Waverley Line Totally Explained

Everything about The Waverley Route totally explained

|} The Waverley Route is an abandoned double track railway line that ran south from Edinburgh in Scotland through Midlothian and the Scottish Borders to Carlisle in England. It was built by the North British Railway Company; the first section, from Edinburgh to Hawick opened in 1849. The final section, Hawick to Carlisle, opened in 1862. It was named the Waverley route after the novel by Sir Walter Scott. Reconstruction work of the Edinburgh-Galashiels-Tweedbank section will start in 2008.

Line characteristics

The route is famous for its significant gradients and bleak moorland terrain, which made it arguably the most difficult line in the UK for steam locomotive crews to work over. From Edinburgh Waverley the climb started on the city outskirts, continuing for several miles at 1 in 80 with a summit at Falahill loop. It then descended at a similar rate to Galashiels, Melrose and St Boswells before reaching Hawick and ascending for twelve miles at 1 in 80 again through Stobs and Shankend to Whitrope Summit, the highest point on the line. Following Whitrope Tunnel, the line descended at an unbroken 1 in 75 for over 8 miles through Riccarton Junction and Steele Road to Newcastleton, following which were easier gradients to Carlisle.

Historic exploration

   As the line was built by the North British Railway, it fell under the jurisdiction of the LNER at the Grouping in 1923. However the two expresses from London had traditionally run from St Pancras, an LMS route, so the daytime 'Waverley' express and overnight sleeping car train would be hauled by LMS locomotives to Carlisle, then switch to an LNER locomotive for the final leg to Edinburgh.
   The expresses were limited stop and in the 1950s covered the mileage from Carlisle to Edinburgh in roughly two-and-a-half hours. Motive power was usually in the form of a Gresley A3 Pacific locomotive, a class totally unsuited to hill climbing. With large driving wheels and three cylinders they were designed for long stretches of 80+ mph running on heavy expresses - the 'Waverley' express was typically 8 coaches in length and the Waverley Route was 70 mph maximum with many tight curves limited to much lower speed. On the climb from Newcastleton to Whitrope Summit the train would be down to 30 mph by Steele Road, with the locomotive being worked flat out and the fireman shovelling for all he was worth in an effort to keep the firegrate covered.
   Other passenger services (usually 3 per day) were also worked by A3s, although Thompson B1 4-6-0s made regular appearances. There was also a daily Gresley A4 diagram between Edinburgh and Carlisle - an overnight fitted freight southbound, returning with the early morning parcels train. Thompson Pacifics appeared later on, just before the line was dieselised in a drive for efficiency. In addition there were also several local passenger workings between Galashiels and Edinburgh (some via the Peebles loop) and between Hawick and Carlisle. These tended to be hauled by B1s, although V1 2-6-2 tank engines made occasional appearances, as did D49 4-4-0s. Freight workings were heavy and frequent, and hauled by a multitude of different classes. The significant workings were pulled by Gresley V2 2-6-2s and Gresley K3 2-6-0s as well as A3s. V2s provided sterling service for over 30 years. In the 1960s, once the short-lived marshalling yards at Carlisle Kingmoor and Edinburgh Millerhill were opened, they worked hourly freights right through the day and night. Depending on the maximum speed of the freight working, a Carlisle to Edinburgh freight could take anything from four to seven hours to travel the route. There were also stopping freight trains that worked from Hawick to Edinburgh and Hawick to Carlisle and back, each taking a full day to complete the round trip, stopping to shunt at every station yard. These tended to be hauled by J39 0-6-0 locomotives, although BR standard class 4 2-6-0s replaced them later on.
   One particularly famous working in later years was a daily Halewood (Liverpool) to Bathgate freight train carrying Ford cars on carflats. Due to the enormous load the booked motive power was a Gresley V2 and a Stanier Class 5 double-headed, usually with the V2 on the front, which made for some spectacular photography.

Line closure

The line was closed, in spite of protests, in 1969 as part of the Beeching Axe. Omissions in the decision process have since been pointed out, for example the construction of significant new housing in Galashiels at the same time as the line closure.
In the late 1990s there was some discussion about reopening the southern section from Carlisle as far as Riccarton Junction. With the trees in the reforested areas of Kielder Forest now approaching maturity, the network of only minor roads and the local population were seen as being vulnerable to and unable to cope with a significantly increased logging traffic. Reinstating a single track was seen to provide transportation capacity for heavy loads bypassing the villages, but the project wasn't pursued any further.

Heritage activities

At Riccarton Junction and at Whitrope Siding (just short of) Whitrope Tunnel track panels have been relaid by the Waverley Route Heritage Association with a view of starting some heritage railway activity.

Line restoration

In June 2006, the Waverley Railway (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament by 114 votes to 1. It will re-open the line as far as Tweedbank, just south of the burgh of Galashiels. The bill was given the Royal Assent in July 2006.
£115 million has been allocated for the proposed route and services, which will extend an existing Edinburgh suburban service from Newcraighall to Shawfair, Eskbank, Newtongrange, Gorebridge, Stow, Galashiels and Tweedbank.
On 27 March 2007, Transport Minister Nicol Stephen formally initiated preparatory works. Vegetation clearance is now taking place with a view to construction beginning in 2009 with the first trains due to run in 2011.

Further Information

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