Monklands Memories - Airdrie & Coatbridge areas

The Leadhills & Wanlockhead Railway
Click the title for the web site

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.