Scottish Rights of Way & Access Society

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Important People of Scottish Access

  • Important People of Scottish Access – Adam Black (1784-1874)
  • Important People of Scottish Access – Archibald Eneas Robertson (1870-1958)
  • Important People of Scottish Access – Arthur W Russell (1873-1967)
  • Important People of Scottish Access – Donald Bennet (1928-2013)
  • Important People of Scottish Access – Donald Grant Moir  (1902-1986)
  • Important People of Scottish Access – John George Bartholomew (1860-1920)
  • Important People of Scottish Access – John Hutton Balfour (1808-1884)
  • Important People of Scottish Access – Professor Sir Robert (Bob) Grieve (1910 -1995)
  • Important People of Scottish Access – Rennie McOwan (1933-2018)
  • Important People of Scottish Access – Viscount James Bryce (1838-1922)
  • Important People of Scottish Access – Walter Arthur Smith (1852-1934)
  • Important People of Scottish Access – William Ferris (1894-1963)

Introducing Ken

  • Hello, my name is Ken.

Court Cases

  • An outline of the Scottish Courts System
  • The Authority of Case Law
Cases under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003
  • Aviemore Highland Resort v Cairngorms National Park Authority
  • Caledonian Heritable Ltd v East Lothian Council
  • Creelman v Argyll & Bute Council
  • Forbes v Fife Council
  • Gloag v Perth & Kinross Council and the Rambler’s Association
  • Law Society of Scotland v Scottish Legal Complaints Commission
  • Renyana Stahl Anstalt v Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority Appeal Decision
  • Snowie v Stirling Council and Ramblers Association Lindsay and Barbara Ross v Stirling Council
  • Tuley v Highland Council
  • Williamson v Highland Activities Limited
Public rights of way and private servitude rights of way
    Creation of public rights of way – need for public place end points
    • Cuthbertson v Young
    • Darrie v Drummond
    • Duncan v Lees
    • Jenkins v Murray
    • Lauder v MacColl
    • Leith-Buchanan v Hogg
    • Magistrates of Dunblane v Arnold-McCulloch
    • Marquis of Bute v McKirdy & McMillan
    • Melfort Pier Holidays Ltd v The Melfort Club and Others
    • Midlothian Council v Crolla
    • Oswald v Lawrie
    • Scott v Drummond
    • Smith v Saxton
    • Wood v North British Railway
    Creation of public rights of way – use as of right by the public for the prescriptive period
    • Aberdeen City Council v Wanchoo and Neumann v Hutchison
    • Ayr Burgh Council v British Transport Commission
    • Burt v Barclay
    • Cadell v Stevenson
    • Cumbernauld & Kilsyth District Council v Dollar Land (Cumbernauld) Ltd
    • Duffield Morgan v Lord Advocate
    • Kinloch’s Trustees v Young
    • Magistrates of Elgin v Robertson
    • McGregor v Crieff Co-operative Society Ltd
    • McInroy v Duke of Athole
    • Norrie v Magistrates of Kirriemuir
    • Rhins District Committee of the County Council of Wigtownshire v Cunninghame
    • Richardson v Cromarty Petroleum Co Ltd
    • Rome v Hope Johnstone
    • Scottish Rights of Way & Recreation Society Ltd v Macpherson
    • Strathclyde (Hyndland) Housing Society Ltd v Cowie
    • Wills Trustees v Cairngorm Canoeing and Sailing School Ltd
    • Wilson v Jamieson
    Creation of rights of way – interruption of the prescriptive period
    • Mann v Brodie
    Different kinds of use of rights of way
    • Aberdeenshire Council v Lord Glentanar
    • Carstairs v Spence
    • Crawford v Lumsden
    • Macfarlane v Morrison & Others (Robertson’s Trustees)
    • Mackenzie v Bankes
    • Malcolm v Lloyd
    Need for a particular line for public rights of way
    • Home Drummond & Another (Petitioners)
    • Hozier v Hawthorne
    • Mackintosh v Moir
    Obstruction of rights of way
    • Aitchison v India Tyre & Rubber Co.
    • Anderson v Earl of Morton
    • Drury v McGarvie
    • Earl of Morton v Anderson
    • Fife Council v Nisbet
    • Geils v Thomson
    • Glasgow and Carlisle Road Trustees v Tennant
    • Glasgow and Carlisle Road Trustees v Whyte
    • Graham v Sharpe
    • Hay v Earl of Morton’s Trustees
    • Kirkpatrick v Murray
    • Lanarkshire Water Board v Gilchrist
    • Lord Donington v Mair
    • Macdonald v Watson
    • Midlothian District Council v MacKenzie
    • Rodgers v Harvie
    • Soriani v Cluckie
    • Stewart, Pott & Co. v Brown Brothers & Co
    • Sutherland v Thomson
    Procedural issues
    • Alexander v Picken
    • Alston v Ross
    • Hope v Landward District Committee of the Parish Council of Inveresk
    • Macfie v Scottish Rights of Way and Recreation Society Limited
    • Nairn v Speedie
    • Potter v Hamilton
    • Torrie v Duke of Atholl
    Public and private rights of way – ancillary rights and burdens
    • Allan v McLachlan
    • Lord Burton v Mackay
    • McRobert v Reid
    • Milne v Inveresk Parish Council
    • Moncrieff v Jamieson
    • Preston’s Trustees v Preston
    Relationship of public rights of way with private servitude rights of way and with ‘roads’ under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984
      Public rights of way and ‘roads’ under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984
      • Davidson v Earl of Fife
      • Hamilton v Dumfries & Galloway Council
      • Hamilton v Nairn
      Relationship of public rights of way with private servitude rights of way
      • Alvis v Harrison
      • McGavin v McIntyre
      • Thomson v Murdoch
    Rights of way – land owned by statutory undertakers or the Crown
    • Ayr Harbour Trustees v Oswald
    • British Transport v Westmoreland County Council
    • Edinburgh Corporation v North British Railway Co.
    • Ellice’s Trustees v Commissioners for the Caledonian Canal
    • Kinross County Council v Archibald
    • Lord Advocate v Strathclyde Regional Council and Lord Advocate v Dumbarton District Council
    • Oban Town Council v Callander & Oban Railway
    • The Ramblers Association v The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (and Others)
Navigation rights and rights in relation to the foreshore
    Navigation rights
    • Campbell’s Trustees v Sweeney
    • Colquhoun’s Trustees v Orr Ewing & Co
    • Crown Estate Commissioners v Fairlie Yacht Slip Ltd.
    • Denaby and Cadeby Main Collieries Ltd v Anson
    • Ellerman Lines Ltd v Clyde Navigation Trustees
    • Kames Bay Case – Petition of the Crown Estate Commissioners
    • Walford v David
    • Wills Trustees v Cairngorm Canoeing and Sailing School Ltd
    Rights in relation to the foreshore
    • Leith-Buchanan v Hogg
    • Marquis of Bute v McKirdy & McMillan
    • Officers of State v Smith
Liability
    Cases relating to contributory negligence
    • Smith v Finch
    Liability of recreational users to one another
    • Anthony Phee v James Gordon & Niddry Castle Golf Club 4 November 2011
    • Milne v Duguid
    • Pearson v Lightning
    Occupiers’ liability: Cases involving ‘hazards’ in the outdoors
    • Anderson v The Scottish Ministers
    • Brown v South Lanarkshire Council
    • Duff v East Dunbartonshire Council
    • Fegan v Highland Regional Council
    • Graham v East of Scotland Water
    • Johnstone v Sweeney
    • Lang v Kerr Anderson & Co.
    • Marshall v North Ayrshire Council
    • McCluskey v Lord Advocate
    • Michael Leonard v The Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority
    • Prosecution by the Health & Safety Executive Dunoon Sheriff Court, 18th August 2010
    • Strachan v Highland Council
    • Tomlinson v Congleton Borough Council
    • Trueman v Aberdeenshire Council
    • Wright v Nevis Range Development Company
    Occupiers’ liability: Cases involving children
    • Dawson v Scottish Power
    • Glasgow Corporation v Taylor
    • Jolley v Sutton London Borough Council
    • Stevenson v Glasgow Corporation
    Occupiers’ liability: Cases involving facilities/indoor premises
    • McCondichie v Mains Medical Centre
    • Poppleton v Peter Ashley Activities Centre
    • Porter v Borders Council
    Cases involving animals
    • Gardiner v Miller
    • Shirley McKaskie v John Cameron
    • Welsh v Brady
Other cases of interest
  • Carol Rohan Beyts v Trump International Golf Club Scotland Limited
  • Law Society of Scotland v Scottish Legal Complaints Commission
  • Neizer v Rhodes
  • R v Howard

The Bookshelf

  • Welcome to The Bookshelf
Legislation
  • Legislation 1960-1969
  • Legislation 1970-1979
  • Legislation 1980-1989
  • Legislation 1990-1999
  • Legislation 2000-2009
  • Legislation 2010-2019
  • Legislation 2020-2029
Guidance on Legislation
  • Guidance on Legislation 1990-1999
  • Guidance on Legislation 2000-2009
  • Guidance on Legislation 2010-2019
  • Guidance on Legislation 2020-2029
Responsible Access
  • Publications on Responsible Access 1990-1999
  • Publications on Responsible Access 2000-2009
  • Publications on Responsible Access 2010-2019
Rights of Way and Outdoor Access Management
    Land Management
    • Managing Land for Outdoor Access 2000-2009
    Path Management
    • Path Management 1980-1989
    • Path Management 1990-1999
    • Path Management 2000-2009
    • Path Management 2010-2019
    • Path Management 2020-2029
    People Management
    • Managing the Public 2000-2009
    • Managing the Public 2010-2019
    Signposting
    • Signposting and Interpretation 1990-1999
    • Signposting and Interpretation 2010-2019
    • Signposting and Interpretation 2020-2029
Surveys of Rights of Way, Access and Procedures
  • Surveys of Rights of Way, Outdoor Access and Procedures 1980-1989
  • Surveys of Rights of Way, Outdoor Access and Procedures 1990-1999
  • Surveys of Rights of Way, Outdoor Access and Procedures 2000-2009
  • Surveys of Rights of Way, Outdoor Access and Procedures 2010-2019

About Access Rights

  • What are Outdoor Access Rights?
Rights of Way
  • A local landowner has fenced off a path that is well used by local people, and has put up a sign saying No trespassers’. What can I do about it?
  • Can I ride my motorbike on a right of way or take it off road?
  • Development Proposals and Outdoor Access
  • Do public rights of way exist in Scotland?
  • Horse riders are using a local path and churning it up so that it is difficult for walkers to use. What can be done?
  • How does a route become a right of way?
  • Is there any need for rights of way, now that there is freedom of access?
  • Is there any record of rights of way in Scotland?
  • My neighbour says he has a right to go along the path at the back of my house. Could this be a public right of way?
  • Private Signs, Private Roads, Public Roads, What’s the difference?
  • Rights of access to land
  • There is a path close to my house which local people say is a right of way. Can I divert the route so as to protect my privacy?
  • There is a proposal for a windfarm development that will be close to a well-used right of way. What can be done?
  • Where can I cycle?
  • Where Can I Ride or Drive my Horse?
  • Who’s responsible for path maintenance?
Statutory Access Rights
  • A Brief History of Access Rights
  • A local landowner has fenced off a path that is well used by local people, and has put up a sign saying No trespassers’. What can I do about it?
  • Are access rights different in Scotland from those in England and Wales?
  • Can I go wild camping in Scotland?
  • Can I ride my motorbike on a right of way or take it off road?
  • Horse riders are using a local path and churning it up so that it is difficult for walkers to use. What can be done?
  • Is there any need for rights of way, now that there is freedom of access?
  • Private Signs, Private Roads, Public Roads, What’s the difference?
  • Right to Roam Timeline
  • Rights of access to land
  • The Coming of Access Rights
  • The Scottish Outdoor Access Code, A Replacement for the Country Code
  • What activities are covered by rights of access?
  • What activities are not covered by rights of access?
  • What are core paths?
  • What does behaving responsibly mean?
  • What happens when there is a dispute about whether, or how, the rights of access apply?
  • What is a Local Access forum?
  • Where can I cycle?
  • Where Can I Ride or Drive my Horse?
  • Where do access rights not apply?
  • Who should I contact if I have a problem about access rights?
  • Who’s responsible for path maintenance?

History

  • 175th Anniversary
  • 1844 The beginning of ScotWays
  • 1964 When figure 740 changed the face of path signs
  • A Brief History of Access Rights
  • Boardwalks, the oldest types of constructed path
  • Historic Footpaths
  • Right to Roam Timeline
  • ScotWays’s Oldest Standing Signpost
  • The Association for the Protection of Public Rights of Roadway in and Around Edinburgh
  • The Bedford Memorial Bridge
  • The Changing Face of ScotWays Signs
  • The Coming of Access Rights
  • The First ScotWays Signposts
  • The History of ScotWays
  • The Launch of the Heritage Paths website
  • Welcome the Scottish Rights of Way and Recreation Society Limited
  • What’s in a name?

Scottish Hill Tracks

  • Scottish Hill Tracks ~ Overview
  • SECTION 11: Glen Coe & Appin
  • SECTION 13: Loch Leven to Glen Spean
  • SECTION 14: Ardgour, Moidart & Morven
  • SECTION 15: West Mounth & Sidlaw Hills
  • SECTION 17: Cairngorms
  • SECTION 19: Monadh Liath
  • SECTION 2: Central & South-West Borders
  • SECTION 20: Loch Eil to Glen Shiel
  • SECTION 21: Glen Affric, Kintail & Strathfarrar
  • SECTION 22: Mull & Skye
  • SECTION 23: Wester Ross
  • SECTION 24: Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross
  • SECTION 3: Lammermuir & Moorfoot Hills
  • SECTION 4: Pentland Hills
  • SECTION 5: Clydesdale & Lowther Hills
  • SECTION 6: Galloway & South Ayrshire
  • SECTION 7: Arran, Inverclyde & North Ayrshire
  • SECTION 9: Southern Highlands

Heritage Paths

  • Heritage Paths Introduction
  • Historic Footpaths
  • The Launch of the Heritage Paths website
About Types of Heritage Paths
  • Coffin Roads
  • Drove Roads
  • Fish Roads
  • Heritage Paths Introduction
  • Leisure Paths
  • Medieval Roads
  • Military Roads
  • Pilgrimage Routes
  • Postie Paths
  • Public works and private enterprise: moving towards the modern transport system
  • Religious Routes
  • Roman Roads
  • Salters’ Roads
  • Trade Routes
  • Traveller Routes

Signposting

  • 1964 When figure 740 changed the face of path signs
  • A Signposting Tour of the Cairngorms
  • ScotWays’s Oldest Standing Signpost
  • The Changing Face of ScotWays Signs
  • The First ScotWays Signposts

#RespectProtectEnjoy

  • A different way to get there or doing something different.
  • Different Ways
  • Places to Visit
  • Home
  • Ask Ken
  • Heritage Paths
  • About Types of Heritage Paths
  • Public works and private enterprise: moving towards the modern transport system

Public works and private enterprise: moving towards the modern transport system

This chapter looks at the way that modern transport systems have developed over the last three centuries and the remnants that can still be seen of constructions that were part of the transport infrastructure, but which have now fallen out of use.

Development of the road system was initially patchy and spasmodic because there were problems with all the various schemes for financing them. It was not until the late 19th Century that they were placed on a proper financial footing by being financed entirely from the public purse. Most of the early roads from this period are now buried under modern tarmac, but in some cases they have fallen out of use as public roads but can still be followed as farm tracks or footpaths (e.g. the Aberdeen Turnpike and St Martin’s Turnpike, see below).

For a time, canals were seen as the answer for transport of goods, until superseded by the development of the railways. In recent years British Waterways Scotland has reversed years of neglect and revitalised Scotland’s canals for recreational use, see particularly the Millennium project which restored the Union and Forth & Clyde canals.

At their peak, railways were so successful that they drove toll roads out of business. Some of the great 19th Century railway lines are still used on a daily basis. Many disused lines are now available for recreational use and much of their infrastructure is still extant. The Innocent Railway in Edinburgh (see page XXX) is a good example of a ‘life cycle’ of a railway: it started as a horse drawn tramway, then became a busy branch line in the railway network, and today has been converted into a popular cycle path.

Early development of the roads system
From early in the 17th Century, the Scottish Parliament passed a number of acts authorising Justices of the Peace to build roads with local labour. These culminated in an Act in 1669 which required local landowners to provide a labour force (‘statute labour’) for maintenance of roads on ‘parish road days’. Responsibility for roads was later transferred to local sheriffs and subsequently to counties or parishes which could apply to Parliament for powers to construct roads under the supervision of trustees. Statute labour was commuted into money payments to pay for road construction. However, all these developments tended to be ineffective because the control was in the hands of the landowners who were ultimately responsible for the costs and, therefore, wished to keep the costs to a minimum. Also, the work tended to be done piecemeal, parish by parish, with no overall co-ordination.

Turnpike Roads
Charging tolls for the use of roads was introduced in England in the 17th Century, but the system was not used in Scotland until the mid-18th Century. They were called turnpike roads because of the frame, armed with pikes, that was turned to allow people to pass once they had paid the toll.

The 18th Century saw rapid development in the economy of Scotland with new farming methods, increasing industrialisation and the opening up of the markets in England following the Act of Union. Improved roads were therefore essential to carry the increased traffic of people and goods. An act of the Westminster Parliament in 1751 allowed turnpike roads to be set up in Scotland. Each turnpike scheme required a separate act of Parliament, allowing a trust to be formed to arrange for roads to be built. Hundreds of trusts were set up and resulted in a boom in road building.

In order to ensure a steady income, the trusts held an annual auction of the right to collect tolls. The tollkeeper paid the trust a fixed amount and could then keep any profit he made from collecting tolls. Tollkeepers sometimes resorted to ways of making additional income, such as selling liquor. On the border with England they also made money from marrying runaway couples.

Tolls were unpopular and people found ways of avoiding them wherever possible. In Duns, in the Scottish Borders, two tolls were destroyed by fire as soon as they were erected and others in the nearby countryside were also attacked. In some cases, toll schemes had to be abandoned for fear of local unrest. Cattle drovers continued to use the old droving hill tracks and some farmers allowed them to use their fields to bypass tolls.

Toll gathering became less economic with the development of the railways and toll income declined dramatically in the second quarter of the 19th Century. Small turnpike trusts were amalgamated to try to make them more economic, but by the second half of the 19th Century it was clear that another system was needed to finance road building and maintenance. This led to raising money by a tax on the value of property – a precursor of the rating system.

Parliamentary roads
Alongside the development of turnpike roads were some major public works commissioned by the Westminster Parliament, particularly in the Highlands. It was considered that better roads were needed to make the Highlands more economically productive and to check the flow of emigrants from the area. In 1801 and 1802 Thomas Telford was commissioned by the Treasury to carry out two surveys in Scotland, as a result of which he reported that a major programme of road and bridge building was required and he also proposed construction of the Caledonian Canal. He reported that ‘Previous to the year 1742 the roads were merely the tracks of black cattle and horses, intersected by numerous rapid streams’. He dismissed the military roads as being of little use for civilians: ‘Having been laid out with other views than promoting commerce and industry, [they] are generally in such directions and so inconveniently steep as to be nearly unfit for the purposes of civil life’.

The Government acted quickly on these reports and two Parliamentary Commissions were set up by Act of Parliament in 1803. One Commission oversaw construction of roads and bridges, principally in the Highlands, with a separate Commission overseeing construction of the Caledonian Canal. Although major funding was provided by the government, the scheme relied on local proprietors applying for roads to be constructed on their lands, on the basis that they would provide half of the funding – often met by provision of labour by the landowners’ tenants. By this time landowners had become aware of the economic advantages of proper roads across their land and the added incentive of government funding led to enthusiastic participation in the scheme.

During the period 1803 to 1821 the Commission spent more than £1,500,000 and over 900 miles of roads and more than 1000 bridges were built. The Parliamentary Commission continued until 1861 with Thomas Telford as the main engineer.

New road construction techniques that were pioneered in Scotland contributed towards the success of road-buidling. In particular the Scottish engineer and road builder John Loudon McAdam (1756 – 1836) introduced new methods of road building including construction using crushed stone bound with gravel (‘macadamisation) and the use of tar – leading to the term ‘tarmac’ from ‘tar-McAdam’. His methods were further developed by Thomas Telford.

The official end of the turnpike system came with the passing of the Roads and Bridges Act 1878 which placed the management and maintenance of roads on county road trusts and burgh councils. Moving into the 20th Century roads once again became the primary focus of transport, after the relatively short-lived popularity of railways and canals.

Tolls on bridges continued to be charged until the modern day, but their unpopularity led the Scottish National Party to abolish all remaining tolls in 2008.

The canal system
Although Scotland was not gripped by ‘canalitis’ to the same extent as south of the border, five canals were constructed between 1768 and 1822, totalling 137 miles in length. They are some of the most famous and historic in Great Britain: the Caledonian Canal, the Crinan Canal, the Forth & Clyde Canal, the Union Canal, and the Monkland Canal. Canals played a vital part in the early industrial revolution, but were rapidly superseded once railways were established

The Forth & Clyde canal was the first canal to be built in Scotland. It is 35 miles long, and wide enough to accommodate sea-going vessels. It runs from the Forth estuary at the River Carron to the Bowling Basin on the River Clyde. Work began on the Forth & Clyde Canal in 1768 but it was delayed by funding problems and did not open until 1790. Rights of navigation were extinguished by Parliament in 1963, but the canal was reopened in 2001 as part of the £78m Millennium Link – the largest canal restoration ever in Britain. The project incorporated the construction of the famous Falkirk Wheel which opened in June 2002, reconnecting the Forth & Clyde and Union Canals for the first time in over 70 years.

The Union canal runs from Edinburgh Quay, over aqueducts and through tunnels, to link with the Forth & Clyde Canal at the Falkirk Wheel. For several decades before the railway was established, the Union Canal provided an important commercial link across central Scotland. The carriage of coal was the main impetus for building the Union canal. Construction started in 1818 and the canal opened in 1822. An eleven-lock flight connected the canal with the Forth and Clyde canal at Falkirk, providing a direct inland connection between the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh which originally included a regular passenger service. The Canal’s profitability was greatly diminished by the opening of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in 1842. The lock flight was demolished in the 1930s and following a period of steady decline, the Union Canal was abandoned in the 1960s. However, it was restored and reopened as part of the Millennium Link project in 2001.

Thomas Telford recommended construction of the Caledonian Canal, from Fort William to Inverness, so that naval and merchant ships could avoid the treacherous journey round the Pentland Firth and Cape Wrath. Its construction was the subject of one of the Parliamentary Commissions set up in 1803 (see above). The canal links Loch Lochy, Loch Oich, Loch Ness and Loch Dochfour. Although only relatively short, artificial canals were required to link the lochs together. Many locks were required, including the massive eight-lock staircase of lochs at Banavie, known as Neptune’s Staircase.

Construction of the canal considerably overshot Telford’s original estimates of both time and cost. The canal was partly finished in 1822, but it was a further 25 years before final completion. By this time, the advent of larger steamships had diminished the canal’s role, and it was never a commercial success.

The Crinan Canal (sometimes called ‘the most beautiful shortcut in the world’) is 9 miles long and links Loch Fyne at Ardrishaig with the Sound of Jura, creating a vital waterway through the Kintyre peninsula. It was built to improve access to the Western Isles, offering a safe transit route from Ardrishaig on Loch Fyne to Crinan, avoiding the long and difficult journey around the Mull of Kintyre. The Crinan Canal Act was passed in 1793 but funding problems meant that it was not finished until 1809. Even at the height of its use in the mid 18th Century, the canal was not a commercial success, but it provided an important local amenity and supply line for the Highlands and islands.

James Watt began cutting the Monkland Canal in 1770 but work stopped after 3 years when money ran out. However, more money was eventually raised and the canal was extended to join the Forth & Clyde Canal at Port Dundas. The development of the iron industry in Coatbridge in the 1830s generated considerable business for the canal. The canal is no longer available for navigation but is still a vital part of Scotland’s canal system as it provides the main water supply to the Forth & Clyde Canal. It is also an important local amenity.

The Railways
The railways revolutionised travel in Scotland during the 19th Century, allowing people to travel more easily than ever before, even in remoter parts. By the end of the century railway lines linked all the major cities in Scotland and many of the villages. Journeys that had taken days by coach could be accomplished in hours.

The earliest railway lines were constructed to carry coal from mines to the harbours from which it was exported, for example the wooden-railed Tranent and Cockenzie Waggonway which was constructed in 1772. But with the coming of the steam train, railways developed rapidly for both passenger and freight traffic. A major boost to the popularity of railways in Scotland was the opening of the Edinburgh to Glasgow line in 1842.

Construction of the railways was financed by railway entrepreneurs, who competed to build the most profitable lines. In particular, a rivalry developed between two major companies, the Caledonian Railway Company and the North British Railway Company.

The construction of the West Highland line is the best example in Scotland of how engineering and geographical difficulties were overcome to build a railway that is still in use today. The contractor was Sir Robert McAlpine, known as ‘Concrete Bob’, who used concrete in the construction of the line, which was a novel material at the time. The line was built in two phases; the section from Fort William to Craidendoran was begun in 1889 and completed in 1894 and the extension to Mallaig began in 1897 and opened in 1901. It involved construction of about 350 viaducts and a number of tunnels. The most significant engineering works are the Glenfinnan Viaduct (380m), the Rannoch Viaduct (208m) and the Loch Treig Tunnel (127m). The section of track across Rannoch Moor floats on a carpet of brushwood because the engineers found it impracticable to sink foundations through the thick peat. The railway brought new industries to the West Highlands and facilitated easier transportation of fish and agricultural produce to the markets of Glasgow, so improving the diet of people living there.

The Tay Bridge disaster in 1879 was a setback for the railways. The bridge collapsed during a December storm as a train was crossing it, with the loss of 75 lives. However, engineers learned from the design faults of the old bridge and a new Tay bridge opened in 1887. The world-renowned Forth Bridge, which opened in 1890, was designed to be failsafe. Its foundations consisted of huge cylinders filled with concrete, with supporting towers made of 55,000 tons of steel and held together with eight million rivets.

The railways had an enormous impact on life in Scotland. More remote areas were opened up to tourism, easier transport of goods stimulated the economy and Scotland became a world leader in construction of railway locomotives.

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Updated on 22 January 2022
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