Plans for a horse drawn railway between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Kelso were put forward as early as 1809.

An Act of Parliament was passed in 1811 allowing the enterprise to proceed, but it was formally abandoned in 1827 after failing to secure sufficient investment.

There was a brief flurry of interest in reviving the scheme in 1836, when estimates showed that the two towns could be linked by rail for the relatively modest sum of £100,000.

In 1844, two rival proposals for a main line between Newcastle upon Tyne and Berwick were submitted to Parliament, both of which included the building of a branch to Kelso.

Freight services between Tweedmouth and Kelso followed suit the next year on 29 March with the complete closure of the line.