Wishaw and Coltness Railway
Encyclopedia
The Wishaw and Coltness Railway was an early Scottish railway. It ran for approximately 11 miles from Chapel Colliery, at Coltness
Coltness
Coltness is the largest suburb of the town of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The 2001 census indicated a population of almost 4,500.Lying to the north east of the town centre, Coltness is an area of mainly local authority built housing, divided into the two distinct areas of East and West...

, North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. It borders onto the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains much of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also borders Stirling, Falkirk, East Dunbartonshire, West Lothian and South Lanarkshire...

, to the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway
Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway
The Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway was an early mineral railway running from a colliery at Monklands to the Forth and Clyde Canal at Kirkintilloch, Scotland....

, near Gartsherrie. It was originally projected in 1828 as the Garion and Garnturk Railway.

The railway was Incorporated on 21 June 1829; and, due to lack of money, was partially opened in 1833, to Jerviston on 21 March 1834, to Cleland in 1841, opening fully on 9 March 1844.

It was initially built to the Scotch gauge
Scotch gauge
Scotch gauge was the name given to a track gauge, that was adopted by early 19th century railways mainly in the Lanarkshire area of Scotland. It differed from the gauge of that was used on some early lines in England; and from the standard gauge of...

 of as a single track
Single track (rail)
A single track railway is where trains in both directions share the same track. Single track is normally used on lesser used rail lines, often branch lines, where the traffic density is not high enough to justify the cost of building double tracks....

 line; and the engineer was Thomas Grainger
Thomas Grainger
Thomas Grainger FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer and surveyor. He was born in Ratho, outside Edinburgh, to Hugh Grainger and Helen Marshall. Educated at Edinburgh University, at sixteen he got a job with John Leslie, a land surveyor.He started his own practice in 1816. In 1825 he formed a...

.

In 1849 it became part of the Caledonian Railway
Caledonian Railway
The Caledonian Railway was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century and it was absorbed almost a century later into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, in the 1923 railway grouping, by means of the Railways Act 1921...

; and was to become part of its main line to Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, now the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...

.

Formation of the railway

The original 1829 Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 was to raise £80,000 (Pound sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

) of joint stock capital
Joint stock company
A joint-stock company is a type of corporation or partnership involving two or more individuals that own shares of stock in the company...

 based on Grainger's estimate of £50,000 for construction costs.

Shortage of funds led to further Acts in 1834 and 1837 to obtain three-year extensions for completion of the railway; a further £80,000 of capital was raised by 1840 and this was followed by a further Act in 1841 to raise an addition £160,000 of capital.

Take over and change of gauge

The Caledonian Railway
Caledonian Railway
The Caledonian Railway was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century and it was absorbed almost a century later into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, in the 1923 railway grouping, by means of the Railways Act 1921...

 took over the Wishaw and Coltness Railway and the Glasgow and Garnkirk Railway
Glasgow and Garnkirk Railway
The Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway was incorporated on 26 May 1826 and was ceremonially opened on 27 September 1831. It was built to the Scotch gauge of...

.

Connection to other lines

  • Caledonian Railway Main Line
    Caledonian Railway Main Line
    The Caledonian Main Line represents most of the original route of the Caledonian Railway: a major Scottish railway company. The company was formed in 1830 and was absorbed almost a century later into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, in the 1923 railway grouping, by means of the Railways...

     at Garriongill Junction near Law Junction
  • Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway at the Morningside stations
  • Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway
    Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway
    The Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway was an early mineral railway running from a colliery at Monklands to the Forth and Clyde Canal at Kirkintilloch, Scotland....


Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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