Dolphinton Branch

The Dolphinton Branch refers to two railway branch lines in Lanarkshire and Peeblesshire, Scotland, built in the nineteenth century.

The first was built by the nominally independent Leadburn, Linton and Dolphinton Railway. It opened in 1864 and was soon absorbed by the North British Railway, becoming that company's Dolphinton Branch. The second was built by the Caledonian Railway, and it opened in 1867. The population of Dolphinton then was 260, and the primary purpose of the lines was to secure territory, rather than to serve the small local community.

Each line had its own terminal station. The North British Railway line closed in 1933 and the Caledonian line closed to passengers in 1945 and to goods in 1950. There is now no railway activity on the lines.

The Caledonian Railway opened its main lines between Glasgow, Edinburgh and Carlisle in 1848 - 1849. From the outset the company strove to capture as much territory as possible by leasing locally promoted lines, intending to achieve early dominance in areas against the rival North British Railway (NBR), the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, and the Glasgow and South Western Railway. This aggressive stance against large competitors characterised the Caledonian for many decades.

In 1855 the independent Peebles Railway opened its line, connecting Edinburgh with Peebles. It relied on the North British Railway for access to Edinburgh, but for the time being it operated its line itself.

A coach connection ran from Dolphinton by way of West Linton to Leadburn, joining the Peebles Railway there, but the citizens of Dolphinton saw the economic benefits of being on a railway line, and they wanted their own railway.

The rural nature of the terrain made it unlikely that a local scheme could be financially successful, but there was intense rivalry between the North British Railway and the Caledonian Railway. The massive ironworks industry of the Monklands, centred on Coatbridge, was located in Caledonian territory, and the furnaces had a great appetite for coal. The Caledonian was known to be interested in getting its own railway access to the Lothian coalfields, an area that the North British considered belonged to themselves. At the same time the North British harboured hopes of penetrating as far as Coatbridge with a new line of its own.

...
Wikipedia