A false start

The Burnton Viaduct near Dalrymple in 2008

The Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway (GPK&AR) had reached Ayr in 1840, but its Ayr station was on the north bank of the River Ayr. (The GPK&AR was a predecessor company of the Glasgow and South Western Railway.) Although consideration was soon afterwards given to building a line southwards into Galloway, the daunting topography of any such route delayed any action on the matter.

In 1845 there was huge interest in railway investments, and a number of ambitious schemes were proposed, including a railway from Ayr to the shores of Loch Ryan, by way of Ballantrae, and sponsored by the GPKA&R, and titled the Glasgow and Belfast Union Railway. There was also an independent British and Irish Union Railway from Dumfries via Castle Douglas to Portpatrick. Both proposals sought a connection with the ferry service from Portpatrick to Donaghadee in the north of Ireland.

An Ayrshire and Galloway Railway (A&GR) proposed to build from a junction with the Glasgow and Belfast Union at Smithston, near Patna, by way of Dalmellington to Castle Douglas, there linking with the British and Irish Union Railway. The capital was to be £650,000; the company was courting the Caledonian Railway who had plans to reach Ayr across country. However the frenzied promotion of railway schemes, not all of them practicable, came to an end and in 1846. the British and Irish Union announced on 21 April 1846 that it was discontinuing its attempts to raise money for its line. The A&GR itself found raising money difficult, and this loss of connectivity at Castle Douglas (for Dumfries) was a blow. Consideration was given to abandoning their own scheme too, but the promoters decided to proceed, and a Bill was submitted to Parliament. The preamble to the Bill was found to be "not proved"^{[note 1]} and the scheme was reduced by Parliament, to run between Smithston (near Patna) and Dalmellington only, a small fraction of its intended course. The Act gave the company running powers over the Glasgow and Belfast Union line (under consideration at the same time) between Ayr and Smithston.

The Glasgow and Belfast Union Railway too was in financial difficulties, although partly funded by the profitable GPK&AR, and after consideration, it pressed forward with its Bill, now cutting back the scheme to reach Girvan only. It received its authorising Act of Parliament on 26 August 1846.^[1] However the reality of the shortage of money for such a difficult proposition became unavoidable, and the powers were allowed to lapse without any actual construction.^[2]

Dalmellington iron works

System map of the Ayr & Dalmellington Railway

The significance of Dalmellington was the substantial deposits of iron ore and of coal in the vicinity, as well as some limestone. The proximity of these minerals made the foundation of an ironworks feasible. Henry Houldsworth developed the mining and in 1846 founded an ironworks. He established tramways for local conveyance but wished to encourage the construction of the main line railway to facilitate internal transport, and more importantly transport to market.^[3][4]

A heavily reduced scheme

The 1846 authorisation was hardly practicable, and in the 1847 parliamentary session a further Bill was presented, after consideration with Houldsworth (as the dominant potential customer) as to the way forward. With the Glasgow and Belfast Union Railway scheme abandoned, the A&GR now needed to build from Ayr instead of Smithston. The GPKA&R undertook to purchase the shares for £100,500, and the A&GR undertook to construct the section between Drumgrange, near Waterside, and Sillyhole as a first priority, to give Houldsworth the connection between the iron workings and the works, that he required. The distance was about 2 miles (about 3 km), and the section was "to be given over to [his company] to be worked by horsepower".

The enabling Act for the Ayrshire and Galloway (Smithstown & Dalmellington) Railway received royal assent on 8 June 1847.^[5][6] The shareholders met on 22 November 1847 but too few attended to form a quorum, and the vote on sale to the GPK&AR could not be put to the meeting. The GPK&AR was in no hurry to finalise the matter, although it had purchased a large block of shares, and the delay in completion of the line led to heavy criticism by shareholders.

On 7 November 1849 the Drumgrange to Sillyhole section was completed and "handed over" (on a toll usage basis) to the Dalmellington Iron Company, ostensibly for horse operation, although the company did use small industrial locomotives.

The severe money shortage took its toll: in 1850 it was noted that the A&GR had made no effort toward constructing the remainder of its line, and that a lack of maintenance on the open section was showing itself. The company had failed to pay several creditors, and they obtained a warrant for "arrest" of the rental payments from the Iron Company.^[2]

The G&SWR is formed

The GPK&AR became renamed the Glasgow and South Western Railway on 25 October 1850, absorbing the Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway. At this time the Ayrshire and Galloway made a final call on subscribers to its shares. The G&SWR was now the largest shareholder, and after some prevarication paid up £16,651. It then took direct control of the A&GR, installing its own directors.

Extending the line

By 30 June 1851, the A&GR line had been completed from Sillyhole to Dalmellington, a distance of only a few hundred yards. However it was not opened at this stage, as only the mineral working north of Sillyhole was in effect. The G&SWR evidently saw no benefit in completing the line to Ayr, until negotiations with the Dalmellington Iron Company resulted in a commitment from them to guarantee a 4% return on capital (of £150,000) for ten years. Thirteen miles (20 km) of new railway needed to be built. The original compulsory purchase powers had expired, so a new Act needed to be obtained; this was passed on 4 August 1853.^[7] The line would be from Falkland Junction, immediately north of the G&SWR "Ayr" terminus, to Drumgrange. A line to Girvan was being planned now, and it would diverge from the Ayr and Dalmellington line and have running powers from Ayr, in contrast to the 1845 proposal where the A&GR line was to have diverged from the G&BUR and have running powers over that line.

The line opened to goods and mineral trains on 15 May 1856. the opening to passengers was delayed due to washouts of earthworks, but it took place on 7 August 1856.^[2][5][8]

The line was difficult to work, with gradients of 1 in 70 and 1 in 90 climbing to Dalmellington, and numerous mineral tramway connections. At Ayr it diverged (considered in the southward direction) from the G&SWR Ayr line at Falkland Junction, crossing the River Ayr. A new through station at Townhead was provided, a temporary structure until 1 July 1857. The line was worked by the G&SWR, but ordinary G&SWR trains continued to use the old terminus on the north side of the River Ayr until January 1860 when it was downgraded to goods depot status, all passenger trains using the new through station.