This line is open from Annbank to Killoch Colliery. The line was built to give a second outlet from the Muirkirk line to Ayr harbour without occupying the Glasgow and South Western Railway mainline. A section which connected to the Ayr and Dalmellington Railway had a short section open between Holehouse Junction and the Broomhill Opencast site but this closed and has been lifted due to lack of traffic. It is difficult to see why this link was originally built although export traffic from the Dalmellington Ironworks Company was probably expected - but a southbound junction with the Glasgow and South Western Railway mainline was not laid in, instead the line led to Muirkirk. Later the line was used by coal from the Coventry mines to Dalmellington and for coal from Rankinston.
This line is divided into a number of portions.
This former station was actually in the village of Mossblown. Annbank itself is about a mile to the south by road. A junction remains here today for the Killoch Washery off the Ayr to Mauchline line.
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This was the box for Drumdow Colliery Pits Nos 3 and 4. The colliery was on the east side of the line and accessed from the north. The box was on the east side, just south of the junction.
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This signal box was south of Trabboch station. It was on the west side of the line and controlled access to the north end of the Trabboch Colliery loop, which was on the east side of the railway. The southern end of the loop was controlled by Garrockhill Signal Box. Trabboch box closed in 1948
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This halt was to the south of the Drumdow-Trabboch road. The platform was on the east side of the line. To the north was Drumdow Colliery and to the south Trabboch Signal Box which controlled access to Trabboch Colliery.
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This signal box controlled the south end of the Trabboch Colliery loop, on the east side of the line, and access to the Garrockhill Colliery loading point, a set of looped sidings running south parallel to the line on its west side with access at the north end. This colliery was to the south and connected to the loading point by a tramway system running on a viaduct. A further portion of ...
More detailsThis was a single platform station, the platform and station building being on the west side of the single track railway.
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This was the junction between the 1872 line from Annbank to Cronberry and its branch to Holehouse Junction. Access to the branch was from the east. Both lines were single track, the branch having a loop just to the west of the junction. The branch provided a route to the Dalmellington Iron Works from the Muirkirk direction.
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This junction served Burnockhill Colliery Pits Nos 1 and 2. The junction was between Belston Junction (to the west) and Ochiltree (to the east). The Burnock Viaduct was to the east.
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This was a single platform station on the north side of the line. It was just over a mile and a half south of the village of Ochiltree.
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This was a single platform station on a single track line.
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This is an eight arch viaduct. It was built to carry a double track but for years only carried a single line, on its south side. It is located between the former Skares station, to the west, and Dykes Junction, to the east.
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This was the junction for Dykes Pit No 1, Hindsward Colliery and Whitehill 1,2 Colliery. Access to a headshunt was from the west and a reversal was required to run south to the collieries.
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This was a single platform station. It served Dumfries House [House] about a mile to the north. The platform was on the north side, located in a deep cutting. There was no goods yard here - this was Dumfries House Siding which was located at Skares (due to the unsuitability of the deep cutting at Dumfries House station).
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This coal pit was served by sidings which were connected to the Ayr to Cumnock line at the west end.
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This was a single platform station about 3/4 of a mile south of Cumnock itself. The platform was on the north side of the line.
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This is a double track thirteen arch masonry viaduct east of Cumnock [1st] station on the closed Ayr to Cronberry line (the Ayr and Cumnock Line (Glasgow and South Western Railway)). The viaduct has an overall length of 522 ft and height of 81 ft.
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This was a double track junction between the curve from Cumnock Junction on the Glasgow and South Western Railway's main line and the line from Ayr via Cumnock [1st]. The combined line continuing on towards Lugar immediately singled.
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This is a masonry disused double track seven arch viaduct. The overall length is 312 ft and it is 82 ft high.
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This junction was directly west of Cronberry station. The Auchinleck to Muirkirk [1st] line of 1848 was met by the line from Ayr via Belston Junction in 1872.
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This was the junction between the 1872 line from Annbank to Cronberry and its branch to Holehouse Junction. Access to the branch was from the east. Both lines were single track, the branch having a loop just to the west of the junction. The branch provided a route to the Dalmellington Iron Works from the Muirkirk direction.
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This junction was immediately east of Rankinston station. The branch gave access to Rankinston No 1 Pit, Rankinston No 2 Pit Limestone and Rankinston No 3 Pit Coal]]. To reach the furthest reaches of the branch required a number of reversals as the line climbed the hillside. ...
More detailsThis was a single platform station. There was a loading bank on the south side, giving the appearance, almost, of a two platform two track station. The village of Rankinston developed around the station.
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This halt was located between Holehouse Junction and Rankinston. ...
More detailsThis was a coal loading point for the open cast sites to the south. To serve it the line, which had closed in 1950, was re-opened from Holehouse Junction to Broomhill. It was short lived and the line was closed around 2001/2 and was lifted. It was visited by the Branch Line Society's 'The Broomhill' railtour on 13/08/2000 (which also visited the sidings at Barassie). Operation was awkward ...
More detailsThis was an interchange platform with two faces in the 'V' of Holehouse Junction. The 1856 line from Ayr to Dalmellington was met by a 1872 branch from Belston Junction via Rankinston giving it access towards Dalmellington and particularly the Dalmellington Iron Works at Waterside. Both lines were single track.
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This was the junction for Dykes Pit No 1, Hindsward Colliery and Whitehill 1,2 Colliery. Access to a headshunt was from the west and a reversal was required to run south to the collieries.
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This colliery was near Skares. It was 245m deep.
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This junction was immediately east of Rankinston station. The branch gave access to Rankinston No 1 Pit, Rankinston No 2 Pit Limestone and Rankinston No 3 Pit Coal]]. To reach the furthest reaches of the branch required a number of reversals as the line climbed the hillside. ...
More detailsThis was a double track junction between the curve from Cumnock Junction on the Glasgow and South Western Railway's main line and the line from Ayr via Cumnock [1st]. The combined line continuing on towards Lugar immediately singled.
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This junction was east of Cumnock [2nd] on the Glasgow and South Western Railway main line and was east of Cumnock [1st] on the Ayr and Cumnock line. It gave access to the Muirkirk line without the need to go via Lugar.
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