page_title: Wemyss Estate Railway
section_title: The Wemyss and Buckhaven Railway
hierarchical_section_title: Wemyss Estate Railway / History / The Wemyss and Buckhaven Railway
caption_attribution_description: English: System map of the Wemyss Estate Railways in Fife, Scotland in 1881
context_page_description: The Wemyss Estate Railway was a group of mineral and other railways in Fife, Scotland, mainly on the land of the Wemyss family. The lines were built to connect coal pits to harbours and the railway network, for the use of tenants of the Estate. The Wemyss and Buckhaven Railway was built at the expense of the Wemyss Estate and carried passengers; it was later sold to the North British Railway.
  When numerous collieries needed a railway connection the Wemyss Estate built a connecting line to Methil Harbour and improved the harbour itself. The local network became known as The Wemyss Private Railway and the Estate's interest was transferred to the Wemyss Coal Company. These terms have been used interchangeably by authors.
  The collieries were nationalised in 1947 and the sidings connections at the pits followed; the main line railways of Great Britain were nationalised in 1948, but the central section, now known as the Wemyss Private Railway remained in private hands. However the mineral activity in East Fife declined and in 1970 the Wemyss Private Railway closed down.
context_section_description: If this move was intended to free the Wemyss Estate coal masters from their constraints it failed, for the North British Railway continued to be the sole haulier for coal from any distance, and Leven Harbour was unsatisfactory, and not easily reached by rail from many of the East Fife pits. Several other small harbours were developed, but this too failed to resolve the problem, and in any case numerous new pits had been opened remote from the existing railway. In May 1874 a Committee of coalmasters discussed building their own line to the developing Methil Dock, a little west of Leven. Nothing came of this discussion at first, but in 1878 a definite scheme was produced to connect Buckhaven with Thornton. Thornton was chosen as the junction because of the convenience of bringing coal from Dunfermline.
  Matters progressed and on 17 October 1879 a Certificate for the construction of the railway was issued by the Board of Trade; a Parliamentary Act was not required because no compulsory land acquisition was needed and there were no objections to the scheme; nor was a new joint stock company to be established. It was to be financed by the Wemyss Estate.
  The line was a little over four miles long; by the end of 1880 a demonstration goods train was run, but the line was not properly finished, and the Board of Trade inspection took place on 30 July 1881, by Major General Hutchinson. With some qualifications, the line was passed as fit for passenger operation, and it opened formally on 1 August 1881. It was worked by the North British Railway. There were intermediate stations at West Wemyss (at the present-day Standing Stane Road) and Wemyss Castle, close to the town of East Wemyss. It had private accommodation for Wemyss and his family.
  A short branch was made at the end of 1880 or early in 1881 to join the NBR Muiredge branch, and a connection from the new Rosie pit, which ran as a high level siding parallel to, and above, the W&B line.
  In 1882 the Duncan pit started operation, near West Wemyss station, and a short branch was built to serve it, opening in 1882. It was built by the NBR at Wemyss' expense, and the output was conveyed to Burntisland. Lady Lilian pit resumed operation (on the site of an earlier unsuccessful scheme) in 1891 - 1893 and the Duncan sidings were extended eastwards to serve it, and at the same time the line was extended south to reach the Hugo pit, which previously had only been able to access West Wemyss through the hutch tunnel.
caption: The Wemyss Estate Railways in 1881
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