A Red Wheel Plaque has been installed at Southbank Marina to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway in 2026. The railway was built to allow coal, iron and other products from the Airdrie-Coatbridge area to be brought to the Forth and Clyde Canal at Kirkintilloch, from where they could be taken east and west to other parts of Scotland. The northern terminus of the railway at Kirkintilloch Basin is now Southbank Marina. The plaque has been mounted on East Dunbartonshire Council’s offices there, next to an existing sculpture commemorating the building of small cargo boats, or “puffers”, at Kirkintilloch from the 19th to the mid-20th century. The general location and a close-up of the plaque are shown in the photographs below.
The Red Wheel Scheme was created by the National Transport Trust to recognise and commemorate significant transport history sites all over the United Kingdom. More information about the scheme can be found at Transport heritage sites.
The location of a Red Wheel Plaque at Southbank Marina was a collaborative project between Kirkintilloch and District Society of Antiquaries, the National Transport Trust and East Dunbartonshire Council and was driven by Society member and local historian Don Martin, MBE. Don has carried out detailed studies of rail transport in the Kirkintilloch area and has just published a book of photographs of the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway in the years up to the closure of the line during 1965-66.
The Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway is widely recognised as one of the first public railways in Scotland. It opened in 1826, just a few months after the revolutionary Stockton to Darlington Railway in 1825. A number of activities are planned to commemorate the anniversary, including an exhibition in the Auld Kirk Museum from March to May. The Red Wheel Plaque will be formally unveiled in Spring 2026 to coincide with the commemorations.
