The Port Road

Scotland once had five railway lines to its West Coast - to Kyle of Lochalsh, Mallaig, Oban, Stranraer from Glasgow and to Stranraer from Dumfies (or Carlisle).  It is the latter, the closed ‘Port Road’ which is the subject of this book - a hugely detailed and very readable history of eight-one miles of largely single track railway through isolated and inhospitable barren uplands across the SW corner of Scotland.

Built by four independant companies, in 1886 it became ‘The Jointest of all Joint Railways’, owned by the LNWR, the Midland, the Glasgow & South Western and Caledonian Railways, but operated by the two Scottish companies.

The real reason for the railway’s existence was that Portpatrick initially, then Stranraer at its western end, were the ferry ports for the shortest sea route between mainland Britain and Ireland. Tremendous book for both the railway historian, and the railway modeller who will find the station layouts, drawings and photographs of great use. Highly recommended!

320 pages. Large numbers of B&W photographs, 35 pages of colour drawings of most of the line’s buildings, maps and layouts. Hardbound.