The Dundee and Arbroath Railway was an early railway in Scotland. It opened in 1838, and used the unusual track gauge of 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm). In 1848 it changed to standard gauge and connected to the emerging Scottish railway network.
It was absorbed by the larger Caledonian Railway, but when the North British Railway completed the construction of the Tay Bridge in 1878, it was granted part ownership of the line to enable it to form its main line to Aberdeen, so the line became the Dundee and Arbroath Joint Line.
The main line is in use at the present day (except for the terminals at each end) as part of the Dundee to Aberdeen main line.
History
A scheme agreed Dundee had for centuries been a centre of trade on the Firth of Tay, but Arbroath too was an important port and manufacturing centre. The turnpike road and coastal shipping were both in heavy use connecting the two places. A railway had been proposed in 1826, but not proceeded with.
In 1831 an inland-facing line had been opened; it was the Dundee and Newtyle Railway, designed to connect the port with the fertile agricultural area of Strathmore. As it had challenging terrain to traverse, crossing the range of the Sidlaw Hills, it had been built with three steep inclines worked by stationary steam engines. Its financial performance, like its operational performance, had been disappointing.
Now in 1834 George Matthewson was asked to survey the possible route of such a line. He found that a line was feasible and his calculations suggested a return of 8 to 10% on capital. This was reported locally in the press, and generated considerable enthusiasm. A public meeting was held on 12 October 1835, and it was agreed to prepare a Parliamentary Bill; Grainger and Miller were asked to execute the full survey required for the purpose. Three weeks later John Miller presented his survey and findings; the line could be built for £85,000 including land acquisition and rolling stock, and would return 7.5%. £94,000 was subscribed immediately at the meeting, and the subscription list was increased to £100,000 to mollify those intending investors who had not been able to subscribe at the meeting itself.
Authorisation
The bill was presented to the 1836 session of Parliament, and passed as the (6 & 7 Will. 4. c. xxxii) on 19 May 1836: the Dundee and Arbroath Railway was incorporated, with capital of £100,000. On the same day another Arbroath line got its act of Parliament, the Arbroath and Forfar Railway Act 1836 (6 & 7 Will. 4. c. xxxiv): the Arbroath and Forfar Railway had been engineered by Miller's senior partner, Thomas Grainger. Lord Panmure had been energetic in promoting the railway and now, as chairman, he generously granted much of the necessary land for the line at a nominal rent, keeping the cost of the line low.
Grainger and Miller settled on the track gauge of 5 ft 6in (1,676 mm). They did not conceive of the likelihood of interoperability with other lines (although the A&FR was considered a partner of the Dundee and Arbroath and was to use the same gauge), and selected the gauge as a compromise between the (English) standard gauge and the broad gauge of Isambard Kingdom Brunel.The nearby Dundee and Newtyle Railway used a different gauge, 4ft 6.5in (1,384 mm). The line was to run close to the coast between the two termini, but a branch was authorised to Almericloss,There are several alternate spellings of the location. an area close to the A&FR station where it was expected that there would be an interchange depot. The main Arbroath terminal was to be at Lady Loan, on the sea front and a little short of the harbour. At Dundee the station was to be at Trades Lane, close to the expanded dock complex then under construction.
Construction and opening The main line of the railway was almost level, and construction proceeded well enough; however at this early date contractors were not well equipped to handle large contracts and some of them experienced difficulties with cash flow: in July 1837 more than half the contractors for the construction of the line were bankrupt from this cause. The permanent way was 48 lbs/yard parallel rails held in chairs on stone blocks. By October 1838 the majority of the line was ready for a ceremonial opening, held on 6 October. The line was open from Lady Loan in Arbroath to Craigie Crossing, about two miles (3 km) short of Dundee. The Almericloss branch at Arbroath had been forgotten for the time being.
The public opening of the line took place on 9 October 1838. The cost overrun was 74.4%.
The reason for the opening stopping short of Dundee itself now emerged: the westward progress of construction took the line directly to the water's edge, and the uncertain ground there required a causeway; in the final approach to Dundee the line passed across the frontage of industrial premises, severing their access to the river. After some delay the railway came to an amicable agreement with the proprietors, which seems to have involved paying them to relocate their works to the river side of the new line. The area in question was known as the Carolina Port (near the present-day Market Street). From there the Dundee Harbour Trustees had secured control of the railway's planned construction: the harbour was being greatly extended at the time. This section was built under their supervision, and was known as the owned by them; it was leased to the Dundee and Arbroath Railway but remained the property of the Dundee Harbour Trustees until 1907.
The causeway was constructed, and the railway was opened westward to a temporary "Dundee" terminus at Roodyards (close to the present Roodyards Road); this opening took place on 3 June 1839. Ten months later the final extension took place, to the Trades Lane terminus: the station was in the angle between the present day Marketgait and Camperdown Street. It opened on 1 April 1840. The building was said to be very basic and primitive.
The initial passenger train service was two return trips daily augmented by a third on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Passenger revenue exceeded expectations and soon climbed to 66% of income (by 1843).
The line was single track but right hand running applied at passing places, until the regauging of 1847.
Locomotives The locomotives at first were named Wallace, Griffin, Fury and Rapid; they had the 2-2-2 wheel arrangement with 13 inch cylinders and an 18-inch stroke. Whishaw says "the steam is not allowed to blow off to waste, but is admitted to the tank of [the] tender, to raise the temperature of the water." The average velocity (he says) "is about 21 miles an hour; but in parts of the journey it is considerably above 30 miles an hour." DUNDEE & ARBROATH RAILWAY LOCOMOTIVES 1838 to 1862NameWheel ArrangementFoundryBuiltNotesWallace2-2-2Kinmond H & Steel1838Withdrawn 1847Fury2-2-2Kinmond H & Steel1838Withdrawn 1847Griffen2-2-2Kinmond H & Steel1839Withdrawn 1847Rapid2-2-2Kinmond H & Steel1840Sold 1847 Dundee & Perth & Aberdeen Junction Railway No: 8Dart2-2-2Kinmond H & Steel1840Withdrawn 1859Queen2-2-2Kinmond H & Steel1841Withdrawn 1859Caledonia0-4-0Kinmond & Co1847SNER No: 38Gowrie0-4-0Kinmond & Co1848SNER No: 39Craigie0-4-2Kinmond & Co1849SNER No: 36Carlogie0-4-2Kinmond & Co1849SNER No: 37 2-2-2Kinmond & Co?c1852SNER No: 19 2-2-2Kinmond & Co?c1852SNER No: 20 2-2-2Kinmond & Co?c1852SNER No: 21 2-2-2ex Caledonian Railway No: 21859SNER No: 12 2-2-2ex Caledonian Railway No: 161859SNER No: 13
Part of a Scottish network The line had been planned for purely local transits, with only a possible link with the Arbroath and Forfar line in mind. In the years following the opening of the line, the notion of a railway network in Scotland gathered support; such a network was already forming in England, and controversy was seen everywhere in the press over a route from central Scotland to England; which route would be practicable? That discussion lent further weight to ideas of trunk railways in Scotland, and the availability of cheap money led to a frenzy of railway promotions. In the 1845 parliamentary session, the Caledonian Railway was authorised, capital £1.5 million, to build from Edinburgh and Glasgow to Carlisle, there joining the English system; but in addition the Scottish Central Railway (Castlecary to Perth), the Scottish Midland Junction Railway (Perth to Forfar), the Aberdeen Railway (Forfar to Aberdeen) and the Dundee and Perth Railway were all authorised on the same day, 31 August 1845.
Alliances had already been forged between several of them: the Caledonian Railway in particular saw itself as the controller of a large network throughout much of Scotland. The Caledonian board approved a lease of the D&AR at 8% annual charge, although this was repudiate later. All these lines were going to be made on the standard gauge, and suddenly the two Arbroath lines saw that their unique gauge was a major disadvantage. The directors of the newly authorised Dundee and Perth line met with the Dundee and Arbroath and the Arbroath and Forfar directors in London on 19 May 1845; it was agreed that the two Arbroath lines would convert their track gauge, and make the connection to Almericloss that had been authorised originally; and that they would encourage the Aberdeen Railway to form a connection making a line from Dundee to Aberdeen. This required an authorising act of Parliament, and the (9 & 10 Vict. c. cxxxiii) was passed on 3 July 1846. As well as the gauge change and the Almericloss line, this authorised a branch at Broughty Ferry to the harbour.
There was (of course) a ferry there,A passenger ferry; the community had been known as Broughty Ferry since at least 1826. and the Dundee and Arbroath had a station nearby, but not immediately at the ferry pier. The Edinburgh and Northern Railway was building a line from Burntisland to Ferryport-on-Craig, on the Fife side of the Tay, and to Perth. The E&NR would be making possible journeys from Edinburgh to Dundee (by two ferry crossings, of the Forth and the Tay) and was known to be considering expansion on the north side of the Tay. The Broughty Ferry branch was intended to forestall an unwelcome incursion by the E&NR. The gauge change meant that considerable sums of money were required, as rolling stock needed to be converted or acquired as well.
The Arbroath connecting line and the gauge change were completed on 23 December 1847, and the Broughty Ferry branch was opened in May 1848. It made a triangular junction with the main line, occupying the alignment of the present-day St Vincent Street, but on 1 May 1851 it was replaced with a single connection in a more easterly position, facing Arbroath only, and requiring a reversal for trains to Dundee.
In July or August 1847 the street running connection between the Dundee and Arbroath and the Dundee and Perth line was opened. From 1851 to 1907 it was leased to the D&AR by the harbour commissioners who owned it; only horse traction was allowed on it.
Proposals to lease to the Dundee and Perth and make a cross-Dundee line By this time the company was trading successfully, but considerations of the wider railway network led it to agree to lease its line to the Dundee and Perth Railway, this to take effect on 30 April 1847. The D&PR would have a terminus at the west end of the city, and the D&AR terminus was at the east end. The arrangement was to include a new line linking the routes by a high level line sweeping round the north of the city.