Kincardine and Dunfermline Railway (North British Railway)

Introduction

This line is open between Dunfermline and the former Kincardine Pier.

The line's origins, at its west end, were in the Kincardine Branch (North British Railway) which ran from Kincardine Junction, on the Stirling and Dunfermline Railway, to Kincardine station and pier. At its east end the line struck off from the considerably older Charlestown Railway. Its opening closed a gap between these two lines and created a secondary route between Alloa and Dunfermline serving the small coastal villages.

For much of the length, from Torryburn to Kincardine, the line was built on an embankment south of the original shoreline. The land between the line and coastline was reclaimed using infill.

The railway gained more importance in time with the opening of Crombie Pier and Rosyth Dockyard and a depot at Kincardine. In particular, for many years, it served Kincardine Power Station and Longannet Power Station carrying huge tonnages of coal, especially after the line west of Kincardine Power Station closed and Longannet Mine.

Today the line sees infrequent use. A train building factory may be opened by Talgo at Longannet.






Dates

  /  /1898Kincardine and Dunfermline Railway (North British Railway)
Line authorised between Kincardine and Elbowend Junction.
01/07/1906Kincardine and Dunfermline Railway (North British Railway)
Line opened between Kincardine and Elbowbend Junction, contractor Robert McAlpine.
07/07/1930Kincardine Branch (North British Railway)
Kincardine and Dunfermline Railway (North British Railway)
West of Fife Railway and Harbour
Alloa [1st] (Kincardine Junction) to Dunfermline Lower via Culross closed to passengers.
  /02/2003Kincardine and Dunfermline Railway (North British Railway)
Coal import terminal near Longannet Power Station for Scottish Power proposed (Longannet Mine had closed the previous year).
  /05/2008Longannet Mine
Kincardine and Dunfermline Railway (North British Railway)
Consideration of re-opening of the mine which is estimated to still have 40 years of workable coal and could be served by the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine line.

Locations along the line

These locations are along the line.



This junction allowed trains from the west (Alloa and Kincardine Junction direction) to enter the loops which served Longannet Power Station's Longannet Bunkers. Control was from Longannet Signal Box located at Longannet East Departure. The junction was location on a sea wall alongside the Firth of Forth.
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More details

See also
Longannet Power Station Loop (British Railways)
A coal train from Hunterston Import Terminal via Alloa, approaching the west arrival sidings at Longannet power station on an overcast May morning in ...
John Furnevel 30/05/2008
Looking south across the Forth as Freightliner 66605 approaches Longannet Power Station with a coal train on 16 November. ...
Bill Roberton 16/11/2009
56104 takes the west spur into Longannet Power Station with the first working of opencast coal, loaded at the former Kincardine Power Station, into ...
Bill Roberton 15/05/1994
DBS 66037 skirts the Forth with empties with the doomed power station in the background.
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Bill Roberton 14/03/2016
4 of 7 images. more


Longannet siding was a loop and sidings at Longannet Point. It was later the site of the eastern arrival for the bunkers for Longannet Power Station.
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See also
Longannet Power Station Loop (British Railways)
A coal train arrives at Longannet Power station. The coal stockyard can be seen over to the left. ...
Ewan Crawford //
1 of 1 images.




Passing Longannet signalbox, view from a DMU railtour in 1992. [Ref query 15535] ...
Bill Roberton //1992
Looking east at Longannet signalbox. ...
Ewan Crawford //
2 of 2 images.




This was a short lived single platform station next to the car park at the west end of Culross. It was used for a passenger service into the Longannet Power Station site in 1992.
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Freightliner 66508 hugs the Forth estuary at Culross, with an empty ballast from Thornton to Ravenstruther and then Millerhill, on 28 April 2022. ...
Bill Roberton 28/04/2022
60163 'Tornado' passes Culross with the afternoon 'Forth Circle' on 15 August 2021.
...
Bill Roberton 15/08/2021
A coal train from Hunterston Import Terminal approaching Longannet power station westbound in January 2007 behind EWS 66072. The train would have run ...
John Furnevel 10/01/2007
66158 with empty coal hoppers passing below Culross Castle en route to Hunterston Dock ...
Brian Forbes 16/07/2007
4 of 29 images. more


Culross was a two platform station with a passing loop on a single track line. It was around a third of a mile east of the town. This section of line was built on the shore, with the land between the high water mark and railway embankment being reclaimed.
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The much travelled <I>Scottish Rambler No 3</I> railtour, with ex-NBR no 256 <I>Glen Douglas</I> in charge, makes a photostop ...
Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) 30/03/1964
Glen Douglas approaches Culross en route to Alloa ...
John Robin 30/03/1964
A B1 and brake van skirt the north shore of the Forth in the 1960s, having passed the site of the former Culross station and running through ...
Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) //
Eastbound immediately east of Culross. The land to the left has since been recovered using ash from Longannet power station. The site of the station ...
Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) //
4 of 4 images.


This colliery was sunk by the Fife Coal Co Ltd at a site between Culross [1st] to the west and Torryburn to the east. The mine was on the north side of the line. It was laid out with an exchange yard to the west, accessed from the east from the main line. The mine sidings were to the east of the exchange yard. To the south of the main railway were tip sidings, approached from the ...

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46115 Scots Guardsman draws away from a water stop at Newmills and passes the mudflats at Low Valleyfield with the SRPS Forth Circle railtour ...
Bill Roberton 28/04/2012
1 of 1 images.


A single platform station on the south side of a loop. A goods yard was to the west, on the south side of the line and served from the west.
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D213 'Andania' leads the Steam Dreams' 'Forth Bridge Lunchtime Tour' alongside the estuary at Newmills, replacing failed 60007 'Sir Nigel Gresley', ...
Bill Roberton 25/11/2023
Empties from Longannet approaching Torryburn from the west. ...
Ewan Crawford //
66105 crosses the Bluther Burn at Torryburn with coal for Longannet Power Station in 1999. The concrete bridge to the left carried a dead-end siding ...
Bill Roberton //1999
Late summer evening. Empties from Longannet to the east of Torryburn. View looks west. ...
Ewan Crawford //
4 of 16 images. more


Caledonian Sleeper locos 73971 and 73968, near Cairneyhill with the 6K10 Dalmeny - Millerhill engineers train giving the rusty rails a bit of a polish ...
Bill Roberton 07/03/2021
EWS 66082 brings empty coal hoppers east from Longannet on 25 August, passing the site of Cairneyhill station in the right background. ...
Bill Roberton 25/08/2008
Union of South Africa passes Cairneyhill with the first SRPS Forth Circle special on 23 August 2009.
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Bill Roberton 23/08/2009
DRS 66429 passes the site of Cairneyhill Station with an intermodal service from Grangemouth to Aberdeen on 12th January 2019. This was diverted ...
Bill Roberton 12/01/2019
4 of 8 images. more


Works compound at Elbowend Junction looking north. ...
Mark Poustie 28/07/2018
1 of 1 images.


This junction was formed when the Charlestown and Dunfermline Railway was met by the 1866 West of Fife Railway and Harbour. Both lines were single track and the signal box (dating from 1894) was in the 'V' of the junction.
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More details

See also
West of Fife Railway and Harbour
Elgin Railway