It was intended primarily to carry minerals from coal and ironstone pits, and stone quarries, in the area immediately north and east of Airdrie, to market, predominantly over the adjoining Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway.

The mineral extraction was located in high ground and rope-worked inclines were incorporated into the line to bring loaded wagons down.

[1][4] As was usual, the act laid down maximum toll rates for the railway: "For all Goods, Wares, Merchandize [sic], Coal and other Things: 3d per Ton, per Mile.

Describing the railway, Buchanan[6] says that "It was commenced in the summer of 1826 and opened to the public on 8 August 1828", but Martin states authoritatively that this represents the final completion of the construction of the whole line.

"Revenue-earning traffic on the railway actually commenced very much earlier, on 12 November 1827" although this may only have been over a short distance from Kipps Colliery to the junction with the M&KR.

[1] The line was about 6 miles (10 km) in extent,[7][8] and it included two self-acting inclined planes to gain altitude in reaching the high ground where the mines were located.

Whishaw recorded that there were 270 wagons in use on the system, each weighing about 24 cwt (1200 kg); the horses in use belonged to the coal proprietors, not the railway itself.

[1] Buchanan says that "A useful contrivance, [represented in an engraving in the original], has been here adopted for the ease of the animal in descending; instead of causing it to run behind the waggon, a carriage is made, in which the horse stands at his ease all the time the waggons are descending, and starts perfectly fresh to his task of drawing them back.

This system was still in use on 21 July 1841, when a child called Margaret McWakenshaw "unloosed a horse-carriage from a train of waggons" and was injured when then trying to prevent it running away down the line.

[1] In the period 1838 to 1842 it was paying dividends of 14–16%, and when the connecting Slamannan Railway was promoted, the Ballochney company was able to contribute half the capital for that line.

[11][12] Writing in 1842, Whishaw states that the line had been chiefly worked by horses, but had then been prepared for locomotive operation on the upper section of about 2.5 miles (4.0 km); it had an inclination of 1 in 70.

[7] The observations regarding preparation for locomotive operation seem to be contradicted by Robertson: "... in spite of the powers for steam haulage in the Ballochney act, the existence of the double plane in the centre of the line shows that it was planned for horses.

The ascending train consists usually of four loaded wagons and the descending train of six or seven empty wagons; the time occupied in the ascent is 3•50 minutes; the rope used is about 4+1⁄2 inches [110 mm] circumference; the sheeves [sic] are of 14 inches [360 mm] diameter, and are placed at intervals of 21 feet.

Colonel Yolland of the Board of Trade explains that the Ballochney main line has two inclines on it, with a space of about 100 yards of comparative level between them "at a place called Common Head", and that the Airdrie branch diverges there.

The goods trains usually have a separate breaksman, besides the two inclinemen, and this breaksman, whose duty it is to assist in shunting the goods trains, generally rides down on the engine.The waggons belonging to the Monkland Railway are said to be mostly provided with breaks, but a large proportion of those, not belonging to the Company, are said to be without them.

[17] Note: As the railway was operated by hauliers and used horse traction, modern concepts of stations, signalling and running lines and sidings did not yet apply.

It continued, climbing on an easterly course, and forked at Rochsoles Branch Junction in undeveloped ground north of Leaend Burn.

As ironstone and colliery workings developed rapidly in this period, it was argued that the Whiterigg branch would be very beneficial, and it was constructed in 1830, bringing the total network mileage to 5+1⁄2 miles [8.9 km].

[1] Buchanan describes this: "A branch about half a mile [800 m] in length goes off to the north-west to embrace the extensive colliery of Whiterig, and which has been recently extended to the ironstone mines of Gavil and others.

[26]It appears that these two coaches, from Clarkston on the Ballochney Railway and Cairnhill on the M&KR joined with the Leaend to Townhead train.

Passengers could leave the Union Canal basin at Port Hopetoun in Edinburgh by boat, and transfer to a Slamannan train at Causewayend; the train then ran to Townhead in Glasgow, successively traversing the Slamannan line, the Ballochney, the Monkland and Kirkintilloch and the Garnkirk and Glasgow Railways.

Thus for a while the Ballochney company carried the principal passenger service between Edinburgh and Glasgow over its Commonhead rope-worked inclines and track with stone block sleepers.

This came to an end on 21 February 1842 when the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway opened; it was a well-engineered main line directly serving the two cities.

[1] The highly successful period from the opening came to and end in the first half of the 1840s, and all the "coal railways" began to think of economies, and of amalgamation.

Transfer of minerals to the network of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway (E&GR) system assumed increasing importance, and a connection was made in this period from the M&KR at Garngaber and from the Slamannan beyond Causewayend.

The Monkland Mineral Lines presented a petition to Parliament in the following year, 1847, trying to resurrect the scheme for amalgamation among themselves, but this time the E&GR opposed the Bill; the mood within the E&GR had changed considerably and the entire board of directors had changed, and the board now had a hostile view of the Monkland lines.

The reluctance extended as far as suing the E&GR for compliance with the agreement to work the lines, but this eventually proved abortive.

For a few months, this involved running up from Clarkston to Rawyards and over the Ballochney inclines, but by August 1861 the more southerly route between Plains and Coatbridge via the present-day Airdrie station was in operation.

[28] A day later (on 1 August 1865) the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was absorbed into the North British Railway The location of active mineral extraction changed with time as pits became exhausted and new ones opened; the former Ballochney line continued to play a part in transporting minerals for the rest of the nineteenth century.

[21] The final part of the Ballochney system was the link from Kipps to the Hallcraig Street station, which remained open for goods traffic for Airdrie until closure in 1964.