Dundee and Arbroath Joint 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 network.

It was absorbed by the larger Caledonian Railway, but when the North British Railway completed the construction of the Tay Bridge in 1878, it was granted part ownership of the line to enable it to form its main line to Aberdeen, so the line became the Dundee and Arbroath Joint Line.

The main line is in use at the present day (except for the terminals at each end) as part of the Dundee to Aberdeen main line.

Dundee had for centuries been a centre of trade on the Firth of Tay, but Arbroath too was an important port and manufacturing centre. The turnpike road and coastal shipping were both in heavy use connecting the two places. A railway had been proposed in 1826, but not proceeded with.

In 1831 an inland-facing line had been opened; it was the Dundee and Newtyle Railway, designed to connect the port with the fertile agricultural area of Strathmore. As it had challenging terrain to traverse, crossing the range of the Sidlaw Hills, it had been built with three steep inclines worked by stationary steam engines. Its financial performance, like its operational performance, had been disappointing.

Now in 1834 George Matthewson was asked to survey the possible route of such a line. He found that a line was feasible and his calculations suggested a return of 8 to 10% on capital. This was reported locally in the press, and generated considerable enthusiasm. A public meeting was held on 12 October 1835, and it was agreed to prepare a Parliamentary Bill; Grainger and Miller were asked to execute the full survey required for the purpose. Three weeks later John Miller presented his survey and findings; the line could be built for £85,000 including land acquisition and rolling stock, and would return 7.5%. £94,000 was subscribed immediately at the meeting, and the remarkable step was taken of increasing the subscription list to £100,000 to mollify those intending investors who had not been able to subscribe at the meeting itself.

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