Drumlanrig, Railway Tunnel
Railway Tunnel (19th Century)
Site Name Drumlanrig, Railway Tunnel
Classification Railway Tunnel (19th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Drumlanrig Tunnel; Langknowe; Drumlanrig Railway Tunnel
Canmore ID 169576
Site Number NS80SE 53
NGR NS 87196 02452
NGR Description NS 8688 0201 to NS 8759 0185
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/169576
- Council Dumfries And Galloway
- Parish Durisdeer
- Former Region Dumfries And Galloway
- Former District Nithsdale
- Former County Dumfries-shire
NS80SE 53.00 87196 02452 [8688 0201 to 8759 0185]
NS80SE 53.01 NS 8711 0257 Air Shaft
NS80SE 53.02 NS 8735 0221 Air Shaft
Site location formerly entered as NS 8688 0201.
Formerly also entered as NS80SE 96.
Drumlanrig Tunnel [NAT]
OS 1:10,000 map 1983.
This tunnel carries the Glasgow - Kilmarnock - Gretna ('Nith Valley') main line of the former Glasgow and South-Western Rly beneath a spur to the E of the River Nith. It remains in regular use by passenger traffic.
Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 8 March 2006.
Publication Account (2007)
The 1400 yd long tunnel, one of the heaviest works and the ‘key to the whole line’, was required to be on an alternative route to the Nith valley to meet the requirements of the Duke of Buccleugh that the railway should be at a distance from Drumlanrig Castle and Park. The tunnel proved to be an engineering challenge
beyond the skills of Brown & Oliver who, in 1848, found it expedient to enter into an arrangement with Thomas
Campbell, an expert tunnelling contractor, who successfully completed the contract for the Drumlanrig section
of the line by October 1850. The number of men at work on this section in 1847 was 600. Miller was the engineer and Deas the resident engineer.
R Paxton and J Shipway 2007
Reproduced from 'Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Lowlands and Borders' with kind permission from Thomas Telford Publishers.
