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The Berwickshire Railway is an abandoned railway running between Duns and St Boswells in the Scottish Borders.
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The line was authorised in 1862, with a capital of £100,000 in £10 shares and £33,300 in loans. The line opened between Duns (where it formed a connection to the Reston and Duns branch of the North British Railway) and Earlston in November 1863. The remainder of the line to St Boswells opened in October 1865. The line was subsumed into the NBR in 1876.[1]
Following the major flooding which peaked on 12 and 13 August 1948, passenger services were suspended between Duns and St.Boswells, pending repairs to the trackbed which was washed away between Duns and Greenlaw; as it happened, repairs were never carried out and the only traffic the line carried thereafter was freight between Greenlaw and St Boswells as well as the odd railtour. The section between Reston and Duns continued to carry passenger trains until 10th September 1951. The last service on the branch (a Greenlaw - Hawick goods working) operated on Friday 16 July 1965, and the line officially closed on Monday 19 July 1965.
The major engineering feat on the line was Leaderfoot Viaduct situated just north of Ravenswood Junction, where the line left the Waverley Line.
The Berwickshire railway left Duns in a generally south westerly direction, with a ruling descent as far as Greenlaw. Just west of Gordon railway station the line reached its summit at 176 meters above sea level, before descending as far as Earlston railway station. A short climb then took the line to Leaderfoot Viaduct and Ravenswood Junction where the line joined the metals of the Waverley Route. The line ran through rural countryside,
| Location | Distance from Duns | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Marchmont Stn | 3m 60c | |
| Lintmill siding | 5m 60c | Served RAF Charterhall |
| Greenlaw Stn | 8m 20c | |
| Gordon Stn | 12m 24c | |
| Fans Loanend Sdg | 16m 1c | |
| Earlston Stn | 18m 1c | |
| Ravenswood Jn | 21m 11c | Connection to the Waverley Line between Melrose and St Boswells |
| St Boswells Stn | 22m 38c |
Never a busy line, the Berwickshire railway handled goods and passenger trains in equal measure. Upon completion of the through route, trains ran from Berwick upon Tweed to St Boswells with some trains extending to Kelso. Connections were provided at St Boswells for Edinburgh Waverley and Hawick. Certain goods trains ran through to Hawick, while there were limited services to and from Duns only. Coal (for Gasworks and households), limited general merchandise, agricultural traffic and livestock.
