Railway Plans
Background information about railway plans is in the blog - Big Plans and A Tunnel Under Tayfield.
These are not the only proposed or planned railways. These are some of the more important ones. There are still some proposals from the 1860s to be included here.
Station details and sidings omitted.
Proposed
Edinburgh & Dundee Railway (E & D), planned 1836. link to original plan at National Library of Scotland
Proposed line in solid colour, possible variations shown as dotted lines.
A railway from Burntisland to Newport (for connection to Dundee).
Note the possible line which ends at Forgan roundabout - presumably it was intended to continue into Newport. Indecision? landowner reluctance? or mistake?
Edinburgh & Northern Railway (E & N) Cupar to Ferry-Port-on-Craig and Newport extension, planned November 1845. see separate page
A branch to run from Cupar through Ferry-Port-on-Craig (Tayport), then along the coast to a terminus at the Newport ferry.
Glasgow & Dundee Junction Railway (G & D J), planned November 1845. see separate page
Tunnels shown as dotted lines.
A railway from Craighead to Kinross, Stirling & Glasgow, with a branch to Cupar / St Andrews.
Not shown Tayport & Craighead Railway (T & C), planned November 1856.
Discussions only; proposed a railway from Tayport station to Craighead and to operate a ferry from there. No plans, and nothing further. 1
Built
Edinburgh & Northern Railway (E & N) - Cupar to Ferry-Port-on-Craig, planned November 1845.
A line to run from Cupar to Ferry-Port-on-Craig (Tayport). Operated 1848 - 1956 (passengers) - 1966 (goods)
Newport Railway (N R), 1879 - 1967 (Tayport) - 1969 (remainder).
Railway as built for first Tay Bridge. Wormit to Tayport.
North British Railway (N B), 1878 - 1879.
Railway as built for first Tay Bridge. Leuchars to Dundee.
North British Railway (N B), 1887.
Railway as built for the second Tay Bridge.
Newburgh & North Fife Railway (N & N F), 1909 - 1951.
St Fort to Newburgh.
There is a list of all the Railway Plan References - the entries in the Books of Reference which are the key to the sketch maps of Newport and Woodhaven accompanying the various railway plans on this site.
References:
1. Dundee Perth & Cupar Advertiser, 14 Nov 1856, p1 (all newspapers available at British Newspaper Archive)
Additional reading:
The Railways of Fife, William Scott Bruce, 1980
Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, vol 15 North of Scotland, John Thomas & David Turnock, 1993
Return to: Home Page Maps Index