Dundee And Perth Railway
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The Dundee and Perth Railway (D&PR) was a Scottish railway company. It opened its line in 1847 from
Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
to a temporary station at Barnhill and extended to
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
station in 1849. It hoped to link with other railways to reach
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
and changed its name to the Dundee and Perth and Aberdeen Railway Junction Company, but this early attempt was frustrated, and for some years it failed to make a physical connection with other railways in Dundee. It was taken over by the larger
Scottish Central Railway The Scottish Central Railway (SCR) was formed in 1845 to link Perth and Stirling to Central Scotland, by building a railway line to join the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway near Castlecary. The line opened in 1848 including a branch to South All ...
in 1863. Most of its main line is still in use today as the Perth to Dundee section of the railway network.


History


The first railways

By 1840 Dundee was already served by two railways: the
Dundee and Newtyle Railway The Dundee and Newtyle Railway opened in 1831 and was the first railway in the north of Scotland. It was built to carry goods between Dundee and the fertile area known as Strathmore, Angus, Strathmore; this involved crossing the Sidlaw Hills, ...
had opened in 1831, connecting the city and harbour with the fertile agricultural area of Strathmore. The line had three rope-worked inclines with the sections either side operated by horses, and it had primitive stone block sleeper track with fish-bellied rails, to the unusual gauge of . The other early Dundee railway was the
Dundee and Arbroath Railway 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 networ ...
(D&AR); this too had primitive permanent way, to its own unusual track gauge of . It had opened in 1838 - 1840 (in stages). There was a third railway in Angus, the
Arbroath and Forfar Railway The Arbroath and Forfar Railway (A&FR) was a railway that connected Forfar with the port town of Arbroath, in Scotland. It opened in 1838–1839 and it was successful in making an operating profit, but it was always desperately short of capi ...
; like the it had the primitive track construction and the same track gauge. It too had opened in 1838 - 1839. None of these railways connected with one another, and none of them was commercially successful. A railway between Dundee and Perth had been proposed in the 1830s, but there was hostility from influential local people and the idea had been dropped.John Thomas and David Turnock, ''A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 15, North of Scotland'', David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 1989, Peter Marshall, ''The Railways of Dundee'', The Oakwood Press, Headington, 1996,


A Perth line proposed

It was reported in 1835 that the population of Dundee had doubled in the previous twenty years; industry and trade through the harbour were growing considerably, and definite proposals were made for a line from Dundee to Perth. Insuperable opposition from powerful landowners made the scheme impossible to pursue, and it was dropped. In the 1840s there was a lengthy period of debate about the best route to connect central Scotland by rail to the emerging English network. For some time it was assumed that only a single route would be viable, and the argument was fierce. This stimulated consideration of other routes in Scotland, and it resulted in a frenzy of railway schemes being promoted. Building on the positive public mood towards railway projects, a public meeting in Dundee in January 1845 determined that a railway to Perth was now necessary, and a parliamentary bill was presented for that session. The ''Dundee and Perth Railway'' received its authorising act of Parliament, the ( 8 & 9 Vict. c. clvii) on 31 July 1845. The line was to be a little under in length.E F Carter, ''An Historical Geography of the Railways of the British Isles'', Cassell, London, 1959 The track gauge of was considered, in accordance with the two existing Arbroath lines, but standard gauge was actually adopted.W A C Smith and Paul Anderson, ''An Illustrated History of Tayside's Railways, Dundee and Perth'', Irwell Press, Clophill, 1997, The 1845 session saw many other Scottish railways authorised: the
Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) was one of the two biggest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping. It was formed in 1845 with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively ex ...
(Glasgow and Edinburgh to Carlisle) was authorised on the same day as the Dundee and Perth Railway; its share capital was to be £1.5 million. The
Scottish Central Railway The Scottish Central Railway (SCR) was formed in 1845 to link Perth and Stirling to Central Scotland, by building a railway line to join the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway near Castlecary. The line opened in 1848 including a branch to South All ...
was one of the others authorised that day; it was to build from Castlecary, on the
Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was authorised by act of Parliament on 4 July 1838. It was opened to passenger traffic on 21 February 1842, between its Glasgow Queen Street railway station (sometimes referred to at first as Dundas Street) and ...
, to Perth. Other lines were to create a northward axis to Aberdeen. The Caledonian Railway was naturally the most significant railway in this spate of authorisations, and even before its act of Parliament it saw its destiny as controlling large tracts of Scotland; but with no cash to spend, it set about concluding agreements with the other (as yet unauthorised) lines to lease them. This would need no money at first, and would simply incur a lease charge periodically once the lines had been built. During construction the Dundee and Perth company arranged to lease the Dundee and Newtyle Railway for 999 years for a lease charge of £1,400 per annum; this was authorised by the ( 9 & 10 Vict. c. ccxxviii) of 27 July 1846, and seems to have been done to prevent the
Scottish Midland Junction Railway The Scottish Midland Junction Railway was authorised in 1845 to build a line from Perth to Forfar. Other companies obtained authorisation in the same year, and together they formed a route from central Scotland to Aberdeen. The opened its main ...
, then building from Perth to Forfar, from using the Newtyle line to gain access to Dundee.


Construction and opening

As well as renewed and serious opposition from landowners on the route, the new line experienced difficulty with the people of Perth. The proposed terminal was to be at South Inch, open parkland popular with the people of Perth once described as "the pride and ornament of Perth". The was not active in gaining positive public opinion, and the idea was unwelcome to the Burgh, and a proposed bridge across the Tay was objected to. To secure the passage of its act of Parliament the company agreed, for the time being, to terminate at Barnhill, on the east side of the River Tay and some distance south of Perth (road) Bridge, a significantly inconvenient location. The Scottish Central Railway (SCR) had planned a terminal there, but now altered its plan and proposed a station in a more westerly location. As it became clear that several railways all wished to have a terminal in Perth, the idea of a "General" or joint station arose. When the obtained an enabling act of Parliament for the station, the
Scottish Central Railway Consolidation Act 1859 The Scottish Central Railway (SCR) was formed in 1845 to link Perth and Stirling to Central Scotland, by building a railway line to join the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway near Castlecary. The line opened in 1848 including a branch to South Allo ...
( 22 & 23 Vict. c. lxxxiii), there was a period during which other railways could serve notice that they wished to use it; the
Scottish Midland Junction Railway The Scottish Midland Junction Railway was authorised in 1845 to build a line from Perth to Forfar. Other companies obtained authorisation in the same year, and together they formed a route from central Scotland to Aberdeen. The opened its main ...
and the
Edinburgh and Northern Railway The Edinburgh and Northern Railway (E&NR) was a railway company authorised in 1845 to connect Edinburgh to both Perth and Dundee. It relied on ferry crossings of the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Tay, but despite those disadvantages it proved ...
gave the necessary notice but the failed to do so. The accordingly settled on a location somewhat further north than had been contemplated earlier, as it was apparently not necessary to allow for the alignment. The now settled on a second temporary terminus at Princes Street while it decided on its approach to the joint station. At least this was on the west side of the Tay, but it was not at all central. At the end of October 1846 the finally decided that it wished to use the joint station; its discussions with the , although received as rather arrogant, were just in time to influence the design of the station. This was announced at a shareholders' meeting in October 1846: "a station in Perth west of the town was being arranged, enabling connection with the Scottish Central Railway and the Edinburgh and Northern Railway. There were also to be three short branches added to the system, although in fact only one of them, at Inchture, was completed. A ceremonial opening of the line was arranged for 22 May 1847. A horse omnibus connection plied from Barnhill to the centre of Perth, and a booking office was opened in the centre. The public opening took place on 24 May 1847; it was the first railway in Perth.


Dreams of going on to Aberdeen

In 1847 the directors announced that they had concluded a lease of the
Dundee and Arbroath Railway 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 networ ...
; a new connecting line at Dundee was to be built between the two lines. The would guarantee an 8% return on the £66,666 cost of building a linking line across the north side of Dundee and the construction of a central station. The lease was authorised by the
Dundee and Arbroath Railway Lease Act 1848 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 networ ...
( 11 & 12 Vict. c. cliv) of 14 August 1848 and the link line was authorised by the ( 11 & 12 Vict. c. lii) on 31 August; the latter act also renamed the company the Dundee and Perth and Aberdeen Railway Junction (DPARJ). The cumbersome title was explained by the fact that the Dundee and Arbroath line had powers to connect to the Arbroath and Forfar line which was being taken over by the Aberdeen Railway: the lease would connect Perth and Dundee with the Aberdeen Railway.David Ross, ''The Caledonian: Scotland's Imperial Railway: A History'', Stenlake Publishing Limited, Catrine, 2014, At the end of December 1848 work had begun on the temporary station at Princes Street; there was pressure now from the to connect to their joint station, but the said that "the Perth branch" had already cost much more than they had expected, and they could not afford to proceed immediately with the extension from Princes Street to the joint station. On 16 February 1849 Captain Simmons of the Board of Trade inspected the Tay bridge; it was constructed of laminated timber arches with an opening swing bridge section. Although he remarked that the bridge deflected excessively under load, the section of line opened on 1 March 1849. There continued to be wrangling over the connecting line, and part of the problem was the levels of the approaching line compared with the line. However, this was eventually resolved and the finally reached the ; the trains passed the joint station southwards past the point of junction, and then reversed into the station.


An attempted lease by the Caledonian

Now the Caledonian Railway announced that it had concluded an agreement to lease the at 8% of its capital cost. At this time the Caledonian was undergoing a crisis, as it had been making lease agreements with many different line; the lease agreements required no cash down, but represented a heavy ongoing drain on profits later, and shareholders were angered by the and other leases. In February 1849 the Caledonian announced that it was not proceeding with the lease. The demanded the lease payment for the period until then, but the Caledonian simply refused, saying it had never been acted upon, and in any case it had had no power to make the lease agreement: it was
ultra vires ('beyond the powers') is a Latin phrase used in law to describe an act that requires legal authority but is done without it. Its opposite, an act done under proper authority, is ('within the powers'). Acts that are may equivalently be termed ...
. This meant that the proposed line linking the and the Perth line was not built, and the only link was the horse tramway running through the streets, belonging to the Harbour Commissioners.


The Inchture tramway

A branch was built from Inchture station to the Turnpike crossroads (referred to as Crossgates Tramroad station) at Inchture. It was constructed with light T-section rails and was mainly horse operated. It opened on 1 February 1848. It was extended later to a brick works and clay pit, and occasional locomotive use took place for goods traffic and possibly for harvest workers' special trains, although locomotives were prohibited from the time the Caledonian Railway took over the line. The Inchture tramway closed on 1 April 1916, or 1 January 1917.`


Perth station

The Perth General station was aligned north–south and the Dundee line approached from the east; the passenger trains passed the station southwards and then reversed into the station. In 1861 separate platforms outside the main station and at right angles to it, were opened for them; they were referred to as the Dundee Dock. Through passenger trains running beyond Perth entered the Dundee Dock and then reversed out of it, continuing their journey southward. The Dundee Dock was in use until 1887.


Absorbed by the Scottish Central

The 1845 spate of railway authorisations had created many small companies, and the mood now was for consolidation. The Scottish Midland Junction Railway and the Aberdeen Railway linked up to form the
Scottish North Eastern Railway The Scottish North Eastern Railway (SNER) was a railway company in Scotland operating a main line from Perth, Scotland, Perth to Aberdeen, with branches to Kirriemuir, Brechin and Montrose, Angus, Montrose. It was created when the Aberdeen Railwa ...
, itself to exist for only ten years. The dominant Scottish Central Railway (SCR) offered terms to the Dundee and Perth Railway, which were accepted, and the absorbed the by the ( 26 & 27 Vict. c. ccxxiii) of 26 July 1863. The leased Dundee and Newtyle line went with the to the . The too had not long to remain independent. In 1865 the Caledonian Railway absorbed both the SMJR and the . The was dismayed by the poor quality of the infrastructure and rolling stock it had taken over. The wooden Tay bridge at Perth was obviously in poor condition and was replaced by 1864 The considered the terminus at Dundee West to be a modest and inadequate structure, but worse than that, it was in a dangerous condition, and from 1863 it was extended and reconstructed, opening fully in October 1866.Peter Marshall, ''The Scottish Central Railway: Perth to Stirling'', Oakwood Press, Usk, 1998,


The North British Railway

The
North British Railway The North British Railway was one of the two biggest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, ...
(NBR) had become dominant in Fife and had long run through trains to Dundee; however these involved crossing the Tay from Tayport to Broughty Ferry by ferryboat, operated as a train ferry, and then being dependent on the Dundee and Arbroath line to reach Dundee. The obtained an act of Parliament giving authorisation to build a bridge across the Tay: the
North British Railway (Tay Bridge and Railways) Act 1870 The Tay Bridge carries rail traffic across the Firth of Tay in Scotland between Dundee and the suburb of Wormit in Fife. Its span is . It is the second bridge to occupy the site. Plans for a bridge over the Tay to replace the train ferry servic ...
( 33 & 34 Vict. c. cxxxv). Construction proved difficult, and it was not until 31 May 1878 that the bridge was opened. The Dundee and Perth line approached Dundee at the water's edge, and the entry from the Tay Bridge into Dundee was on reclaimed land on the south side of the line. The opened a new station near Craig Pier; this was the present day station, located immediately to the south of the terminus. The line continued eastwards in a cut-and-cover tunnel to connect to the Arbroath line. On 28 December 1879 the bridge fell during an extremely strong storm, taking a train down with it. 74 or 75 persons lost their lives. The set about constructing a new bridge as soon as possible, despite the obvious difficulties, and it opened the new bridge on 20 June 1887.David Ross, ''The North British Railway: A History'', Stenlake Publishing, Catrine, 2104, When the first bridge opened, the provided a better route to Edinburgh and London than the existing Caledonian route via Perth, and the Caledonian set about improvements to the goods and passenger accommodation at Dundee. Both were considerably expanded, and the new goods accommodation was ready by 1885. A new locomotive depot was provided at the same time. The new passenger station was opened in 1889: "one of the most beautifully proportioned late Victorian buildings in Britain and a celebration of Scottish Baronial architecture.


Grouping and nationalisation

Following
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
the government determined that the main line railways of Great Britain should be "grouped" into one of four large companies, and it enacted the
Railways Act 1921 The Railways Act 1921 ( 11 & 12 Geo. 5. c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act, was an act of Parliament enacted by the British government, and was intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grou ...
; the Caledonian Railway was a constituent of the new
London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...
(LMS), which was formed on 1 January 1923 (although formalities were not legally finalised until July in the case of the Caledonian). The train service pattern did not change fundamentally; the continued to run the familiar train service. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the government nationalised the railways, so on 1 January 1948 the and the other main line railways passed into state ownership: the Scottish section of the and of the rival
London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after London, Midland and Scottish Railway, LMS) of the "Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It ope ...
became part of British Railways Scottish Region. Still the train service pattern was not radically changed, although diesel multiple units were introduced on local services. A regular service from Dundee West to Edinburgh Princes Street via Perth continued, a remnant of the Caledonian Railway. The three terminal stations at Dundee were retained for the time being, the cramped accommodation at the former Tay Bridge station deterring the obvious rationalisation. The decline in local passenger use was a greater factor, and Dundee West station was closed on 3 May 1965.


Current operations

Except for the spur into Dundee West station, the line is still open with passenger services provided by
ScotRail ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail (), is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise as an operator of las ...
. The only remaining intermediate station is at .


Topography

The main line opened on 24 May 1847 between Barnhill and the station at Dundee. * Perth (General); originally Scottish Central Railway station; trains used the main station at first by a reversal; Dundee Dock opened October 1862; through platforms for the Dundee line were provided from 1885; * Perth, Princes Street; opened 1 March 1849, as a terminus until the service was extended to Perth General; closed 1 January 1917; reopened 2 June 1919; closed 28 February 1966; * Barnhill; opened 24 May 1847 as a terminus until the service was extended to Princes Street; closed on 1 March 1849; * Kinfauns; closed 2 January 1950; * Glencarse; closed 11 June 1956; * Errol; closed 28 September 1985; * Inchture; station and trailing junction from Inchture Village; closed 11 June 1956; * Longforgan; may have opened some time after opening of the line; closed 11 June 1956; * Invergowrie; * Ninewells Junction; station closed 1865. Trailing junction from the Dundee and Newtyle Railway; * Magdalen Green; opened June 1878; closed 11 June 1956; * Dundee Union Street; renamed Dundee West 1866; closed 3 May 1965. * Inchture Village; opened 1 February 1848; closed 1 January 1917.


Archives

The archives of the Dundee and Perth and Aberdeen Railway Junction Company, which include those of the Dundee and Perth Railway Company are held at the
University of Dundee The University of Dundee is a public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a university college in 1881 with a donation from the prominent Baxter family of textile manufacturers. The institution was, for most of its ...
as part of the Shiell and Small, Solicitors Collection. The same collection also includes the records of the
Dundee and Newtyle Railway The Dundee and Newtyle Railway opened in 1831 and was the first railway in the north of Scotland. It was built to carry goods between Dundee and the fertile area known as Strathmore, Angus, Strathmore; this involved crossing the Sidlaw Hills, ...
Company.


References


Notes


Sources

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External links


Railscot on Dundee and Perth RailwayUniversity of Dundee Archive video presentation on Dundee and Perth Railway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dundee And Perth Railway Caledonian Railway Pre-grouping British railway companies Early Scottish railway companies Railway companies established in 1845 Railway lines opened in 1847 Railway companies disestablished in 1863 Transport in Dundee British companies disestablished in 1863 British companies established in 1845