KDSA Secretary Don Martin this year re-visits one of his favourite subjects, although in fact it is many years since he last addressed the Society on "The railways of Kirkintilloch". Kirkintilloch’s railway history is certainly distinctive. It began with one of Scotland’s earliest public railways, the Monkland & Kirkintilloch, in 1826, and ended with a comprehensive blow of the Beeching axe in 1966, surely one of the most illogical closures of that era. Over these years Kirkintilloch served first as a connecting link between the railway system and the Scottish canal network (including ‘train ferries’ for mineral wagons), and later as a significant railway centre in its own right, with a range of junctions connecting different lines. Passenger traffic ended in 1964, since when Kirkintilloch has arguably been the largest town in Scotland without this facility.
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| Back o'Loch Halt, Kirkintilloch,1960. (© D.Martin) |
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| Kirkintilloch Town Station, 1961. (© D.Martin) |
Evening meetings of the Society are at 7.30 pm in the Park Centre, 45 Kerr Street, Kirkintilloch, G66 1LF. Visitors are welcome at all of the Society's activities.
