest standard gauge railway line in the British Isles. Hoped-for developments did not emerge, and when the world lead price slumped in the 1920s, the line sustained heavy losses. It was closed on 2 January 1939.Passengers No More by G.Daniels and L.A.Dench

History

The

Light Railways Act 1896 The Light Railways Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict. c.48) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. History Before the Act each new railway line built in the country required a specific Act of Parliament to be o ...

was introduced to encourage the cheap construction of railways that were likely to be lightly used, by permitting some of the former requirements for new railway construction to be omitted. Lead had been mined in the wild terrain at Leadhills since the eighteenth century; it was carted to Leith Harbour via Biggar over the poor roads of the period. 80% of Scotland's output came from the area. In 1845 a narrow gauge tramway was built between Meadowfoot, about 3 miles (4 km) west of Wanlockhead to bring the lead ore ( Galena) up to Wanlockhead for smelting. Other mines and a washery at Leadhills were also connected. Local promoters saw that a railway connection to the main line would encourage the mining activity, and possibly also stimulate the establishment of a health resort there.David Ross, ''The Caledonian—Scotland's Imperial Railway—A History'', Stenlake Publishing Ltd, Catrine, 2013, The Leadhills and Wanlockhead Light Railway obtained its authorising light railway order on 5 August 1898, to make a branch from Elvanfoot, on the main line of the

Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively extended its network and reached Edinburgh an ...

. The line opened as far as Leadhills on 1 October 1901 and was extended to Wanlockhead on 1 October 1902.Paterson says on page 289 that the extension to Wanlockhead opened to goods on 19 September 1902 and to passengers on 19 October 1920.E F Carter, ''An Historical Geography of the Railways of the British Isles'', Cassell, London, 1959John 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, It was worked by the Caledonian Railway. Lead mining traffic was carried, but was never as extensive as hoped, and the health-seeking visitor traffic was scant: the line dragged on with a very thinly patronised train service for less than 40 years. The Wanlockhead Mining Company went into liquidation in 1936, following a slump in world lead prices after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

,David Turnock, ''The Historical Geograpohy of Scotland Since 1707'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 19822, and the viability of the line was finished. The last passenger train ran on 31 December 1938, and to goods shortly afterwards.

Route

When the line opened as far as

Leadhills Leadhills, originally settled for the accommodation of miners, is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, WSW of Elvanfoot. The population in 1901 was 835. It was originally known as Waterhead. It is the second highest village in Scotland, ...

, that station was the highest in Scotland and the following year Wanlockhead took that accolade, at 1,498 feet (457 m) above sea level. The line was the highest standard gauge line in the British Isles, and also the highest adhesion-worked line. The altitude at Elvanfoot is 922 feet (281 m) and the length of the line was 7¼ miles (11.7 km); the average gradient was 1 in 42.Christopher Awdry, ''Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies'', Patrick Stephens Ltd, Sparkford, 1990, Atterbury, pages 228 - 229Gordon Stansfield, ''Dumfries & Galloway's Lost Railways'', Stenlake Publishing, Catrine, The only stations were Elvanfoot, the junction station on the main line, and

and . The passenger stations did not have raised platforms, and the passenger carriages had three levels of step board which folded down to enable passengers to board. The Caledonian Railway worked the line, and no 172, an 0-4-4T was used in the early years. The trains were mixed (passenger and goods) and the maximum speed was 20 mph (32 km/h). A significant structure on the line was Rispin Cleugh viaduct, built by Sir Robert McAlpine & Co. It was built from

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

and was clad with

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

bricks to improve its appearance. It was demolished with explosives in 1991. The tramway referred to was intersected by the railway when it was built, and there was a flat crossing a short distance north of Leadhills station, where the tramway led to a washery.

Reuse

The

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway The Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway is a narrow gauge railway in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is laid on the trackbed of the former Leadhills and Wanlockhead Branch of the Caledonian Railway which led off the main line between and Glasgo ...

, which is also a

light railway A light railway is a railway built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail": it uses lighter-weight track, and may have more steep gradients and tight curves to reduce civil engineering costs. These lighter standards allow ...

, has been built on the track formation, west from Leadhills. Some terracotta bricks from the demolished viaduct were used to clad a signal box at Leadhills station.

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