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Devon Valley Railway

Introduction

This railway took 20 years from the first section opening to completion. Three railway companies were involved. It encountered a great many problems both with finance and engineering. The line provided the missing link to a secondary route from the River Clyde to the River Tay by joining the Stirling and Dunfermline Railway with the Fife and Kinross railway. Leaving the main Stirling to Dunfermline line at Alloa other stations were built at Sauchie, Tillicoultry, Dollar,Rumbling Bridge, Crook of Devon, Balado,and Kinross where it joined the main Perth to Edinburgh line The railway was independent but worked by the North British Railway until 1875 when it was absorbed by the major company. In 1923 following the grouping it became part of LNER then, following nationalisation in 1947, was taken over by [[British rail|British Railways

Locomotive number 62684 at Dollar Station in 1957 Photo Stuart Sellar

Construction

In 1851 the Stirling and Dunfermline Railway opened a branch line of their railway from Alloa to Tillicoultry. In 1863 the Devon Valley Railway, having struggled to raise sufficient capital, opened the 6½ miles from Kinross to Rumbling Bridge. The next 4½ miles was required to go alongside the Devon Water where there were a series of deep gorges making it very difficult to build a line. This was therefore shelved and a section from Dollar to Tillicoultry to join the existing line was built instead. This opened in 1869. The North British Railway supplied their expertise and capital to complete the line. To prevent a very steep descent into Dollar it was decided to rebuild the section at Rumbling Bridge to a lower level. 17 bridges had then to be constructed and a 80 foot cutting through a hill of sand had to be made. At one point the Devon Water had to be diverted. The complete line was finally opened to traffic in 1871.

Locomotive number 62490 leaving Rumbling Bridge Station in 1957 Photo Stuart Sellar

Using

With the opening of this line there were now two direct routes between Glasgow and Perth. The one via the Devon Valley was known as the Picturesque route and the other, via the Forth Bridge, became known as the Historic Route. Both took about two hours to travel between Glasgow and Perth. Curling was a popular sport on Loch Leven in the winter. Special trains were run for these sportsmen and their curling stones. The men would be in first class carriages and the stones in fish wagons at the rear of the train. Coal was transported from a mine at Dollar to the power stations on the Forth estuary.

Closure

Road transport made this line uneconomic and it was closed to passengers in 1964. When the Dollar mine closed in 1973 freight traffic also ceased and the track was uplifted. Today there is a walkway on the trackbed in the area of the mine.

Dismantled railway bridge nr Glenfoot

external links

• Disused Stations
• RAILSCOT on Devon Valley Railway

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/

Sources

Thomas John (1976) Forgotten Railways Scotland David & Charles ISBN 0-7153-7185-1; Thomas John & Turnock David(1989) A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain Volume XV The North of Scotland David & Charles ISBN 0-946537-03-8

Category:Closed railway lines in Scotland Category:Railway lines in Scotland Category:Early Scottish railway companies Category:Standard gauge railways in Scotland Category:North British Railway Category:Pre-grouping British railway companies