Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway

Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway
Locale Scotland Dates of operation 21 July 1865 – 1 August 1865 Successor line Glasgow and South Western Railway Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Legend
Kirkcudbright Railway   Portpatrick Railway Portpartick Line Junction Castle Douglas Dalbeattie Southwick Kirkgunzeon Killywhan Lochanhead Maxwelltown Maxwelltown Oil Depot (mothballed)    Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway    Dumfries, Lochmaben and Lockerbie Railway Castle Douglas Branch Junction Dumfries Goods (CR) Dumfries    Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway

The old railway from Dumfries to Stranraer just outside Dumfries (2005)

The Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway was a nominally independent railway in south west Scotland which linked Dumfries to Castle Douglas.

History

It was incorporated on 21 July 1856; the act was obtained by the Glasgow and South Western Railway.

It opened on 7 November 1859 and was substantially closed, under the Beeching Axe, on 14 June 1965. The section between Maxwellton and Dumfries remained open to serve an oil depot. The line is now mothballed.

In 1861 the Portpatrick Railway completed a connection from Castle Douglas to Portpatrick and Stranraer.

The Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway was acquired by the Glasgow and South Western Railway on 1 August 1865 - this was itself acquired by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in the 1923 grouping of the railways.

The Caledonian Railway gained running rights over the line between Dumfries and Castle Douglas; which allowed it access to Portpatrick, Stranraer and Stranraer harbour over a jointly owned line, the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway. These running rights allowed the Caledonian Railway to run Irish boat trains from Carlisle and south of the border without having to go though Ayrshire.

Connections to other lines

• Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway at Dumfries.
• The Dumfries, Lochmaben & Lockerby (sic) Railway at Dumfries.
• Kirkcudbright Railway at Castle Douglas.
• Portpatrick Railway at Castle Douglas.

References

Sources

• Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. 
• 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. 
• RAILSCOT on Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway
• The Introduction of the Railway into Galloway Fifty Years Ago from The Gallovidian (1909)