Opening
The line is officially quoted to have opened on 1 October 1826, but the section north of Gartsherrie at least must have opened during May 1826; A coal merchant, James Shillinglaw advertised coal from Gartsherrie for sale in Edinburgh:
"The Gartshearie Coal (from the Monkland Coal-Field) is now introduced for the first time in Edinburgh, in consequence of the opening of the Kirkintilloch Railway."
The railway did not own wagons or horses to pull them, and independent hauliers operated over the line, paying the company a toll for the privilege. From 1835 the company started to acquire its own fleet of wagons.
Read more about this topic: Monkland And Kirkintilloch Railway
Famous quotes containing the word opening:
“Seeing myself well lost once more, I sighed,
“Where, where in Heaven am I? But don’t tell me!
O opening clouds, by opening on me wide.
Let’s let my heavenly lostness overwhelm me.””
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“The opening of large tracts by the ice-cutters commonly causes a pond to break up earlier; for the water, agitated by the wind, even in cold weather, wears away the surrounding ice.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
““Who are you,” said the caterpillar.
This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, “I—I hardly know, Sir, just at present—at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have changed several times since then.””
—Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898)