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The Port Road

The Port Road. This website is dedicated to The Port Road which is the collective name for the "Portpatrick Railway", "Wigtownshire Railway" and "Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway". The Portpatrick and Wigtonshire railways were amalgamated in 1885 and in combination with Castle Douglas to Dumfries became known as "The Port Road".

At time of writing 27th April 2015 this is still the beginning of a long term project to learn and understand the history of The Port Road, for now you will see a series of expanding photographic galleries in the menu structure as I visit and photograph specific sites on the line and its branch lines. In addition to study on "The Port Road" you can also now find some Galleries on the still active West Highland Line which will be updated from time to time

This page and many others will be updated and evolve over time but I hope to turn it into a general reference point for for those interested in studying a once vibrant enterprise which was both about life and crucially "full of life"

For now the inspiration for the project comes from the following link, namely a film shot by enthusiasts in the closing days of the Port Road in 1965. It shows many landmarks which can still be seen today, you can view the video via the NLS Library website by clicking this link

Read also about The Railway That Went The Wrong Way from Alistair Livingston

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News

Garlieston Station

We think that the buildings shown in the picture in this gallery may form part of the original Garlieston Station. This was the terminus of the Millisle to Garlieston branch from the Newton Stewart to Whithorn branch line of the Port Road. This small branch opened in 1878 to both goods and passengers and was closed in 1903. The buildings in the picture are located at the exact grid reference for the original Garlieston Station. If anyone can give further information on the validity of this we would be very happy to hear from you so please contact us through the contact form on the website.

The information we have to date suggests the following:

"Regular passenger services ceased on the Garlieston branch on 1 March 1903. However, Garlieston had a good harbour and it occasionally ran boat excursions to the Isle of Man. These were well patronised, so the railway continued to provide excursion trains to Garlieston until 1935.

Goods services ran from Newton Stewart to Whithorn and to Garlieston until the Whithorn branch closed completely on 5 October 1964. By the 1960s, these services ran three days per week; with conditional working on the Garlieston branch, when required"

Many thanks