Here in Scotland we have the far distant passenger lines to the north-east tip of Britain with lines to Wick and Thurso but about a year ago I came across a mention in an article that when built there had been an idea to build a branch off the remote trackage to the west of Ross & Cromarty. Now although being a rail fan where would have the point been in that? There are no towns and only a tiny scattered population so would have been a financial disaster. Mind you Dr Beeching back in the 1960's wanted the lines to Wick and Thurso closed and would have left both towns in isolation. One could argue for them but into the remote Highlands in Victorian times/ That would have been pointless.
Would have been well a bit pointless!
- Thread starter rjhowie
- Start date
Could there have been some financial influence?
Some very wealthy lord or some landowner wanting his own rail connection, or maybe those towns had paid into the stocks and bonds raised for the original railroad and sought to have their own connection. The very thing happened over here around the same time.
The Lawrence and Lowell branch of the Boston and Maine was built during the 1870s. The line was to originally run from the two namesake mill cities along the Merrimack River skirting Tewksbury, which would have meant a quick straight level route. Wealthy residents in Tewksbury, a small rural town located just a bit south of the route, screamed that they wanted service. The railroad then changed their routing to a much longer circuitous line, through Tewksbury, and into Lowell from the south.
Today the only operating portion is a short stub serving an industrial park in South Lawrence.
John
Some very wealthy lord or some landowner wanting his own rail connection, or maybe those towns had paid into the stocks and bonds raised for the original railroad and sought to have their own connection. The very thing happened over here around the same time.
The Lawrence and Lowell branch of the Boston and Maine was built during the 1870s. The line was to originally run from the two namesake mill cities along the Merrimack River skirting Tewksbury, which would have meant a quick straight level route. Wealthy residents in Tewksbury, a small rural town located just a bit south of the route, screamed that they wanted service. The railroad then changed their routing to a much longer circuitous line, through Tewksbury, and into Lowell from the south.
Today the only operating portion is a short stub serving an industrial park in South Lawrence.
John
If you read The Highland Railway (H A Vallance) you will find there were several suggested extensions including Achnasheen-Aultbee, Garve-Ullapool, Bonar Bridge-Lochinvar and Lairg-Laxfod Bridge as well as several smaller branches round Thurso. All of course had no hope of commercial viability.
As we know there was a tendency at one point in Victorian times for rail to get well a wee bit carried away and it did cause some difficulty.As for the lines in the Highlands I mentioned there could have been involvement by the landed gentry as they were so elsewhere and to helping outstanding routes for us to travel on today. It dd kind of struck me however as being very odd why there would be a feeling to spend large sums in an area where is almost nobody living and Ross and Cromarty was definitely a no-no and vast empty place apart from maybe sheep. An interesting historical item though!
Down here in Glasgow and towards the end of the 19th century the old Caledonian Railway Company was building new suburban lines the west of the city where I live and competing with the North British. One was through where lived as boy near the Clyde but the railways went very angry when the Glasgow City Corporation changed the extensive horse tramway system into all-electric at the close of the century! Unfortunately my local line I doubt ever made a profit as people were more inclined to walk a short distance on the street to an electric tram than a bock or town and climb stairs for the train! Rail staff was cut to one person a station and being near a station I hardly ever seen anyone going up and down the stairs under a bridge As a teenager and in The Boys' Brigade my local Recreation Ground for a Review for a Battalion Review involving over 6,000 by the Duke of Hamilton. When Dr Beeching closed some of these routes I was not surprised at all due to empty trains. The only saving grace today is the city still has the widest suburban train system outside London!
Down here in Glasgow and towards the end of the 19th century the old Caledonian Railway Company was building new suburban lines the west of the city where I live and competing with the North British. One was through where lived as boy near the Clyde but the railways went very angry when the Glasgow City Corporation changed the extensive horse tramway system into all-electric at the close of the century! Unfortunately my local line I doubt ever made a profit as people were more inclined to walk a short distance on the street to an electric tram than a bock or town and climb stairs for the train! Rail staff was cut to one person a station and being near a station I hardly ever seen anyone going up and down the stairs under a bridge As a teenager and in The Boys' Brigade my local Recreation Ground for a Review for a Battalion Review involving over 6,000 by the Duke of Hamilton. When Dr Beeching closed some of these routes I was not surprised at all due to empty trains. The only saving grace today is the city still has the widest suburban train system outside London!
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