Kirkland Yard and Leven Dock to Methil Line Widening (North British Railway)

Introduction

This was a mineral and goods railway replacing/supplementing the earlier Leven Dock Railway. For the opening of Methil Dock No 3 not only were lines for the new dock laid, but the lines between Leven and Methil were rebuilt. Kirkland Yard was laid out west of Leven [1st] and a quadruple line laid to Methil East Junction (relocated and rebuilt) where the single track bridge over the River Leven was replaced. Lines split to serve No 3 dock and to run down the west side of Methil Dock No 1 and Methil Dock No 2 to Methil West Junction. To accommodate the new line the north west corner of Methil Dock No 1 was infilled. The system is now disused, particularly since the closure of Methil Power Station and the cessation of traffic to the docks. A portion, which overlaps with the original Leven Dock line, will reopen between East Fife Central Junction and the Bawbee Bridge as a double track electrified railway for the new Levenmouth passenger terminus.






Locations along the line

These locations are along the line.

This was a four way junction between the 1854 Leven Railway and the 1898 East Fife Central Railway and Kirkland Yard (North British Railway) (around 1910).
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See also
Leven Railway
East Fife Central Railway
Ken Whyte, Chair of the Shed at Bayview, said: 'One of the skills we were hoping to develop was forest craft. When we heard that Network Rail were ...
Network Rail /12/2020
Looking south along the trackbed of the East Fife Central Railway on 1st December 2020, at the point where it passed under the A915 to the east of ...
Bill Roberton 01/12/2020
View west to the former East Fife Central Junction showing clearance works. ...
Network Rail /12/2020
A view of the Methil branch at Kirkland Yard in July 2020. This section of track was cleared of vegetation earlier in the year in preparation for the ...
Bill Roberton 20/07/2020
4 of 6 images. more


This large yard was associated with the expansion of the docks at Methil, particularly the opening of Methil Dock No 3, and the expansion of the lines between the former Leven Railway and the Methil docks.
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Former British Aluminium Company Co. No.3 (Andrew Barclay 2046 of 1937) undergoing cosmetic restoration at the Kirkland Depot. ...
Bill Roberton 23/05/2023
No.7, formerly at Rosyth Dockyard, in the shed yard at Fife Heritage Railway on 21 October 2023. Ruston Hornsby works no.313390 of 1952.
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Bill Roberton 21/10/2023
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST, 2046 of 1937, (British Aluminium Co. No.3) in a fresh blue livery, awaiting lining and lettering, on 21 July 2023.
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Bill Roberton 21/07/2023
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST, 1890 of 1926, nearing completion of an overhaul at the Fife Heritage Railway on 21 July 2023.
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Bill Roberton 21/07/2023
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A new terminus serving Leven, Innerleven and Methil will be built below the A955 Bawbee Bridge which crosses over the River Leven and the former freight only line to Methil Power Station and the docks. This new site for the terminus is required as the sites of Leven [1st] and Leven [2nd] stations are not available.
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See also
Leven Dock Railway
Colas power cars 43321 and 43285 draw away from Leven, returning to Slateford with a route learning trip on 9 January 2024.
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Bill Roberton 09/01/2024
Colas power cars 43321 and 43285 pass the Fife Heritage Railway compound with a route learner from Slateford to Leven on 9 January 2024. 'North ...
Bill Roberton 09/01/2024
Network Rail has commissioned the signalling system on the new £116m Levenmouth Rail Link - meaning trains can use the line.
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Network Rail /01/2024
Network Rail has commissioned the signalling system on the new £116m Levenmouth Rail Link - meaning trains can use the line.
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Network Rail /01/2024
4 of 47 images. more


This junction, actually at Levenmouth, was formed in 1914 during the works to open Methil Dock No 3. Kirkland Yard was laid out to the west, a great improvement on the single track line from the Kirkland Siding reversing spur in Leven. A quadruple track was laid from the yard to Methil East Junction where there were sidings on the site of the Leven Dock and a new quadruple track ...

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See also
Leven Dock Railway
Leven Extension Railway (Wemyss and Buckhaven Railway)
20118 and 20148 depart Methil with empty coal slurry wagons for Westfield on a bright September 1990 evening. ...
Roger Geach 13/09/1990
20199 and 20204 draw an empty slurry train away from Methil Power Station and under the Bawbee Bridge. Its predecessor carried the Wemyss & District ...
Bill Roberton //1983
37692 departs Methil with empty wagons for Killoch via Thornton Junction in 1995. Ex-scrap carrying wagons were used to carry coal slurry. This will ...
Roger Geach 22/03/1995
20199 and 20204 draw an empty slurry train away from Methil Power Station, and under the Bawbee Bridge, in 1983. The bridge's predecessor carried the ...
Bill Roberton //1983
4 of 14 images. more




This coal slurry burning power station was located on the south bank of the River Leven at Innerleven. The site has been cleared.
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The 'Tay-Forth Venturer' on 16 June 1984 pauses at the docks level crossing with the power station dominating the scene.
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Bill Roberton 16/06/1984
No.2 turbine at Methil Power Station, seen during a public open day on 28 September 1991. The station was retired in 2000 and demolished in 2011. ...
Bill Roberton 28/09/1991
The unloading sidings at Methil Power Station, with gantry crane above, seen during a public open day on 28 September 1991. The rake of wagons appear ...
Bill Roberton 28/09/1991
The SRPS's Barclay 0-4-0ST Clydesmill No3 making a guest appearance at Methil Power Station open day on 28 September 1991. See image 33865 [Ref ...
Bill Roberton 28/09/1991
4 of 9 images. more


This dock was built for the export of coal. It had three coal hoists, one approached by rail from the south (on the west side), two approached from the north (one on the west side one at the north end) and a rail served quayside on the east side.
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See also
Lochs, and lakes, water
Leven Extension Railway (Wemyss and Buckhaven Railway)
October 2022 view looking west from the footbridge spanning the former Methil branch, just visible on the bottom right. Dock No.1 is on the left.
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Bill Roberton 28/10/2022
Looking back towards Leven from the 'Tay-Forth Venturer' on 16 June 1984, with Methil Power Station prominent. The footbridge survives in 2022, long ...
Bill Roberton 16/06/1984
The 'Tay-Forth Venturer' DMU rail tour returns from visiting Methil on 16 June 1984.
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Bill Roberton 16/06/1984
The 'Tay-Forth Venturer' on 16 June 1984 nearing the end of the line at Methil with the Dock No.1 on the left and signs of the new oil rig fabrication ...
Bill Roberton 16/06/1974
4 of 13 images. more






This junction was to the south west of Methil station. The layout was altered on several occasions and the track layout was complex.
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See also
Leven Extension Railway (Wemyss and Buckhaven Railway)
WPR No.19 (Andrew Barclay No. 2067/1939) hoists another rake of mineral wagons away from the BR exchange sidings near Methil West box on 22 August ...
Bill Jamieson 22/08/1969
WPR locomotives at Methil, 1970. Bell's box to the right. View looking west. ...
John Furnevel 17/02/1970
WPR No 19 at Methil, 1970. Bell's box (WPR) and Methil West box behind. ...
John Furnevel 17/02/1970
Wemyss Private Railway No. 19 (Andrew Barclay No. 2067/1939) passes Methil West box with a rake of mineral wagons from the BR exchange sidings on 22 ...
Bill Jamieson 22/08/1969
4 of 10 images. more