Arbroath and Forfar Railway
£14.95
Stock type: -
Stock reference: 42.047
£14.95
Stock type: -
Stock reference: 42.047
Sub-titled 'DUNDEE TO FORFAR DIRECT LINE and THE KIRRIEMUIR BRANCH'
Dundee was a major area for early railway construction in Scotland. The earliest line opened in 1831, and by the late 1840s there were no less than three railways with termini in Dundee. All three were originally built to different gauges, the Dundee & Newtyle to 4 ft 61/2 in., the Dundee & Perth to 4 ft 81/2 in., and the Dundee & Arbroath to 5 ft 6 in. gauge, which it shared with the adjoining Arbroath & Forfar. The Arbroath & Forfar line opened in 1839, and before long it was possible to travel from Dundee to Forfar without the need to change trains. The railways on Tayside were not concerned with transporting coal, they made their money from a combination of transporting agricultural materials and passenger traffic. The Arbroath & Forfar Railway was soon taken over, eventually by the Caledonian Railway, but its position on the principal route between Glasgow and Aberdeen ensured that at least part of its line would remain open until 1967. The Kirriemuir branch train services tended to be centred on the Forfar-Arbroath-Dundee axis, so it has been decided to include its story here. The Dundee to Forfar Direct line, which opened in 1870, is also described. It resulted from a desire to avoid the circuitous route from Forfar to Dundee via Arbroath, but it was always something of a backwater, and cannot really justify a volume of its own. The book is to A5 format and consists of 240 pages which include more than 150 photographs, plans etc., it has a full laminated colour card cover with a square-backed spine.
Niall Ferguson
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