Border Counties Railway
| Locale | Roxburghshire, Scotland; Northumberland, England |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 31 July 1854 – 13 August 1860 |
| Successor line | North British Railway |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
The Border Counties Railway was a railway line connecting Hexham in Northumberland, with Riccarton on the Waverley Route in Roxburghshire (now in the Borders region of Scotland).
Its promoter had hopes of exploiting mineral resources in the area, and it was taken up by the North British Railway, which hoped to develop it as a through main line between Edinburgh and Newcastle upon Tyne.
The railway opened in stages between 1858 and 1862, but the anticipated commercial success was disappointing, and the sparse population produced very little local traffic. The line closed to passengers in 1956 and completely in 1963.
When the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was under construction between 1838 and 1842, thoughts turned to the construction of longer distance railways in Scotland, and in particular to connecting central Scotland to the developing English network. For some time it was assumed that only one route was commercially viable, and vast controversy took place over what that should be, with a large number of candidate routes being put forward. The Southern Uplands and the Cheviot Hills presented a considerable topographical obstacle to many of the options, especially because at that date the power of steam locomotives, and their ability to climb steep and lengthy gradients, was very limited.
Many of the proposals were motivated by sectional interests. The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway (N&CR) had opened the main part of its route in 1836, and a line running north from Hexham, following the River North Tyne, appeared to some to suggest a convenient approach from the south.
The Tyne, Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway proposed in 1836 by Stephen Reed of Newcastle would have left the N&CR at Hexham and run north through Carter Bar to reach Melrose and thence Edinburgh and Glasgow, but this was modified in 1838 as the proposed Hexham and Edinburgh Railway to run from Hexham via Kielder and Note o' the Gate to Melrose. This scheme was encouraged by the N&CR (to which it would bring traffic) and the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, which would acquire commercial advantage from being on the main line.
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