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The Railways of East Fife Ian Lamb

The area of East Fife covers from Dysart in the south to Leuchars Junction in the north, Crail in the east and Ladybank in the west. The whole steeped in railway history with everything from express to local services and of course goods of various types.

The Railways of East Fife

Fortunately one man in particular, W A C ‘Bill’ Smith, was a prolific photographer of both the trains and the infrastructure in the area during the 1950s and 1960s, this album a tribute not only to his work but also to a lost transport scene now rapidly fading from memory. ISBN 978-1-913893-38-5

£13.50

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Introduction

he scenic fishing villages of Elie, St. Monans, Pittenweem, Anstruther and Crail on the Scottish East Coast were known as the “five pearls of Fife”. King James VI of Scotland (1st of Great Britain) is said to have referred to them as “a beggar’s mantle fringed with gold”. This ‘Kingdom of Fife’ is more than just a peninsula, it is almost an island interzone bounded by the Firths of Forth and Tay, located between the cities of Edinburgh and Dundee. W A C ‘Bill’ Smith was a prolific photographer of steam locomotives, as is borne out by this marvellous collection of images of East Fife, which were predominantly taken by him during the 1950s and 1960s, recording the changes as the older pre-grouping steam classes disappeared to be replaced by the new Standard types and the even more modern diesel power. Very much the preserve of the North British Railway - followed by the LNER prior to Nationalisation in 1948 - Fife had some of the earliest coal workings in Scotland. An important step forward was the opening of the Edinburgh & Northern Railway in 1847 which ran from Burntisland to Ferry-Porton-Craig (later named Tayport) where water based transport was provided across the Firth of Tay to Broughty Ferry, east of Dundee. A ferry already existed on the Forth estuary between Edinburgh (Granton) and Burntisland carrying railway wagons, so creating the world’s first train ferry!

the ‘Kingdom’ until late in 1966. The summer of that year had seen what were thought to be the last such workings, but autumn brought a surprising comeback with steam trains daily continuing, the result of ‘DMUs’ not being allowed to trail a fish van from Anstruther on the single line.

In 1849, the ‘E&NR’ became the Edinburgh, Perth & Dundee Railway, amalgamating with the ‘NBR’ in 1862. East Fife was by now being served by the Leven & East of Fife and St Andrews before becoming acquired by the ‘NBR’ which company worked the Newburgh & North Fife railway when it was opened in 1909. The second Tay Bridge was completed in 1887, and the North British route to Dundee and Aberdeen was firmly established by the opening of the Forth Bridge in 1890 with its connecting lines from Inverkeithing to Central Fife, and along the coast via Burntisland and on directly to Dundee through the County town of Cupar, which ensured that all attempts by the Caledonian Railway to penetrate East Fife were defeated.

These steam trains ceased after 5th November due to the closure of Glasgow’s Buchanan Street station when Fife services then reverted to Queen Street. On the penultimate day of operation, Thompson ‘B1s’ No. 61330 worked in to Glasgow with the 08.48 train from Leven, and No. 61407 took out the 11.35 for Thornton, this engine returning with the 16.45 from Kirkcaldy, resulting in the coaches being formed as the 18.42 to Dunfermline behind No. 61330. As from 1st January 1967, BR steam locomotives were reduced to eleven based at Thornton, and all Scottish Region steam working ceased from 1st May in that year. However, a steam finale was provided by the Wemyss Private Railway which dated from the turn of the century until 1970.

Thornton Junction very quickly became the nerve centre for this part of the ‘NBR’ system, and located the principal motive power depot during the steam era. Diesel locomotives and multiple units began to infiltrate Fife in 1958, but steam-hauled passenger services did not disappear from

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4 July 1959. Thornton shed (62A) tended to allocate any available motive power, and that was the case when their Class J37 0-6-0 had been rostered to head the 12.52pm train from Crail to Edinburgh (Waverley). It is unlikely that this engine would continue with the train to the Scottish capital, so as she approaches Thornton station the loco crew are likely to be relieved from the run to head for servicing at the local shed, whilst another fresh locomotive takes the train forward to its planned destination. The main line to Dundee lies straight ahead beyond the Thornton Station signal box. W A C Smith

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25 March 1961. Returning home to Thornton Junction, and probably not the last time that 65345 would find itself on the Lochty branch as there was only three years left before the track was lifted. Norris Forest After line closure in 1964, a local farmer - John Cameron - purchased A4 Pacific No 60009 Union of South Africa from British Railways, and operated it on a short length of track on the former route which lay on his land at Lochty. In so doing, it became the first preserved railway in Scotland. This developed into the Lochty Private Railway and from 1966 to 1992 the short railway, and a steam museum at Lochty, operated successfully before the locomotive found itself once more on mainline steam. During that time a large shed was built in 1967 to protect the engine. A set of points was laid to enable one line to lead into the shed whilst the other went to the old loading bank which served as a passenger platform. On Sundays during the summer months, 60009 was steamed up, and ran up and down the line for the benefit of railway enthusiasts … of which I was one quite regularly! Now retired, there are plans to house the engine permanently, along with 61994 “The Great Marquess”, at Balbuthie Farm near Kilconquhar.

Late 1960s In preservation, Gresley former Edinburgh 64B (Haymarket) A4 Pacific No. 60009 Union of South Africa ejects lots of black smoke, but enough steam to set off with railway enthusiasts over almost a mile of track out of Lochty terminus. Ian lamb

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Left top - Late 1960s Almost one mile beyond East Fife Central junction is that of the through line to the coast via Leven station, and the vast Kirkland marshalling goods yard looking east, built in 1912 to accommodate the additional wagons required to convey the coal traffic generated by the opening of the No. 3 dock at Methil. Note the dwarf frame which controlled the various routes to sidings. The reinstated railway to Leven foreshore will be laid through the middle of this onetime freight area. Ian Lamb Left bottom - Late 1960s The other – eastern - end of Kirkland marshalling yard as it narrows towards approaching Leven foreshore. Heavy industry still survives today. What a delight in seeing the lower quadrant ‘home’ signal in such a setting, but sad that at the time the picture was taken, no wagons or shunting engines were to be seen, leaving the scene with a deathly silence. Ian lamb Right top - Late 1960s. The tracks narrow on approach to Leven foreshore to be quadrupled all the way to the goods station, such was the demand for traffic. The goods station was created on the site of the original 1885 passenger terminus, and to all intents and purposes will be the location of the new station complex currently under construction. Once again two lower quadrant signals on one post guard the route both ways. Ian Lamb Right middle - 11 June 2022. Same spot, looking towards Thornton from Balfour bridge. Once upon a time this view was simply a fan of many tracks, mainly storing coal wagons. The ‘Kingdom of Fife Railway Preservation Society’s site now takes centre stage. Ian lamb Right bottom - Late 1960s. Below is more or less the same location, but looking west in the 28 opposite direction. Ian lamb

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25 July 1964. Returning home, Haymarket (64B) allocated B1 4-6-0 No. 61076 crosses Largo Viaduct overlooking the harbour with the 12.30pm Crail to Edinburgh (Waverley) train. This small village was the home of Alexander Selkirk on whom Daniel Defoe based his book ‘Robinson Crusoe’, and the local hotel has taken advantage of that fame. W A C Smith

25 July 1964. Coal may have been king in the distant central Fife, but another source of economic activity was the coast itself, consisting of a succession of rocky shelves, promontories, reefs and islets. The remainder is made up of sandy beaches, notably at Largo bay and Leven. With Lower Largo village in the background, and the Firth of Forth bay by the coast line, B1 Class 4-6-0 No. 61147 rushes along the level track before turning inland towards Kilconquhar with the 1.18pm train from Edinburgh (Waverley) to Crail. W A C Smith

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28 August 1965. J37 Class ex-NBR 0-6-0 No. 64569 at Anstruther station with the RCTS Fife Coast Rail Tour of Fife. W A C Smith

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9 August 1958. 62A Glasgow (Eastfield) B1 4-6-0 No. 61342 with the 11.8am Glasgow (Buchanan Sreet) to St Andrews train via Leuchars crossing the River Eden at Guard Bridge W A C Smith

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As the lines were closing, and the tracks lifted in the mid to late 1960s, one of my young students David Simpson – a keen railway enthusiast like myself – still in a mood of despondency, declared, “Ah well, we’ll just have to put it back again in the future”! Now, after almost sixty years, I hope he’ll make his way back to his native town of Leven and see the first train pull in to the new station. We are fortunate that Bill Smith – and his contemporary photographers – had the foresight to record for posterity the dying years of a proud railway heritage in this part of Scotland. It has been my privilege and great pleasure to look through and study all the many pictorial images available to me in preparing this album. In so doing I may have captured a moment in time, and can only hope and trust that the ‘new’ railway from Thornton junction to Leven will be well supported by the good citizens of Levenmouth and others in my beloved East Fife. One of Wormit station lamps reminds us of the origin of the East Fife line. Norris Forrest

17 November 1962. A DMU providing a local service from Dundee (Tay Bridge) has just come off the bridge itself and pulling in to Wormit station. The timeless scene may be attractive for nostalgia, but it needed passengers to keep the line open. W A C Smith

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