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The Port Road


dripfedfred
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Ed -  line was dual Dumfries - Castle Douglas, then West of Challoch Junction (at the Stranraer end).  In between was all single track with passing loops.

Dave - sorry I will do, the morn.  Only unwrapped them yesterday.

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Strengthened piers for heavier, wartime traffic, so the story goes.  Hideous, ain't it?

I have never read whether if it was the masonry piers themselves or the load needed spread into wider foundations.

 

My (uninspiring) pic from the other year:

attachicon.gifP1010934.jpg

You'd think it was always blue sky and belting sunshine in Galloway, eh?  Lovely spot - Gatehouse, the Clints and the viaduct.

The way the brickwork is arranged at the top of each pier suggests an arch former was next to be constructed.

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Yes I think it looks like the strengthening was planned to include possible arch re-enforcement. There are various articles on the internet about the viaduct but oddly, I cant find a picture of it pre 1940 which was around the time the re-enforcement reportedly took place, if anyone has something which shows it before the re-enforcement I'd love to see it. Its very odd that there's nothing lurking out there. Curiously there are several references on the internet to Big Water Of Fleet Viaduct appearing in the 1935 version of Alfred Hitchcocks "The 39 Steps", which is pre war, so I guess before the reinforcement was carried out., the film is available in several youtube videos but I've looked at a few prints and I cant see it featuring anywhere, although the Forth rail bridge is obvious

Edited by dripfedfred
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  • 2 weeks later...

A few new pictures showing the old Gatehouse Of Fleet Station taken at the weekend, these are not on the website yet but very interesting, in one you can see the edge of the old platform on the right hand side

 

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Edited by dripfedfred
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We've updated the template on the port road website to give it a more professional look here http://theportroad.co.uk/index.php

 

You can adjust the template colour by clicking the icon to the right of the menu bar for fun

 

Many more articles and photographs to come on Gatehouse of Fleet station, Palnure Station and Newton Stewart Station

 

Douglas

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There is no specific link, the Port road had a few branch lines and the first picture of Stanley Holloway from one of my favorite films on the subject of the demise of the railways provided the original inspiration to start the project. A few people have asked this question, and some of the film stills are probably unnecessary but just seam appropriate to the era studied, some of these will probably go but the Stanley picture will probably remain.

 

StanleyHollowayandflower.jpg

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There is no specific link, the Port road had a few branch lines and the first picture of Stanley Holloway from one of my favorite films on the subject of the demise of the railways provided the original inspiration to start the project. A few people have asked this question, and some of the film stills are probably unnecessary but just seam appropriate to the era studied, some of these will probably go but the Stanley picture will probably remain.

 

StanleyHollowayandflower.jpg

 

No problem at all, I just wondered. It's your site and I'm very grateful that you're doing it.

 

Best wishes

 

Ed  (it's one of my favourite films too, especially the opening sequence.)

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Just to go slightly off topic I captured this photo at Goathland Station earlier in the summer which shows the enthusiasm for steam railways will never die, the crew are both in their twenties

 

Oh I don't know, the NYMR is not exactly a happy place at the moment

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  • 3 months later...

More coming soon, in the meantime, almost every article I read on Big Water Of Fleet viaduct here http://www.theportroad.co.uk/index.php/port-road-galleries/big-water-of-fleet-viaduct claims that it featured in Hitchcocks 1935 version of "The 39 Steps", I've watched the film and I cant see where it appears, although there are sequences featured on the Forh Rail Bridge. Does anyone know where the viaduct appears in the film?

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There is an article called "The Port Road - Dumfries to Stranraer" by G H Robin in the 1960 Trains Illustrated Annual, five pages of text and seven photographs. I mention it only because there may be forum users who have a copy on their shelves. This topic stirred memories of my very battered copy (a Christmas pressy in '59).

 

Chaz

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  • 3 months later...

I now have some new pages on the port road site, the first is of the terminus at Portpatrick Station terminus of the Portpatrick Railway, couple of pictures below, the page can be found here http://theportroad.co.uk/index.php/port-road-galleries/portpatrick-station Another page on the Stranrear Stations is coming soon

 

hist1925train.JPG   ps.jpg

 

Terminus.jpg

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Thanks very much for all this, the Port Road is a fascinating line.

The railway featured heavily in the Dorothy L Sayers mystery "Five Red Herrings", in which Lord Peter Wimsey solves a local murder while staying in Gatehouse of Fleet.

See:  http://www.gatehouse-of-fleet.co.uk/index.php/visitors/history/dorothy-l-sayers

Cheers, Dave.

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  • 2 months later...

Finally had some time to update the Port Road site some more, there is a new menu structure dividing the line into sections(not complete yet but we have Dumfries to Castle Douglas and Castle Douglas to Creetown) in the menu structure with all the stations and features as sub categories under these. There are new articles on Dunragit Station which is the most interesting one as although closed it is still on the remaining active part of the Port Road line just a few hundred yards from where the main line was severed in 1965. There is also a new article showing pictures of the current state of Gatehouse of Fleet station. Links below and a couple of pictures

 

http://theportroad.co.uk/index.php/port-road-galleries/castle-douglas-to-creetown/gatehouse-of-fleet-station

 

http://theportroad.co.uk/index.php/port-road-galleries/dunragit-station

 

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Edited by dripfedfred
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  • 5 months later...

Some new progress on the Port Road Site, we've moved slightly sideways at the moment looking at the second branch from Dumfries, which was the Cairn Valley Light Railway, here is the first article http://theportroad.co.uk/index.php/locations and here is the second on Irongray Station http://theportroad.co.uk/index.php/locations/irongray-station

 

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