Blane Valley Railway
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The Blane Valley Railway was a railway line in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
to the east of
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. It is now closed. In 1891 the railway company was absorbed by the
North British Railway The North British Railway was a British railway company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, and from the outset the company followe ...
, which had operated the line and been a major
shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...
from the start.Awdry (1990), page 118 When NBR took over the line was in a poor state. The goods shed was inadequate for the amount of traffic, the only crane was too small and siding accommodation was deficient. There was considerable potential for the transportation of cattle in the area but there were no facilities in place. Capital was invested and the line transformed. The locomotives were cleaned and the stations given a makeover. Close attention was given to the cleanliness of staff and the neatness of their uniforms. The railway was the only means of transport for the people living in the area and was a source of much pride. In 1923 following the
grouping Grouping may refer to: * Muenchian grouping * Principles of grouping * Railways Act 1921, also known as Grouping Act, a reorganisation of the British railway system * Grouping (firearms), the pattern of multiple shots from a sidearm See also ...
it became part of
London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...
. Following nationalisation in 1947, it was taken over by
British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
. Unable to compete in the face of road competition, the line was closed to passengers in 1951 and closed completely in 1959.


History

The Blane Valley Railway, extended the
Campsie Branch The Glasgow to Aberfoyle Line was a railway line in Scotland, built in stages, leaving the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway near Lenzie. Tourist traffic was a dominant part of the motivation for building the line, and road tours to the Trossachs fro ...
of the
Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was authorised by Act of Parliament on 4 July 1838. It was opened to passenger traffic on 21 February 1842, between its Glasgow Queen Street railway station (sometimes referred to at first as Dundas Street) and ...
into the countryside immediately south of the
Campsie Fells The Campsie Fells (also known as the Campsies; Scottish Gaelic: ''Monadh Chamaisidh'') are a range of hills in central Scotland, stretching east to west from Denny Muir to Dumgoyne in Stirlingshire and overlooking Strathkelvin to the south. The ...
. In this sparsely populated area the main item of carriage for the line was expected to be milk to be taken to Glasgow. An act for the new railway was obtained on 6 August 1861. The eight and a quarter miles opened for freight in November 1866 and passengers in July 1867 as far as a station named
Killearn Killearn (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cill Fhearann'', from orig. ''Ceann Fhearann'', "Head/End of (the) Land/Territory" – until the 15th century when ''Ceann'' was replaced by ''Cill''; denoting the presence of a house of worship) – is a smal ...
. In fact the station was about two miles short of Killearn. When the
Strathendrick and Aberfoyle Railway The Strathendrick and Aberfoyle Railway was a railway line in Scotland. The line was operated by the North British Railway and then, after 1923, by the London and North Eastern Railway. Unable to compete in the face of road competition, the lin ...
extended the route in the 1880s a new station was built at Killearn with the previous station of that name renamed as
Dumgoyne Dumgoyne is a hill prominent on the edge of the Campsie Fells and is a well-known landmark visible from Glasgow. It is a volcanic plug and is high. The plug is readily reached from a path beside Glengoyne Distillery or via a water-board track ...
. A new station was built at
Lennoxtown Lennoxtown ( gd, Baile na Leamhnachd, ) is a town in East Dunbartonshire council area and the historic county of Stirlingshire, Scotland at the foot of the Campsie Fells, which are just to the north. The town had a population of 4,094 at the 201 ...
to by-pass the previous Campsie Branch terminus there. Duntreath Castle was close to the line. The Edmonstone family had a railway halt installed at the Castle,
Alice Keppel Alice Frederica Keppel (''née'' Edmonstone; 29 April 1868 – 11 September 1947) was an aristocrat, british society hostess and a long-time mistress of King Edward VII. Keppel grew up at Duntreath Castle, the family seat of the Edmonstone baro ...
, née Edmonstone, the
mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...
of
Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...
, lived there. The
Royal Train A royal train is a set of railway carriages dedicated for the use of the monarch or other members of a royal family. Most monarchies with a railway system employ a set of royal carriages. Australia The various government railway operators of A ...
bearing the King was believed to have used the line from time to time. Throughout its life the line had been used by through trains from Glasgow to
Aberfoyle Aberfoyle may refer to: *Aberfoyle, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland * Aberfoyle, Stirling, Scotland * Aberfoyle, Ontario, Canada * Aberfoyle, Texas, United States *Aberfoyle, Warwick Aberfoyle is a heritage-listed detached house at 35 Woo ...
. However, in the closing years, the service terminated at
Blanefield Blanefield is a settlement in Scotland contiguous with Strathblane's northwestern fringe. To the west is the volcanic plug Dumgoyne, Glengoyne Distillery and the Trossachs National Park. The West Highland Way—a long-distance trail—passes cl ...
with a separate single coach train running to Aberfoyle and back. This service was little used and would sometimes run without a single passenger.


Closure

By summer 1950 Blanefield was being served by five trains a day. The line closed to passengers the next year, on 1 October 1951. The line north from Campsie Glen closed completely eight years later, with the ending of the remaining goods services in October 1959. In April 1966 the final remaining goods services operated, and the remaining line was closed and the tracks and infrastructure removed. Parts of this railway track are now used by long-distance walking routes, the
West Highland Way The West Highland Way ( gd, Slighe na Gàidhealtachd an Iar) is a linear long-distance route in Scotland. It is long, running from Milngavie north of Glasgow to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands, with an element of hill walking in the r ...
and the
John Muir Way The John Muir Way is a continuous long-distance route in southern Scotland, running from Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute in the west to Dunbar, East Lothian in the east. It is named in honour of the Scottish conservationist John Muir, who was ...
. The southern section to Strathblane is used by the
Strathkelvin Railway Path Strathkelvin Railway Path is rail trail following the route of several dismantled railway lines extending from Gartcosh to Strathblane. It goes for 10 km from one end to another History The northern section follows the route of the Campsie Bran ...
- a cycle / foot path.


References


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* * * * {{Historical Scottish railway companies North British Railway Closed railway lines in Scotland Railway companies established in 1861 Railway companies disestablished in 1891 Railway lines opened in 1866 1866 establishments in Scotland Lennoxtown Transport in Stirling (council area) Transport in East Dunbartonshire