Kinross-shire Railway

Introduction

This line is closed. The railway, a branch northwards from the main line at Cowdenbeath to Kinross, was opened by an independent railway company. At Kinross it was met by the Fife and Kinross Railway which ran east to Ladybank. Following the opening of the Forth Bridge it became part of the main line between Edinburgh and Perth via Kinross with the opening of the Glenfarg Line (North British Railway). Although closed and lifted, with portions entirely obliterated, the line could be revived as it offers a more direct route between Edinburgh and Perth (and beyond to Inverness) than the existing route via Ladybank and Newburgh [2nd].






Dates

  /  /1857Kinross-shire Railway
Fife and Kinross Railway
Act receives Royal assent.
20/06/1860Kinross-shire Railway
Opened from Cowdenbeath [1st] (Lumphinnans Junction, later Central junction) to Kinross [2nd].
20/08/1860Fife and Kinross Railway
Kinross-shire Railway
Joint station opened at Hopefield.
  /  /1861Kinross-shire Railway
Edinburgh and Northern Railway
Kinross-shire Railway absorbed by Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee Railway.
30/07/1866Devon Valley Railway
Blairenbathie and Blairadam Collieries Branch (North British Railway)
Devon Valley Railway Act gives permission for a branch from Rumbling Bridge [1st] to Wattie's Ford Bridge and an extension from there to Kelty on the Kinross-shire Railway, much of what was later used for the Blairenbathie and Blairadam Collieries Branch (North British Railway). Another branch to Newhall near Solsgirth also approved. Branches not built.
01/09/1921Kinross-shire Railway
Loch Leven station closed
22/09/1930Kinross-shire Railway
Kelty and Blairadam stations closed.
  /  /1967Kinross-shire Railway
Kelty South Junction to Lumphinnans Central Junction closed.
05/01/1970Kelty to Cowdenbeath (North British Railway)
Kinross-shire Railway
Fife and Kinross Railway
Glenfarg Line (North British Railway)
Cowdenbeath (Cowdenbeath North Junction) to Perth (Hilton Junction) closed to passengers. Kinross Junction [2nd] station closed.
Cowdenbeath to Milnathort singled.
Bridge of Earn Junction (excluded) to Milnathort (excluded) closed to all traffic.
23/02/1970Kinross-shire Railway
Lochore Coup to Kelty North Junction (excluded) closed.
04/05/1970Kinross-shire Railway
Fife and Kinross Railway
Milnathort to Kelty North Junction (excluded) closed to freight.
12/07/1972Kinross-shire Railway
Kelty to Cowdenbeath (North British Railway)
Kelty Coup (by former Kelty station) to Cowdenbeath North Junction (excluded) closed to freight.

Locations along the line

These locations are along the line.

Freightliner 66514 leads failed 66551 and the Thornton to Ravenstruther empty ballast away from the former Lumphinnans Central Junction on 4 July ...
Bill Roberton 04/07/2022
66040 passes the former Lumphinnans Central Junction in 2005, with coal for Longannet Power Station. ...
Bill Roberton //2005
A Fife circle service approaches the site of Lumphinnans Central Junction along the 1919 link from Cowdenbeath North Junction. The original course of ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
60103 passes the site of Lumphinnans Central Junction with the first 'The Cathedrals Express' trip from Edinburgh to Fife. ...
Bill Roberton 20/05/2018
4 of 23 images. more


This junction opened with a new double track curve to Lumphinnans East Junction in 1902, the existing line remained single track. The curve allowed a goods train from the Kelty direction to run east onto the Dunfermline Branch. The route south to Lumphinnans Central Junction was realigned to make a junction a little further to the north. The box opened in 1901. The [[Dunfermline ...

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See also
Lumphinnans North Junction to Lumphinnans East Junction (North British Railway)


Lumphinnans No 11 was opened beside the Kinross-shire Railway south of Kelty station (and the later Kelty South Junction by the Cowdenbeath Coal Company.
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Lumphinnans Colliery Pits Nos Xi and Xii were located in this field. The original alignment of the Kinross-shire Railway ran from left to right in ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
Lumphinnans Colliery Pits Xi and Xii were located east of Kelty, served by the original route of the Kinross-shire Railway from Lumphinnans to Kelty ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
2 of 2 images.


The single track Kinross-shire Railway opened here in 1860, a line from Lumphinnans Central Junction to Kinross. The junction was formed in 1890 when Kelty to Cowdenbeath (North British Railway) as part of the preparations for the opening of the Forth Bridge. The original line northwards from the junction was doubled.
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See also
Kelty to Cowdenbeath (North British Railway)
Looking south, about half way between Kelty South Junction (behind the camera) and Cowdenbeath North Junction. The line ran, roughly, along the green ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
View south to Kelty South Junction. With a great deal of landscaping having been carried out there's not much to see. The original route, from ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
View north to Kelty South Junction in 2023. The main line from Cowdenbeath came in at the bottom, ran through the trees, over the Lochfitty Burn, ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
The main line from Kelty to Cowdenbeath crossed over Lochfitty Burn south of Kelty South Junction. The line was on an embankment over this bridge, ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
4 of 4 images.


Sinking of the colliery began in 1893 under Thomas Aitken of the Fife Coal Co Ltd, it was in production by 1895/96. The colliery had an adjoining washery. It was east of the village of Kelty.
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This station is closed. It was an island platform station located on what became the main line between Edinburgh Waverley and Perth in 1890 with the opening of the Forth Bridge, a new connection from Cowdenbeath (New) and line through Glenfarg. The station was east of the village of Kelty. It was originally a local station on the line from Cowdenbeath (Old) to [[Kinross ...

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View north to Kelty station from the minor road at Hilton Farm in 2023. The railway and Aitken Colliery have been landscaped. Quite a contrast to the ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
View south west from Kelty showing the route of the minerals only line to Townhead. This ran between the fences, passed under the A909, served Lindsay ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
View south from what would have been the southern end of the island platform at Kelty. The electrical substation building is left over from the Aitken ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
View north at the site of Kelty station in 2023 from the location of the former island platform. The station, never convenient for the village, closed ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
4 of 8 images. more


This yard was to the north of Kelty North Junction.
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View south over the site of Kelty Yard. The line entered the yard at the bottom centre with looped sidings laid out on either side of the line. Two ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
The North British had a yard north of Kelty station, where a large number of lines met. British Railways converted this into a marshalling yard by ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
2 of 2 images.




This signal box was north of Kelty Yard on the line to Blairadam.
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Benarty signal box (1902-1928) was north of Kelty. Short mineral branches served Kinnaird and Benarty collieries. The box was on the left hand side. ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
North of Benarty signal box the Kinross-shire Railway curved west around the southern flank of Benarty Hill to reach Blairadam (distant left of centre ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
View south near Benarty signal box showing the main line running from centre bottom, curving gently to the right with the landscaped trackbed ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
View north along the now overgrown trackbed of the Cowdenbeath-Bridge of Earn main line. This view is taken at roughly the location of image 29738 ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
4 of 5 images. more


This was a two platform station with the main building, a single storey, on the northbound platform. There were sidings at the south end, on the west side of the line, approached by reversal. The box was at the south end of the northbound platform. The station closed in 1930, signal box closed in 1957 and the line completely closed in 1970.
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This view looks north showing the line approaching Loch Leven from Blairadam. The main line curved round the west side (left side) of the loch to ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
View looking south east from near the site of Blairadam showing the route, unfortunately now ploughed out. This would have been the view from a bridge ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
View north to the site of Blairadam station from the site of a removed road bridge which crossed the line. The station was in the distance, beyond the ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
View south to Blairadam station. Unfortunately nothing remains of the station, houses have been built on its site. ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
4 of 10 images. more


Despite the encroaching tree, this concrete trackside bunker survives alongside the trackbed between Kinross Junction and Blairadam. This path ...
Mark Bartlett 04/08/2022
View south alongside Loch Leven. I'm not sure where exactly Loch Leven Curler's Platform was located but here, where the loch is not far to the left, ...
Ewan Crawford 12/01/2018
2 of 2 images.




This small hut stood next to the signal box south of Loch Leven station on the site of the short lived Kinross terminus of the Kinross-shire Railway. ...
Ewan Crawford 12/01/2018
This rather impressive artwork exists close to the trackbed just south of Loch Leven station. So far so good. Unfortunately it is closest to the site ...
Ewan Crawford 12/01/2018
View south at Loch Leven with sleepers still at the site of the shed to the left and, further left, the approach to the goods yard. Briefly, in 1860, ...
Ewan Crawford //1996
3 of 3 images.


This was a two platform station. There was a goods yard and locomotive shed to the south (or east) of Kinross High Street, the station was to the north (or west) of this.
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See also
Fife and Kinross Railway
Just north of Loch Leven station the railway crossed the South Queich. After the railway became a main line this was a double track bridge. As Bill ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
The buildings of Loch Leven station seen from the north. The station was built on the connection between the Kinross-shire Railway and the Fife and ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
A view looking south east showing the Kinross-shire Railway's approach to Kinross alongside Loch Leven. ...
Ewan Crawford 05/09/2023
The building on the up platform at the former Loch Leven station, undergoing refurbishment in October 2007. Opened in 1860 as Kinross, this was the ...
John Furnevel 23/10/2007
4 of 19 images. more