Maybole and Girvan Railway
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The Maybole and Girvan Junction Railway was a railway company that constructed a line between Maybole and Girvan. Although promoted independently, it was supported by the Glasgow and South Western Railway, and was seen as part of a trunk line connecting Glasgow with a ferry port for the north of Ireland.
Its route remains open at the present day, carrying a moderate passenger train service between Ayr and Girvan, with some trains running from Glasgow to Stranraer.
Portpatrick had long been a port for shipping between Scotland and Donaghadee in the north of Ireland, since at least 1620. When railways were being developed in the south-west of Scotland it was considered essential to connect Portpatrick with the main line system, but the difficult and sparsely populated terrain made that a difficult proposition.
A line was completed in 1840 between Glasgow and Ayr, by the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway, and the Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway connected Carlisle and Dumfries in 1848. Those two companies merged in 1850 to form the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR), which became the dominant railway company in the south west of Scotland. However Ayr and Dumfries were a considerable distance from Portpatrick.
In 1845 a scheme named the Glasgow and Belfast Union Railway (G&BUR) was formed, and obtained Parliamentary authority to build a line; this had been promoted during a period of frenzy for railway projects, but in the following year the financial bubble burst, and it became impossible to get money. The G&BUR allowed its powers to lapse without any construction taking place.
The Portpatrick Railway was the first line to connect Portpatrick: it did so in 1861, but its line led towards Carlisle (over other companies' lines) and Portpatrick was still only accessible from Glasgow by a roundabout route.
The G&SWR, by now firmly entrenched in the area but fearful of an incursion by the rival Caledonian Railway, encouraged local promoters to propose schemes, and the G&SWR supported them financially in most cases. The Ayr and Maybole Junction Railway opened in 1856, so that Maybole was now connected to Glasgow directly.
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Wikipedia