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This railway is closed. |
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This line runs over an area with former coalmines, particularly in the west. The line was built with the speculation that there would be more coal to the east of the Monklands, there was, but not as much as expected.
This line extended the Ballochney Railway eastwards to Causewayhead near Polmont. The line was opened before the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway and was used as part of a through route involving various railways and canals before the opening of the express route.
This railway ran from Arbuckle, near Airdrie to Slamannan in the Monklands district between Edinburgh and Glasgow. The line was extended to Causewayend on the Union Canal. A passenger service was then offered between Edinburgh and Glasgow by the Glasgow, Garnkirk and Coatbridge Railway, the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway, the Ballochney Railway, the Slamannan Railway and the Union Canal. The line was later extended to Bo'ness on the Forth Estuary and following re-gauging of the route it was connected to the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway at Manuel near Bo'ness.
The Slamannan Railway started at Arbuckle near Airdrie at a west facing junction with the Ballochney Railway close to its terminus. There was a signalbox here called "Dykehead Junction".
The station site has been landscaped. There was a signalbox here called "Arbuckle".
The station platforms remain along with the base of what may have been the signalbox. There is evidence of a large number of branches from the main line. In particular branches ran parallel and just to the south of the "main line" from a west facing junction eastwards as far as Arden. One of the mines served was the Stanrigg pit, famous for the disaster in which 19 men were killed.
Since adding this description opencast mining has taken hold of the area and much of the remains of the lines removed. The station site has been fairly eroded and the signalbox site is not so obvious.
There was a signalbox called "Mosslye".
The site of this station has been destroyed
by opencast mining. To the south of the line and by the minor road is a memorial
at the site of the Stanrigg Pit. Nearby, just to the east, are the ruins of
the mining village. To the east was a signalbox called "Limerigg".
Longriggend
The station was located in a cutting. The cutting
has been partly infilled and I could not find any remains of the station.
North Monkland Branch Junction
This was an east facing junction with the North Monkland Railway. The formation is still obvious. There was a signalbox here called "North Monkland Branch Junction".
Just to the west a branch of the Slamannan Railway passed under the North Monkland Railway and ran north and west to pits. Just to the south of where it passed under it served a coalmine to the east from a south facing junction. Just to the north of where it passed under it served another coalmine to the east from a south facing junction. The formation is still clearly visible. The trackbed is used by motorbikes. By the site is the Longriggend Prison.
The railway crossed through the town with a
series of level crossing. The station site has been cleared but the general
route is still obvious. There was a signalbox here called "Slamannan".
Glenellrig
This was a short lived station.
The formation of this east facing junction remain in a good state of preservation as the trackbeds are used as roads by the local farmer. Bricks from the former "Strathavon Branch Junction" signalbox remain here. The branch ran to pits north and west from here. Near the junction the branch trackbed is still obvious, but further north and west it has been landscaped.
When the main line started to be closed, the first section to close was from here westwards to Slamannan.
The station here has been demolished but some
level crossing gateposts remain. There was a signalbox here called "Avonbridge".
Blackston
The westbound platform remains here but in
poor condition. The station was immediately to the west of Blackston Junction.
Blackston Junction
The formation of this junction is now difficult
to discern; it must have been on a roadbridge, now removed, and there has been
some landscaping. The junction faced Blackston and the west. Lines ran north
and east to Bo'ness and the Bathgate
Branch of the Monkland
Railways ran south and east. There was a signalbox here called "Blackston
Junction".
Bowhouse
The platform remains in a good state of preservation, but the trackbed is used for cow feeders and is very muddy. Just by the station a long branch, serving coalmines, ran westwards. Originally there were two branches; one from a south facing junction just to the south of the station to a coalmine to the west and another from a north facing junction just to the north of the station to another coalmine. The south facing junction was removed at an early date after the two branches were joined.
There was a signalbox at Bowhouse called "Bowhouse".
Causewayend Incline Top
This was the top of an inclined plane which ran downhill north to Causewayend. Bits of building and mysterious lumps of concrete remain by the overgrown trackbed, now a footpath. There was a signalbox here called "Causewayend Incline Top".
There appears to have been a substantial junction here with a number of sidings. The line divided into three at this point, the junction facing south towards Bowhouse and up the Causewayend Incline. Routes led to Bo'ness High Junction on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway (the Slamannan Junction Railway; this curves off to the west, crosses under a roadbridge and then over the Union Canal), the original terminus and canal at Causewayhead (little remains here except at the Union Canal where there is a small canal basin and the tree-choked railway route), and on to Bo'ness by the Slamannan and Borrowstounness Railway (this crossed over the Union Canal to the east of the original terminus). There was a signalbox to control the junction and incline foot called "Causewayend Incline Foot".
This was the original eastern terminus of the line. A small basin exists on the Union Canal. Little else remains apart from the tree-choked trackbed of the railway. There was a station here which was used as part of a railway and canal based through route between Edinburgh and Glasgow before the opening of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway.