The Craigie Waggonway was a short lived mineral railway or 'Bogey line' of just over a mile in length that transported

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

from five or more coal pits on the Craigie Estate to

Ayr Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...

where it was either used locally or was taken to the harbour in carts for export, mainly to Ireland.

History

The waggonway had a lot in common with the Towerlands Tram Road in

Irvine Irvine may refer to: Places On Earth Antarctica *Irvine Glacier * Mount Irvine (Antarctica) Australia * Irvine Island * Mount Irvine, New South Wales Canada * Irvine, Alberta * Irvine Inlet, Nunavut Scotland *Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotlan ...

that carried coal from local coal pits and delivered it to an area close to the historic town centre. In 1855 Robert Brown is recorded as the owner of the first Craigie Pit and by 1857 Nos. 2 & 3 were operating. Although once owned by the Wallace family who had been involved in coal mining the estate had passed to James Campbell by 1855. The surrounding estates of Newton-on-Ayr, Wallacetwon, Blackhouse, Auchincruive and Holmiston were all also involved in coal mining and related activities.

The pits

Craigie Pits Nos 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 lay on the route of the waggonway and the OS maps shows three of them linked to the 'main line' by single or double track branches. The pits lay on or in the vicinity of the

Ayr Racecourse Ayr Racecourse at Whitletts Road, Ayr, Scotland,''British Racing and Racecourses'' () by Marion Rose Halpenny – Page 71 was opened in 1907. There are courses for Flat racing, flat and for National Hunt racing. History Horse racing in Ayr dat ...

. In 1861 six coal pits were in operation on the Craigie Estates with five at least served by the waggonway.

Associated infrastructure

It is known that various sorts of sleepers were in use at the time on waggonways or tram roads, however on the nearby and contemporary

Auchincruive Waggonway The Auchincruive Waggonway or Whitletts Waggonway was a mineral railway or 'Bogey line' that transported mainly coal, eventually running from the north side of Ayr harbour at Newton to Blackhouse, Whitletts, Dalmilling, Gibbsyard, Auchincruive ...

wood and also stone blocks have been found, square or oblong stone blocks being favoured on many horse-worked lines as they did not interfere with the centre of the track. The waggonway

gauge Gauge ( ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, especia ...

is not known. The 'main line' was single track without passing loops. No indication of formal signalling is recorded and it is not clear what sort of rails and

chairs A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or Upholstery, upholstered ...

were used.

Operation of the waggonway

In keeping with other such waggonways the line was probably worked by horses with some manual handling. The waggonway did not reach the quayside however and coal may have been delivered to the town from here and a short distance away at the Ayr north quay stood the wooden and later steel 'hurries' where coal was tipped into the holds of the fleet of colliers and most transported to Ireland. In 1857 four hurries are shown on the OS map, connected to the Auchincruive or Whitletts Waggonway. A horse could haul between 5 and 7 coal waggons carrying 26 cwt each. The Craigie Waggonway reached as far as the rear of buildings that faced on to Content Street (named after a local farm) and on the OS map of 1857 a smithy is marked, possibly also indicating stables as both would be required for a horse draw line.

The routes

The line started at Craigie Pit No.1 that also had a road connection with the Braehead to Mainholm Road close to Dalmelling and then curved down past Craigie Pits Nos 2 and 3 before passing one of the Craigie House lodges and crossing the railway before terminating at Content Street. The route was nearly level and was not unduly encumbered by drifting sand from the dunes that lay further west.

The waggonway and pits today

Described as a 'Tram Road' on the OS maps the line was mostly on the level and no earthworks of any significance were required. Nothing survives at many of the various pits and associated spoil heaps, however a bridge crossed the

Glasgow and South Western Railway The Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) was the third biggest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping. It served a triangular area of south-west Scotland between Glasgow, Stranraer and Carlisle, Cumbria, Ca ...

line into

close to the waggonway termination at Content Street and the remnants of this can be discerned.

Micro-history

Other contemporary waggonways existed locally such as the

and the nearby Holmiston Waggonway with sections of trackbed traceable on the south side of the

River Ayr The River Ayr (pronounced like ''air'', ''Uisge Àir'' in Gaelic) is a river in Ayrshire, Scotland. At it is the longest river in the county. The river was held as sacred by pre-Christian cultures. The remains of several prehistoric sacrificial ...

near the Holmiston lime kiln above

Wallace's Heel Well Wallace's Heel Well or Wallace's Heel is located beside the River Ayr (NS35502122) near the old Holmston lime kiln, Ayr, Scotland. It is a petrosomatoglyph said to represent the imprint of a heel and is associated with the story of an escape fro ...

. A very short waggonway appears to have existed at Wallacetown as far back as 1775. A short tramway existed at the nearby Ayr Sawmills that lay next to the

. The poet

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

would have been familiar with the waggonways in

however he never commented on them.

References

;Notes ;References # Broad, Harry (1981). ''Rails to Ayr. 18th & 19th Century Coal Waggonways.'' Ayr Arch & Nat Hist Soc. # Dunlop, Annie (1953). The Royal Burgh of Ayr. Edinburgh : Oliver and Boyd. # Wham, Alasdair (2013). Ayrshire's Forgotten Railways. Usk : Oakwood Press. . {{Coord missing, South Ayrshire Economy of South Ayrshire Horse-drawn railways Transport in South Ayrshire History of South Ayrshire 1855 establishments in Scotland 1865 disestablishments in the United Kingdom 1855 in Scotland Rail transport in Scotland Coal mining in Scotland Closed railway lines in Scotland