Maidens and Dunure Railway

The Maidens and Dunure Light Railway was a railway in Ayrshire, Scotland built to open up coastal communities by connecting them to the main line railway network.

It opened in 1906 and closed to local passenger traffic in 1933, but a section serving a holiday camp at Heads of Ayr remained open for the purpose until 1968.

In 1896 a branch line had been proposed by the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) to Alloway, a village of huge historic significance as the birthplace of Robert Burns, and the destination of increasing volumes of tourists. However the Ayrshire Post opposed the idea in surprisingly strong terms on the basis that it would "shut out" competing railway construction from the Ayr district; a Parliamentary Bill was nonetheless prepared for the 1897 session, but it failed, chiefly because of the opposition of influential local residents, and the reverence held for Burns' memory.

Archibald Kennedy, 3rd Marquess of Ailsa, owned extensive properties on the Ayrshire coast, and desired to develop them: the farming communities had fertile soil, but they had difficulty because of their remoteness from transport to market. He built a harbour at Maidens to improve the fishing industry, and sensing the interest in leisure activities in Scotland, he planned a railway connection to the area. He was a director of the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR), which had a main line between Ayr and Girvan, part of the Glasgow to Stranraer route, but it took an inland course through Maybole and was remote from the area of interest.

Kennedy intended a private station for Culzean Castle, his residence, with a siding. He became interested in golf, and he conceived the idea of developing a golf course and luxury hotel associated with it: the idea became the Turnberry Hotel, and a railway line following the coast was proposed and serving it. Kennedy was a director of the G&SWR and generated support for the line among the other board members.

On 14 August 1896 the Light Railways Act had been passed "to facilitate the construction of light railways in Great Britain". The intention was to encourage low-cost promotion of local railways by waiving some of the strict requirements for main line railways. As well as lower technical standards, it was possible to apply for a Light Railway Order without the expense of an Act of Parliament if affected landowners acquiesced.

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