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Kilmarnock and Troon Railway
Locale Scotland Dates of operation 6 July 1812 – Successor line Glasgow and South Western Railway Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Legend   Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway Kilmarnock (GPK&AR}   GPK&AR    Kilmarnock (original)   Darvel Branch Riccarton and Craigie St. Marnock Depot Gatehead Laigh Milton Viaduct (on closed line) Drybridge   Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway Barassie Barassie Junction Troon Harbour Troon (new) (Troon Loop Line) Troon (old) (GPK&AR) Lochgreen Junction   Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway

The Kilmarnock and Troon Railway was the first railway line in Scotland authorised by Act of Parliament, in 1808; the engineer was William Jessop.^[1][2][3] It was the first railway in Scotland to use a steam locomotive; and it was the only one in Scotland for fourteen years.^[4] Its representation appeared in the Coat of Arms of the Burgh of Troon.^[4]

The line was intended to carry coal for the Duke of Portland; and ran services between Kilmarnock and Troon Harbour.^[1][2][3]

History

The line began life as a 9.5-mile (15.3 km), double track 4 ft  (1,219 mm) gauge, horse-drawn waggonway which opened on 6 July 1812.^[1][2][4] It was built using cast iron plate rails with an inner flange.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

A 2.5-mile (4 km) branch to Drybridge and Fairle colleries was built to 3 ft 4 in (1,016 mm) gauge.^[1] It opened in 1818.^[3] The branch had fish bellied edge rails set in iron chairs spiked to stone blocks.^[1]

Laigh Milton viaduct in 2006, part of the original line before it was realigned in 1846.

A George Stephenson built locomotive, his second one from Killingworth colliery, was tried on the main line in 1817, but the weight of the engine broke the cast iron plate rails.^[1][2][4] It worked better when wooden rails were used; and the locomotive remained in use until 1848.^[4] Wooden wheels are mentioned by Mackintosh.^[6] In 1837 an Act of Parliament was obtained to convert the line for locomotive use; and these services commenced on 27 September 1841.^[1]

On 16 July 1846 the line was leased to the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway (GPK&A).^[1][2] On 16 July 1899 the line was bought by the GPK&A's successor, the Glasgow and South Western Railway, who ran services until the 1923 Grouping.^[2] Services continued under the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and then British Rail until the line's closure to passenger traffic on 3 March 1969.^[7]

The Drybridge branch was abandoned in 1846 or 1849.^[3]

Connections to other lines

• Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway at Barassie and Kilmarnock
• Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway at Kilmarnock

Kilmarnock and Troon Railway

Diagram of the railway c.1846 (stations with * are presently open) Kilmarnock* Gatehead Drybridge Troon

Current operations

On 5 May 1975 the line was reopened and today is part of the Glasgow South Western Line providing services to Stranraer via Kilmarnock. The intermediate stations between Barassie and Kilmarnock remain closed, and the line remains unelectrified. As part of the resignalling prior to the electrification of the Ayrshire Coast Line, the Kilmarnock line through Barassie station was singled and the platforms taken out of use.

See also

• Laigh Milton viaduct - Scotland's oldest railway viaduct - situated on this route.

References

Notes

Sources

• Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063.  
• Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.  
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137.  
• Lewin, Henry Grote (1925). Early British Railways. A short history of their origin & development 1801-1844. London: The Locomotive Publishing Co Ltd. OCLC 11064369.  

• Mackintosh, Ian M. (1969), Old Troon and District. Pub. George Outram, Kilmarnock.
• Robertson, C.J.A. (1983). The Origins of the Scottish Railway System: 1722-1844 (1st ed.). Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers Ltd. ISBN 0-8597-6088-X.  

• Stansfield, G. (1999). Ayrshire & Renfrewshire's Lost Railways. Ochiltree: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 1-8403-3077-5.  

• Thomas, John (1971). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. Volume VI Scotland: The Lowlands and the Borders (1st edition ed.). Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5408-6. OCLC 16198685.  
• Thomas, John; Paterson, Rev A.J.S. (1984). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. Volume VI Scotland: The Lowlands and the Borders (2nd edition ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. ISBN 0-9465-3712-7. OCLC 12521072.