Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway
Loch Ken Viaduct
Overview
Other name(s)	The Paddy
Status	Disused
Locale	Galloway, Scotland
Termini	Castle Douglas Stranraer
History
Completed	1862
Closed	1965
Route map Legend Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway Castle Douglas Portpatrick Line Junction Kirkcudbright Railway Crossmichael Parton Loch Ken Viaduct New Galloway Stroan Viaduct Loch Skerrow Halt Water of Fleet Viaduct Gatehouse of Fleet Creetown Palnure Newton Stewart Newton Stewart Junction Mains of Penninghame Causeway End Wigtown Kirkinner Whauphill Sorbie Millisle Millisle Junction Garlieston Broughton Skeog Whithorn Kirkcowan Glenluce Water of Luce Viaduct Girvan and Portpatrick Junction Railway Challoch Junction Dunragit Castle Kennedy Cairnryan Junction Cairnryan Military Railway Stranraer Harbour Junction Stranraer Harbour Stranraer Town Colfin Portpatrick Portpatrick Harbour

The Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railways^{[note 1]} was a network of railway lines serving sparsely populated areas of south-west Scotland. The title appeared in 1885 when the previously independent Portpatrick Railway (PPR) and Wigtownshire Railway (WR) companies were amalgamated by Act of Parliament into a new company jointly owned by the Caledonian Railway, Glasgow & South Western Railway, Midland Railway and the London & North Western Railway and managed by a committee called the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Committee.

The Portpatrick Railway connected Castle Douglas and Portpatrick, opened in 1861 and 1862 and was intended to revive the transit to the north of Ireland through Portpatrick, although Stranraer actually became the dominant port. The line became known as the Paddy because of its connection to Ireland.^[1]

The Wigtownshire Railway, which ran from a connection with the PPR at Newton Stewart to Whithorn, opened from 1875.

The PPR route often known as the Port Road, linked Dumfries, via Castle Douglas, with the port towns of Portpatrick and Stranraer. It also formed part of a route by rail and sea from England and Scotland to the north of Ireland.^{[2][page needed]}

The line was single track throughout, serving a region of very low population density, but it achieved significance by carrying heavy traffic, both passenger and goods, to and from northern Irish destinations through Portpatrick and Stranraer. The line closed in 1965 apart from the short section from Stranraer Harbour to Challoch Junction, which continues in use as part of the Glasgow - Ayr - Stranraer route.^{[3][page needed]}

History: beginnings

As early as 1620 Portpatrick had been established as the port for the short sea route between south-west Scotland and the north of Ireland, at Donaghadee in County Down. Irish cattle and horses were a dominant traffic early on, and Post Office mails developed later: by 1838 8,000 to 10,000 letters passed through the port daily, brought by road coach from Dumfries, and from Glasgow. A barracks was erected in the town to facilitate troop movements. However, the limitations of the little harbour became serious disadvantages as other more efficient rail-connected routes, via Liverpool, and later Holyhead became dominant. Portpatrick's nearest railhead was Ayr, 60 miles (96 km) away, and the Post Office discontinued use of Portpatrick for mails from 30 September 1849; much of the livestock traffic had already moved to other routes.^{[4][page needed][5][page needed]}

The Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway

The Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) was formed by amalgamation in 1850, on the opening of the main line which ran from Glasgow via Kilmarnock and Dumfries to Carlisle. When local interests promoted a railway branching from it at Dumfries and running to Castle Douglas, the G&SWR actively supported it, in fact subscribing £60,000 towards the little Company's capital. The G&SWR motives appear to have been a desire to secure the territory from their rival, the Caledonian Railway, as well as the formation of a first section of a route to Portpatrick. The Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway (CD&DR) opened on 7 November 1859 and was worked from the outset by the G&SWR.

The larger Company soon made advances to take over the CD&DR, and did so (formally on the basis of an amalgamation) on 1 August 1865.^{[4][page needed][6][page needed]}

Plans for a railway in Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbright

On 30 April 1856, before the CD&DR obtained its authorising Act of Parliament, a meeting was held in Wigtown at which it was agreed that Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire^{[note 2]} needed a railway connection, and on 26 May 1856 it was decided to build a railway to Dumfries; the intention included connecting Portpatrick to the national railway network, with a view to reviving the Donaghadee route. The Government indicated tentative support for such a sea connection, and for improving the harbour at Portpatrick, so the Committee proceeded ; on 19 September 1856 plans for the route of the British and Irish Grand Junction Railway were tabled. By now the CD&DR had obtained its authorising Act and the Portpatrick line would join it at Castle Douglas instead of going independently to Dumfries. The route east of Newton Stewart took a markedly northerly course through bleak terrain, and this may have been to avoid competing with coastal steamers on a more southerly alignment.^{[4][page needed]}

While there was much enthusiasm locally for the new venture, it was important to obtain financial support from investors elsewhere. For a while the Great Northern Railway (GNR) was leading, offering £160,000. At the time the GNR was no closer than Bradford, but it sought alliances and for a time had hopes of forming its own trunk route to Scotland and the north of Ireland. This was ended when the G&SWR made it clear it would refuse running powers between Gretna Junction and Castle Douglas.^{[4][page needed][7][page needed]}

The Portpatrick Railway: formation and construction

The Bill for the new line went to Parliament in the 1857 session, but the grand title was changed to the more modest Portpatrick Railway (PPR). With little opposition, it obtained its authorising Act on 10 August 1857. Capital was to be £460,000 with borrowing powers of £150,000, and three railways were required^{[note 3]} to subscribe funds: the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway (£40,000), the G&SWR (£60,000), and the Belfast and County Down Railway (£15,000). (Those three railways had the option of subscribing more in addition.) The main line was to be 60 miles 60 chains (98 km) in length from Castle Douglas to Portpatrick, with two short branches: to the west quay at Stranraer, and to the north pier at Portpatrick.

The construction process was put in hand, but the available funds were not sufficient to complete the line, and the PPR approached the other railways for further financial support; the Lancaster and Carlisle was reluctant but was urged by its sponsoring company, the London and North Western Railway to do so. The G&SWR subscribed an additional £40,000.

Towards the end of the construction period the PR gave consideration to the working arrangements. The G&SWR were authorised to work the line by the original Act, and had offered to do so for 72% of gross receipts. This charge was considered excessive and negotiations took place which the PPR board considered unsatisfactory. On 28 March 1860, they decided that "the board should retain the working of the line under their own management" Evidently this had been foreseen, and provisional arrangements for the supply of locomotives had already been made, and this was quickly followed by contracts for rolling stock and for signalling equipment. The G&SWR had been confident that its terms for working the line would have to be accepted, and it was now angry at the emerging decision. It had subscribed £60,000 to the PPR on the assumption that the little Company would effectively belong to it, and had promised a further £40,000: it now made that sum conditional on an impossible contribution by the Belfast and County Down Railway. The breach was irreconcilable, made more so by the fact that the acid correspondence between the two companies was published as a pamphlet.^[8] Dalrymple, as Chairman, told his shareholders that the loss of the £40,000, though "attended with great inconvenience" need not "make any material, or at least, permanent, financial embarrassment".^{[9][page needed]}

Portpatrick Railway: operation to 1863

So the PPR made its own arrangements, and early in 1861 Captain H W Tyler made the formal inspection of the line over a three-day period. His only significant adverse comment was that the rail joints were not fished.^{[note 4]} The line was single throughout, worked by telegraph order; crossing stations were at Castle Douglas, New Galloway, Creetown, Newton Stewart, Glenluce and Stranraer. A shareholders' special train ran on 11 March 1861 and a full public service started the following day, consisting of two passenger trains each way between Stranraer and Castle Douglas, and probably one goods train. The line had not yet opened to Portpatrick itself. The passenger trains conveyed three classes of passenger. In November the passenger service was augmented to three trains each way, possibly by converting the goods train to mixed operation. At this time the motive power fleet consisted of three 0-4-2 mixed traffic tender locomotives and an 0-6-0 locomotive loaned by the LNWR.^{[4][page needed]}

In the act of Parliament authorising the PPR, a clause had been entered penalising the Company if the short branch to the north pier at Portpatrick was not completed by August 1862. The company had accepted this obligation on the understanding that the Government would improve the little harbour to enable efficient working of mail and other shipping. This work was essential also to railway operation, as the available land for a terminal was very cramped. A change of Government policy began to suggest that the harbour improvement works might not be funded, and the PPR, with limited funds for building its line, was alarmed that their obligation might be to build an unusable branch line; accordingly they had not built any of the main line from Stranraer. However, in 1861 the Government did in fact put the work in hand, and the PPR now accelerated the completion of their lines, and the line opened on 28 August 1862, after a Board of Trade inspection on 1 August 1862.^{[7][page needed]} The line ran to a town terminus at Portpatrick. To reach the harbour itself, a headshunt was provided beyond the station; a backshunt from there led to the harbour; due to the cramped site the headshunt was only sufficient for an engine and two coaches. The ordinary Portpatrick station was informally referred to as "the high station"; the line to the harbour descended very steeply, and was a plain single line without sidings.^{[4][page needed][7][page needed]}

The harbour improvement works seemed to have been suspended and there was no sign of the transfer of the Post Office mail traffic—the original motivation for the entire PPR—to the route. There is no evidence of any passenger or goods terminal building on the harbour branch and it seems likely that the PPR was doing the minimum to comply with the legal obligation, having realised that the Government-funded harbour improvements were now in doubt.

There were two daily trains in each direction between Stranraer and Portpatrick, one each way conveying goods also, but in October an express, not conveying Parliamentary (third class) passengers, was put on between Castle Douglas and Stranraer, making connection there with an Irish ferry. The burgh of Stranraer had constructed a "north landing place" and the PPR had built a deviation to the original Stranraer Pier branch to serve it. Although the sea passage from Stranraer to Irish destinations was longer than from Portpatrick, Stranraer was naturally sheltered and there was much more space for pier and railway accommodation. The Belfast and County Down Railway was extending its line to Larne on the north side of Belfast Lough and it appeared likely that a Stranraer - Larne ferry service would be more advantageous than a Portpatrick - Donaghadee one.

The "north landing place" became known as the East Pier and rail connection with it was established, boat trains to and from Castle Douglas (with connections for Carlisle) started on 1 October 1862. This was in advance of the Board of Trade inspection by Captain Tyler, on 2 December 1862, when he reported "that the opening of this branch would be attended with danger to the public using it by reason of the incompleteness of the works". The PPR continued to operate the short branch nonetheless. However, the ferry service was loss-making, and was discontinued (together with the boat trains) from 31 December 1863.

The PPR itself was losing money too; the 1862 - 1863 revenue account showed a loss of £1,073 on turnover of £9,464.^{[4][page needed][6][page needed]}

The Kirkcudbright Railway

The town of Kirkcudbright was some way from the growing railway network, and in 1861 local interests presented a bill to Parliament for a line from Castle Douglas; the Kirkcudbright Railway was authorised by Act of 1 August 1861. It was to run from Castle Douglas to Kirkcudbright. It opened for goods traffic on 17 February 1864, and to passengers on 15 August 1864. It was absorbed by the G&SWR the following year, on 1 August 1865.^{[2][page needed]}

Finding a sponsor for the Portpatrick Railway

The PPR was now (in 1863) in the position of having expended all its capital on building the line (and having been deprived of some promised funds from the G&SWR); losing money on revenue account; finding that the promised boom in mail traffic through Portpatrick was illusory; and observing that the Stranraer - Larne ferry was on the point of closing down. Moreover, the business of operating the railway directly had proven more complex and expensive than had been anticipated.

At this time the G&SWR approached the PPR, offering to subscribe the denied £40,000 after all. It did so on 15 December 1863. Its motivation for this change of heart was alarm that the Dumfries, Lochmaben and Lockerbie Railway had opened (on 1 September); that company was worked by the Caledonian Railway (CR), which therefore had access to Dumfries, and the PPR had asked the G&SWR for running powers over the CD&DR line, clearly intending to link with the CR. (The facility had been refused.) The G&SWR now hoped to acquire the PPR to fend off its rival. The PPR Directors were aggrieved at the bad faith of the G&SWR over the £40,000 subscription, and negotiated with the CR, who offered generous terms including the subscription of £40,000, matching the G&SWR offer. Provisional agreement to the working arrangement with the CR was finalised, and a Parliamentary Bill was prepared by the PPR, seeking running powers over the CD&DR line (and the short section of G&SWR at Dumfries); the Bill also sought to regularise the Stranraer East Pier, and to substantially increase authorised share capital. The Bill was passed by Parliament and became the Portpatrick Railway Act (No. 1) on 29 July 1864. The running powers had been secured. The working arrangement with the CR took effect on 4 December 1864.^{[note 5][4]}

Worked by the Caledonian

The Caledonian Railway lost no time in imposing its presence; through traffic to Glasgow and Edinburgh was routed via Lockerbie and the CR. The CR was responsible for maintaining the PPR line, but soon requested additional facilities, such as siding accommodation at Stranraer and additional crossing places. The actual intermediate passing places were New Galloway, Dromore, Creetown, Newton Stewart and Glenluce. The CR wanted to add Crossmichael, Loch Skerrow, Kirkcowan and Dunragit.^{[7][page needed]} The PPR had imagined that signing the Working Agreement would release it from expenses like this, and in any case, hardly had any money to extend its facilities.^{[4][page needed]}

In this period the line was operated by train despatcher (rather than by a train staff system) until the late 1880s.^{[11][page needed]}

Smith describes an incident illustrating the primitive state of Portpatrick Railway resources:

Portpatrick was a brute of a place to get out of—a great grinding curve, and an up-grade of 1 in 57, the whole in full track of the westerly gales, even in the rock cutting where the blow hole up at the Tailor's Peak let the salt spray in to coat the rails. The old single was coming up, and, not unusually, stuck. "Get back an' half yer train" instructed the driver. "H'ye a saaa?" inquired the fireman. Truly a saw would have been necessary, for they had only one coach on!"^[12]

The Girvan and Portpatrick Junction Railway

The Portpatrick Railway gave ready access from Portpatrick and Stranraer to Dumfries and English locations, but the connection from the City of Glasgow was ill-served. On 5 July 1865 an Act authorising the Girvan and Portpatrick Junction Railway (G&PJR) received the Royal Assent; it would join with existing routes via Ayr, and connect in to the PPR at Challoch Junction, about 6½ miles (10½ km) east of Stranraer. At first, this was treated amicably by the PPR as it would shoulder a share of the costs of the port facilities at Stranraer and bring in mileage fees for the through running, but when the G&PJR agreed with the G&SWR to work its line, the Caledonian Railway, working the PPR line, became defensive. The G&PJR started public operation on 5 October 1877 in the face of CR obstruction.

Heavy expenditure on enhanced signalling and other works were incurred by the PPR, to be paid for by the G&PJR. However that Company was in deep financial difficulties, even more so than the PPR, and the matter went to the Court of Session. Notice of Interdict was served on 1 February 1882 and from 7 February G&PJR trains were not allowed to run over the PPR. The G&PJR terminated both passenger and goods trains at New Luce and the gap was covered by road transport.

The G&PJR managed to raise some money and cleared most of the indebtedness, and through train running resumed from 1 August 1883.^{[4][page needed]}

Shipping services

Convinced that Irish traffic would be profitable, the CR acquired two small paddle steamers and operated a service between Stranraer and Belfast from 4 December 1865. The PPR was prevailed upon to support this venture financially; but Irish traffic suffered a severe decline at this time and when one of the steamers suffered damage during a crossing on 21 January 1868, the decision was taken to suspend the ferry operation. Once again the purpose of the PPR—to connect with Ireland—was frustrated. An independent company, the Donaghadee and Portpatrick Steam Packet Company now started a service, with a single vessel making at first two-round trips daily from 13 July 1868, cut back to one daily round trip from 21 September, but then discontinued from 31 October 1868. It appears likely that connecting trains used the ordinary Portpatrick station, not the Harbour terminal.

During this period the Government's intentions regarding the use of Portpatrick as a mail terminal clarified: there was now no prospect of this happening, and when the Government offered compensation of £20,000 and the transfer of ownership of the harbour at Portpatrick to the PPR, these terms were accepted as the best that could be obtained. The Caledonian Railway proposed that this be regarded as income of the line, to which they would be entitled. As they had accepted the commercial risk of revenue income which was now lacking, this might seem reasonable; but the PPR successfully argued that this was not provided for in the Working Agreement, and they refused to share the money.

From 18 August 1871 another independent operator started a service between Donaghadee and Portpatrick. On 29 August the vessel, named Aber, was rammed in thick fog by an Atlantic steamer and sank in five minutes; the new service had lasted 12 days.

As a visible indication of the decline of the port, the Portpatrick lighthouse was dismantled in 1871 and shipped to, and erected in Colombo in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

A final attempt at a regular service started on 7 June 1873, but there was little patronage and it ceased five days later, on 12 July 1873. £500,000 had been expended on the harbour. In October 1874 the rails were lifted and moved to Newton Stewart to be used in the extension of siding accommodation there.^{[7][page needed]}

If the Post Office was unwilling to support Portpatrick, they were not opposed to taking advantage of a route that did not need massive capital expenditure, and from March 1871 they agreed to pay £1,500 annually for the carriage of mail over the PPR, on the basis of trains running in direct connection with night mail trains on the main line. This encouraged the PPR to support a Larne and Stranraer Steamboat Company in running a daily return crossing on that route, from 1 July 1872; the vessel was the Princess Louise. This improved the finances of the PPR considerably, and the Company agreed to the use of a small shunting engine to take passenger coaches on to the East Pier at Stranraer; the flimsy structure had not previously been used and passengers had to walk along the unsheltered jetty to the ships.

Late in 1875 a second, similar, steamer was commissioned, named Princess Beatrice.

The East Pier at Stranraer was owned and maintained by the Town Council. It had never been robust, and subsidence and other difficulties demanded urgent repairs in May 1876. The Council was unwilling to execute the work, costed at £6,000, and after considerable wrangling, the PPR obtained parliamentary authorisation to take over the pier, by act^[which?] of 28 June 1877.^{[4][page needed]}

The Wigtownshire Railway: first construction

The area of Galloway known as the Machars lies south of Newton Stewart between Luce Bay and Wigtown Bay. The agricultural land is the most productive in the area and the several ports served coastal and international shipping. Proposals were made in 1863 for a railway to be built in the area, but it was not until 1871 that sufficient interest in a railway scheme was generated. The proposed line was from Newton Stewart on the PPR southwards to Wigtown and nearly to Garliestown,^{[note 6]} then turning away to Whithorn. The divergence was due to the hostility of the 9th Earl of Galloway who owned extensive lands in the area. The harbour of Garliestown was to be reached by a short horse-operated tramway branch, running partly along the road.

The Wigtownshire Railway (WR) was authorised by Act of 18 July 1872, with capital of £96,000 and the usual one-third borrowing powers, only to be accessible if a certain proportion of shares had been subscribed. The 1½-mile (2 km) tramway could not be operated by locomotives, nor by stationary engine or as an "atmospheric railway". The main line was to be just over 19 miles (31 km) long.

Construction proceeded, although share subscription was not as full as hoped, and the Company started to consider working arrangements. The obvious sponsor was the Caledonian Railway, but the CR had lost money working the PPR and declined. The WR decided to work the line itself, and were pleasantly surprised to receive a letter dated 7 January 1875 from Thomas Wheatley, who had (it transpired) recently resigned under a cloud from the North British Railway, where he had been locomotive superintendent. Wheatley offered to do everything necessary to work and maintain the line for 65% of gross receipts. This seemed too good to be true but, taking Wheatley's misdemeanour into account, everything seemed in order, and Wheatley was given the working contract for five years from 31 July 1875.

The section from Newton Stewart to Wigtown was ready for goods operation on 1 March 1875 and locomotive no. 1, a 2-2-2 well tank obtained by Wheatley from the NBR (their no. 32) arrived to take up its duties. Goods traffic started on 3 March 1875 and a passenger service to Wigtown was begun on 7 April 1875 with some four-wheel coaches, thought to be second-hand from the LNWR. There were four journeys each way daily. There were no intermediate stations until May when platforms at Causewayend and Mains of Penninghame were ordered to be installed.^{[4][page needed]} There was not a frequent service here: the 10.20 a.m. and 4.20 p.m. trains called on Fridays only, Newton Stewart market day.^{[7][page needed]} Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Portpatrick_Railway
Text je dostupný za podmienok Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0 Unported; prípadne za ďalších podmienok. Podrobnejšie informácie nájdete na stránke Podmienky použitia.