The Caledonian Railway (CR) was one of the two biggest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping. It was formed in 1845 with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively extended its network and reached Edinburgh and Aberdeen, with a dense network of branch lines in the area surrounding Glasgow. It was absorbed into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923. Many of its principal routes are still used, and the original main line between Carlisle and Glasgow is in use as part of the West Coast Main Line railway (with a modified entry into Glasgow itself).
Introduction
In the mid-1830s, railways in England evolved from local concerns to longer routes that connected cities, and then became networks. In Scotland it was clear that this was the way forward, and there was a desire to connect the Central Belt to the incipient English network. There was controversy over the route that such a line might take, but the Caledonian Railway was formed on 31 July 1845 and it opened its main line between Glasgow, Edinburgh and Carlisle in 1848, making an alliance with the English London and North Western Railway which connected Carlisle to the English Midlands and London. In the obituary of the engineer Richard Price-Williams written in 1916 the contractor of the Caledonian Railway is stated to be Thomas Brassey and the civil engineer George Heald.Obituary of Richard Price-Williams
Although the company was supported by Scottish investors, more than half of its shares were held in England.C J A Robertson, The Origins of the Scottish Railway System: 1722–1844, John Donald Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh, first edition 1983,
Establishing itself as an intercity and cross-border railway, the Caledonian set about securing territory by leasing other authorised or newly built lines, and fierce competition developed with other, larger Scottish railways, particularly the North British Railway and the Glasgow and South Western Railway. The company established primacy in some areas, but remained less than successful in others; considerable sums were expended in the process, not always finding the approval of shareholders.
A considerable steamer passenger traffic developed on the Firth of Clyde serving island resorts, and fast boat trains were run from Glasgow to steamer piers; the company was refused permission to operate its own steamers, and it formed a partnership with a nominally independent, but friendly, operator, the Caledonian Steam Packet Company.
In 1923 the railways of Great Britain were "grouped" under the Railways Act 1921 and the Caledonian Railway was a constituent of the newly formed London Midland and Scottish Railway; its capitalisation at that time was £57 million (equivalent to £ today), and it had a single-track mileage of .
It extended from Aberdeen to Portpatrick, and from Oban to Carlisle, running express passenger services and a heavy mineral traffic.
Early history
The Lanarkshire coal lines In the closing years of the 18th century, the pressing need to bring coal cheaply to Glasgow from the plentiful Monklands coalfield had been met by the construction of the Monkland Canal, opened throughout in 1794.Guthrie Hutton, Monkland: the Canal that Made Money, Richard Stenlake, Ochiltree, 1993, George Thomson, The Monkland Canal – a Sketch of the Early History, originally written in 1945, published by Monkland Library Services Department, 1984, This encouraged development of the coalfield, but dissatisfaction at the monopoly prices said to be exacted by the canal led to the construction of the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway (M&KR), Scotland's first public railway; it opened in 1826. Development of the use of blackband ironstone by David Mushet, and the invention of the hot blast process of iron smelting by James Beaumont Neilson in 1828, led to a huge and rapid increase in iron production and demand for iron ore and coal in the Coatbridge area.
The industrial development led to the construction of other railways contiguous with the , in particular the Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway and the Wishaw and Coltness Railway. These two lines worked in harmony, merging to form the Glasgow, Garnkirk and Coatbridge Railway in 1841, and competing with the and its allies. All these lines used the local track gauge of , and they were referred to as "the coal lines"; passenger traffic was not a dominant activity.Don Martin, The Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway, Strathkelvin Public Libraries, Kirkintilloch, 1976Don Martin, The Monkland and Kirkintilloch and Associated Railways, Strathkelvin Public Libraries, Kirkintilloch, 1995, Don Martin, The Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway, Strathkelvin District Libraries and Museums, 1981
English railways
During this period, the first long-distance railways were opened in England; the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the first intercity line, opened in 1830 and was an immediate success.Frank Ferneyhough, The Liverpool & Manchester Railway, 1830–1980, Robert Hale Ltd., London, 1980, It was quickly followed by the Grand Junction Railway in 1837,Norman W Webster, Britain's First Trunk Line – the Grand Junction Railway, Adams and Dart, Bath, 1972, the London and Birmingham Railway in 1838David Gould, The London & Birmingham Railway 150 Years On, David & Charles plc, Newton Abbot, 1987, and the North Union Railway reaching Preston in 1838, so that London was linked with the Lancashire and West Midlands centres of industry.
Connecting Scotland and London It was clearly desirable to connect central Scotland into the emerging network. At first it was assumed that only one route from Scotland to England would be feasible, and there was considerable controversy over the possible route. A major difficulty was the terrain of the Southern Uplands: a route running through the hilly lands would involve steep and lengthy gradients that were challenging for the engine power of the time; a route around them, either to the west or the east, involved much lengthier main lines, and made connection to both Edinburgh and Glasgow more problematic.
Many competing schemes were put forward, not all of them well thought out, and two successive government commissions examined them. However, they did not have mandatory force, and after considerable rivalry, the Caledonian Railway obtained an authorising act of Parliament, the (8 & 9 Vict. c. clxii), on 31 July 1845, for lines from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Carlisle. The share capital was to be £1.8 million (equivalent to £ today).
The Glasgow and Edinburgh lines combined at Carstairs in Clydesdale, and the route then crossed over Beattock Summit and continued on through Annandale.O.S. Nock The Caledonian Railway, Ian Allan The promoters had engaged in a frenzy of provisional acquisitions of other lines being put forward or already being constructed, as they considered it was vital to secure territory to their own control and to exclude competing concerns as far as possible. It was not the only Anglo-Scottish route; the North British Railway opened its coastal route between Edinburgh and Berwick-upon-Tweed on 22 June 1846,John Thomas revised J S Paterson, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 6, Scotland, the Lowlands and the Borders, David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 1984, David Ross, The North British Railway — A History, Stenlake Publishing Limited, Catrine, 2014, forming part of what has become the East Coast Main Line. The Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway had opened in 1841 with the declared intention of reaching Carlisle by way of Dumfries; it did so in 1850, changing its name then to the Glasgow and South Western Railway.The Glasgow and South Western Railway: A History, Stenlake Publishing Limited, Catrine, 2104, David Ross, The Caledonian: Scotland's Imperial Railway: A History, Stenlake Publishing Limited, Catrine, 2014,
The main line
The main line was opened from Carlisle to Beattock on 10 September 1847, and throughout between Glasgow and Carlisle on 15 February 1848. A continuous railway route between Glasgow and London existed for the first time. (It had been possible to travel via Edinburgh and Newcastle upon Tyne since 1846, but this involved crossing the River Tweed at Berwick by road, and the River Tyne at Gateshead / Newcastle by congested road bridge or ferry.)
The Caledonian Railway's Edinburgh line from Carstairs opened on 1 April 1848. The terminal at Edinburgh was at Lothian Road. Glasgow was reached over the Glasgow, Garnkirk and Coatbridge Railway (successor to the Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway), and the Wishaw and Coltness Railway, which the Caledonian had leased from 1 January 1847 and 1 January 1846 respectively. The Glasgow station was the Townhead terminus of the Glasgow, Garnkirk and Coatbridge Railway.
During the process of seeking parliamentary authorisation, the Caledonian observed that the Clydesdale Junction Railway was being promoted. The Caledonian acquired that line during its construction, and it opened in 1849. It gave an alternative and shorter access to another Glasgow passenger terminal, named South Side, and to the Clyde quays at General Terminus (over the connected General Terminus and Glasgow Harbour Railway). The South Side station was already being used by the Glasgow, Barrhead and Neilston Direct Railway, worked by the Caledonian. One day, they hoped, they might extend that line into Ayrshire. Meanwhile, the line was leased (for 999 years) to the Caledonian in 1849.
The Caledonian recognised that the Townhead terminus was unsatisfactory and constructed a deviation from Milton Junction to a new Glasgow terminus at Buchanan Street. It opened on 1 November 1849. Trains to Edinburgh, Stirling and Carlisle used the new station; the Stirling trains had to reverse at Gartsherrie Junction. The Garnkirk's old Glebe Street (Townhead) station was reduced to goods and mineral duties. In 1853–54 the Hayhill Fork, between Gartcosh and Garnqueen, was opened, enabling direct running from Buchanan Street towards Stirling.
Financial problems, and Greenock amalgamation In the period between formation of the Caledonian Railway and the opening of the main line, a large number of leases and working arrangements had been concluded with other railways being promoted or built nearby. This was mostly done by guaranteeing those shareholders an income on their capital, which meant no immediate cash was required. When the lines started working, suddenly a huge periodical payment was required, and the income was inadequate to satisfy it. There were also suggestions of improper share acquisitions, and in the period 1848 to 1850 a number of shareholder inquiries disclosed bad practices, and many board members had to resign in February 1850.
The company had obtained the Caledonian and Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railways Amalgamation Act 1847 (10 & 11 Vict. c. clxix) giving it powers to merge with the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway (GP&GR) in 1847, but even more alarming revelations of financial impropriety emerged regarding that company, and the Caledonian considered getting authorisation to cancel the amalgamation. However, it was later decided to proceed, and the amalgamation took place by the (14 & 15 Vict. c. cxxxiv) of 7 August 1851. The operated the line between Glasgow and Paisley jointly with the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR), and the Paisley line used a terminus at Bridge Street in Glasgow.
The Caledonian now worked trains at three termini in Glasgow: Buchanan Street, South Side (from the Clydesdale Junction line, mostly used for local trains to Motherwell and Hamilton), and Bridge Street (on the Paisley line).