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
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