The Southern Uplands and the Cheviot Hills presented a considerable topographical obstacle to many of the options, especially because at that date the power of steam locomotives, and their ability to climb steep and lengthy gradients was very limited.

The Tyne, Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway proposed in 1836 by Stephen Reed of Newcastle would have left the N&CR at Hexham and run north through Carter Bar; altitude 1,370 ft (420 m).

This scheme was encouraged by the N&CR (to which it would bring traffic) and the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, which would acquire commercial advantage from being on the main line.

In 1845 the Caledonian Railway was authorised to construct a line from both Glasgow and Edinburgh to Carlisle, crossing the Southern Uplands at Beattock Summit, 1,033 ft (315 m) above sea level.

In 1853 a scheme was put forward on the unproven assumption that a known four-feet coal seam was widespread in the region, based on Plashetts.

Eventually, on 2 April 1858, the first section of line was opened, about 4 miles (6.4 km) in length, over the bridge and as far as Dunkirk Farm, a short distance north of Chollerford.

Hutchinson had got into serious financial difficulty on completing the contract, largely because he had priced the work without seeing designs and without certainty of the ground conditions.

The Border Counties Railway appears to have given him some considerable extra-contractual relief, putting their own financial position at risk.

Notwithstanding Hutchinson's contractual difficulties, he accepted a contract for completing the authorised line from Dunkirk Farm to Falstone.

During the 1858 parliamentary session, the company presented a bill for a northward extension of the line into Scotland, and to authorise financial support from the North British Railway (NBR).

The Border Counties presented a fresh bill for an extension from Bellingham to a junction with the BUR, at Lees Bog.

The act of Parliament authorised an extension of time for construction of the earlier part of the line; the powers had in fact run out eleven days previously.

[2][note 4][4] From Wark, the line approached Reedsmouth, and there was a temporary goods terminus at Countess Park there while the river bridge was completed.

[note 5][2][7] By 1860 the company was seriously short of cash; the authorised capital had never been fully raised and the hoped-for coal reserves at Plashetts were disappointing.

This was a very circuitous way to reach Newcastle, and the North British now believed it had a more direct route to the city, which it had long sought.

[4] It is plain that the NER got a huge advantage from this arrangement, in fact running all east coast express trains throughout to Edinburgh.

The NBR appear to have anticipated making the BCR route an alternative main line from Edinburgh via Hawick to Newcastle, but although through passenger trains did run, they were never of an "express" character.

The passenger train arrived and struck the engine, having passed the distant signal at caution and not slackened speed enough; the driver was expecting to run directly into the station.

In the period following World War II, both passenger and goods traffic had declined substantially, and closure of the line began to be considered.

[note 9] The line remained open for the time being for goods trains, and some special inward passenger excursions ran during this period.

However, in 2006, there were plans to re-open a small part of the line as a tourist attraction, to be called the Green Dragon Railway.

The proposal was for a narrow gauge railway from a new water ferry landing stage at Gowanburn to Kielder Castle, a distance of about two miles.

The project appears to have stalled and the locomotive, 0-4-2T Saccharine (Fowler 13355 of 1914), was moved to the Statfold Barn Railway in November 2008.