page_title: Glasgow and South Western Railway
section_title: Reaching towards the north of Ireland
hierarchical_section_title: Glasgow and South Western Railway / History / Reaching towards the north of Ireland
caption_attribution_description: English: Local passenger and goods trains at Kilmarnock Station in 1957. View east, towards Dumfries and Carlisle by the main line, also Muirkirk; ex-Glasgow &amp; South Western. The local is the 17.15 to Glasgow St Enoch, with LMS 2P 4-4-0 No. 40688; the Up empties has ex-Caledonian 3F 0-6-0 No. 57571 built in 1899. Note the white-painted features on the 4-4-0, characteristic of locomotives repaired at St Rollox Works.(It was raining, as usual).
context_page_description: The Glasgow and South Western Railway was a railway company in Scotland. It served a triangular area of south-west Scotland between Glasgow, Stranraer and Carlisle. It was formed on 28 October 1850 by the merger of two earlier railways, the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway and the Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway. Already established in Ayrshire, it consolidated its position there and extended southwards, eventually reaching Stranraer. Its main business was mineral traffic, especially coal, and passengers, but its more southerly territory was very thinly populated and local traffic, passenger and goods, was limited, while operationally parts of its network were difficult.
  It later formed an alliance with the English Midland Railway and ran express passenger trains from Glasgow to London with that company, in competition with the Caledonian Railway and its English partner, who had an easier route. In 1923 the G&SWR formed a constituent of the London Midland and Scottish Railway group.
  Much of the network remains active at the present day; Glasgow commuting particularly has developed, and parts of the network have been electrified.
context_section_description: The wide space of countryside west of Dumfries and south of Girvan still lacked any rail connection. In 1856 a provisional Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway (CD&DR) was gaining momentum. It was independently sponsored, although it was seen as a possible first step in opening up the entire region; it was authorised on 21 July 1856. This prompted the G&SWR to relocate the Dumfries station to a point north of St Mary's street; the former "temporary" station was relegated to goods status. The new station opened on 13 September 1859: it was described as "equal if not superior in lightness and beauty to any in Great Britain". The CD&DR line opened on 21 July 1856.
  For many years schemes had been put forward to reach Portpatrick. There was a small harbour there and ferry crossings to Donaghadee provided the shortest route to reach the north of Ireland. Mail, cattle, and soldiers had been conveyed that way, but reaching Portpatrick with a railway across difficult and sparsely populated land had been a challenge. Encouraged by the CD&DR authorisation, at the end of 1856 promoters resolved to build a British and Irish Grand Junction Railway, 62 miles (100 km) from Castle Douglas. Government assurances were given about the use of the sea route for mail and improvement of the tiny harbour at Portpatrick, and suddenly rival railways including the English Great Northern Railway were hastening to put up money for a share. With a capital of £460,000, the line looked well supported and got its Act of Parliament on 17 August 1857, retitled the Portpatrick Railway.
  The construction, through difficult terrain, went ahead, and as completion became near, the Portpatrick Railway planned the arrangements for the working of its line. The G&SWR were working the CD&DR and offered to work the Portpatrick line for 72% of gross receipts. The G&SWR had recently announced that it worked its own railway for less than 38%, and the Portpatrick line decided the proposed charge was too much; on 28 March 1860 they decided that "the board should retain the working of the line under their own management". The G&SWR had been certain that its terms for working the line would have to be accepted; it had promised a further £40,000 towards the capital cost of the Portpatrick Railway, and on a pretext it now declined to make that payment, further alienating the Portpatrick Railway. The line opened, stoutly independent, on 12 March 1861 as far as Stranraer.
  The Government had implied a promise to improve the tiny harbour at Portpatrick and was now delaying; the Portpatrick Railway delayed too, but finally completed the line from Stranraer to Portpatrick on 28 August 1862. Although some use was made of the route, the anticipated major sea crossing never materialised, and in time Stranraer became the more important port.
caption: Kilmarnock station in 1957
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