Glasgow to Aberfoyle Line
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The Glasgow to Aberfoyle Line was a railway line in Scotland, built in stages, leaving the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway near Lenzie. Tourist traffic was a dominant part of the motivation for building the line, and road tours to the Trossachs from Aberfoyle formed a significant part of the traffic.
The first section to open was the Campsie branch of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, to Lennoxtown, in 1848; this became known as the picnic line, and was much used for the purpose by city dwellers. This was followed by the independent Blane Valley Railway in 1866, which reached Killearn. Finally the Strathendrick and Aberfoyle Railway constructed the northernmost section, which opened in 1882.
Running through sparsely populated terrain, the line never made money although the tourist traffic was useful. When road transport became practicable from the 1920s, the decline of the line was inevitable. Cost reduction measures achieved little and in 1951 the passenger service was withdrawn. Some goods traffic continued until 1966. The entire line is now closed.
The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway opened in 1842; it was Scotland's first main line railway. Its passenger business surpassed all expectations, and the railway was profitable. The E&GR made a connection with the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway at a station called Kirkintilloch, some distance east of the present-day Lenzie. However the M&KR had a different track gauge, and the connection involved a change of train for passengers and transshipment for goods and minerals.
On 5 July 1848 the E&GR opened its Campsie branch. This left the E&GR main line at Lenzie Junction, near the Kirkintilloch station referred to above; the junction was more commonly known later as Campsie Junction. The line ran north from there in the Kelvin Valley, passing through the town of Kirkintilloch and Milton of Campsie to Lennoxtown. The branch ran into and through exceptionally picturesque terrain, and it became popular as the picnic line.
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Wikipedia