The
Leadhills & Wanlockhead Railway
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Clyde and Passenger Train, departing Leadhills, summer 2004 (Photograph A. Ireland) Britain's highest adhesion railway, reaching 1498 feet above sea level, it was originally built in 1900 for the Caledonian Railway Company for transporting refined lead to the central belt of Scotland. The lead mines closed in the late 1930's, but passenger traffic continued until the end of 1938. There is a Museum of Lead Mining at Wanlockhead and you may wish to combine a visit to the Railway with one to the Museum. Local accommodation is available for those who wish to make a visit to Leadhills and the surrounding area a holiday experience. Upper Nithsdale has stunning scenery and a wealth of historic places to visit including Drumlanrig Castle part of the Buccleuch Estate . The Leadhills & Wanlockhead Railway Society was formed in 1983 to construct and operate a 2ft gauge tourist railway between two villages on the old standard gauge trackbed. Track laying commenced in 1986 with the station at Leadhills being built from scratch. A limited service began in 1988 over a 1/4 mile of track and has been improving steadily ever since, it has now reached the border with Lanarkshire and Dumfries & Galloway, negotiations are at present under way to extend the track into Wanlockhead and build a station complete with run round loop, with the acquisition of more locomotives and coaches the shed at Leadhills is becoming quite full. A Hudswell Clark 68hp ex. mines locomotive was recently restored at Anniesland College of Further Education in Glasgow as part of a training scheme and will be brought into service soon.
All trains are hauled by diesel locomotives at present, although an
Orenstein and Koppel steam locomotive is being restored for use on the railway. The signal
box at Leadhills is an interesting attraction due to the preservation of the mechanical
equipment from the West Highland Line, and the use of the terra cotta facing bricks from
the now demolished Risping Cleuch Viaduct built on the original line by 'Concrete Bob
McAlpine' at the beginning of the century. The railway operates at weekends (including Bank Holidays) from Easter until the end of October.Trains departures are:- Saturdays & Sundays from Easter to the last weekend in September, Sundays only in October
NOTE: Trains also operate over the Easter Weekend (including Good Friday and Easter Monday if sufficient staff can be rostered) , and Holiday Mondays in May and August. Day Ticket Prices (pay once travel as often as you like)
Group discounts are available for parties of ten or more please contact The Secretary for details and prices. Many visitors travel on an early train and spend an hour or so visiting the Lead Mining Museum at Wanlockhead and even Pan for Gold, then travel back
on a later train. Simply let the guard know when you wish to return and we'll
endeavor to have a train at the summit for your return trip. Visit the Photo page and photo gallery for more pictures and video clips of the Railway, the early days and Steam weekend 2000 Also our new "Railcar" website and even more photgraphs from the 2004 steam weekend. A weekly on-line NEWS page is available for members. Please e-mail the secretary for details on how to access the weekly newspage quoting name and membership number. Also the members area where there are more photographs and other items available for viewing and download. Certain text and images on this page were originally created by Mark Dewell of the
Heritage Railway The railway is a member of the Sanquhar and District Tourism Association and is listed on the irail.co.uk listing of railway websites and on the minitrains.20m.com site. Whilst in the area don't forget a visit to Leadhills Library, which is the world's oldest subscription library.
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