Ayr and Dalmellington Railway

The Ayr and Dalmellington Railway was a railway company in Scotland, which connected the growing ironworks community around Dalmellington with Ayr, in Ayrshire, Scotland. Its route was originally planned by the Ayrshire and Galloway Railway as part of a scheme to link Ayr with Castle Douglas, but lack of funds limited the construction to a very short section connecting the iron and coal pits of the Dalmellington Iron Company with its iron works, opening in 1849.

The remainder of the line opened in 1856. It was the first railway to cross the river at Ayr. At that time the main line from Glasgow terminated at a station north of the river. After opening of the line, the railway was extended eventually to Stranraer, diverging from the Dalmellington line at Dalrymple Junction, and in time this became the dominant section.

The branch line was heavily dependent on traffic from the Iron Company, and when that closed down, the branch line lost its passenger service, and now only carries mineral trains from open-cast workings.

The northern section of the line remains open as part of the Glasgow - Ayr - Stranraer route (2014).

The Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway (GPK&AR) had reached Ayr in 1840, but its Ayr station was on the north bank of the River Ayr. (The GPK&AR was a predecessor company of the Glasgow and South Western Railway.)Although consideration was soon afterwards given to building a line southwards into Galloway, the daunting topography of any such route delayed any action on the matter.

In 1845 there was huge interest in railway investments, and a number of ambitious schemes were proposed, including a railway from Ayr to the shores of Loch Ryan, by way of Ballantrae, and sponsored by the GPKA&R, and titled the Glasgow and Belfast Union Railway. There was also an independent British and Irish Union Railway from Dumfries via Castle Douglas to Portpatrick. Both proposals sought a connection with the ferry service from Portpatrick to Donaghadee in the north of Ireland.

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