Solway Junction Railway

Solway Junction Railway
Solway Viaduct - Solway Junction Railway
Overview
Locale	Scotland
Continues as	Caledonian Railway
History
Opened	13 September 1869
Closed	27 April 1931
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Map of the Solway Junction Railway (Aston & Barrie, 1932; p.28)

v t e Solway Junction Railway
Legend
Caledonian Railway Main Line Kirtlebridge Annan Shawhill Annan Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway Solway Viaduct over Solway Firth  Scotland England Bowness Whitrigg Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway Kirkbride Junction Sleightholme Abbey Junction Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway Bromfield Maryport and Carlisle Railway Brayton (M&CR) Maryport and Carlisle Railway

The Solway Junction Railway was built by an independent railway company to shorten the route from ironstone mines in Cumberland to ironworks in Lanarkshire and Ayrshire.

It opened in 1869, and it involved a viaduct 1 mile 8 chains (1.8 km) long crossing the Solway Firth, as well as approach lines connecting existing railways on both sides.

The viaduct was susceptible to damage from floating ice sheets, and the rising cost of repairs and maintenance, and falling traffic volumes as the Cumberland fields became uncompetitive, led to closure of the viaduct in 1921. The viaduct and the connecting railways were dismantled, and now only the shore embankments remain.