The easy availability of money as the economy improved resulted in a frenzy of railway promotion and the 1845 Parliamentary session saw a huge number of authorisations.

c. ccxxiv), modifying the route, but soon reality struck home, and in 1850 the company was dissolved by the East of Fife Railway Dissolution Act 1850 (13 & 14 Vict.

He pursued a policy of building low cost branch lines, arguing that the heavy expense of over-engineered railways crippled their profitability from the outset.

The Leven Railway had already overspent its authorised capital and could not simply acquire rolling stock and other plant as well as a replacement for the failing Bury locomotive.

At the eleventh hour, General Lindsay of Balcarres funded the procurement of the necessary rolling stock, which was acquired remarkably quickly (from the Scottish Central Railway), and the line continued to run after the withdrawal of the EP&DR.

[12][page needed] In 1856 the finances of the Company were buoyant; in the half year to 28 April 1856 the surplus was £1,204, nearly double that under the EP&DR working arrangement.

[12][page needed] Some time prior to 23 April 1858 the quarter-mile spur to the Kirkland Works, authorised in the original act of Parliament, was opened.

A parliamentary bill was deposited, and although there was a last minute ambiguity about the exact location of the Kilconquhar terminus, the East of Fife Railway Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict.

[6][page needed] The Board of the East of Fife line heard of the difficulties on the nearby Leven Railway, and had Bouch's work checked by an independent engineer.

No signalling or other protection had been provided; moreover the Board of Trade had not been given the required certificate as to the method working the single line, and Tyler declined the approval to open to passengers.

[2][6][8][9] Ridership on the line exceeded expectations, amounting soon to over a thousand a week; by April 1858 the shareholders' meeting was informed that capital expenditure had been £36,606, and the operating surplus (probably for the half year) was £861.

This short branch was provided, running south from the east end of Cameron Bridge station,[note 6] authorised by an act of Parliament[which?]

A public goods station was to be provided at Muiredge in addition, and a branch a mile and a half long to serve Methil docks, although this latter was never built.

The trade cycle had diminished the company's income, and its lack of capital reserves made it difficult to consider expanding the network.

In September 1864 a prospectus was issued, but there were mixed feelings locally about the profitability of the line, and after several meetings, it was announced in December 1866 that the scheme would be deferred for the time being.

A further unsuccessful attempt to get a proposal activated took place in 1874, and in 1877 there was what seemed to be a better outcome, when on 24 August 1877 a meeting at Crail attracted considerable support, including subscriptions for shares.

[10][page needed] The Anstruther and St Andrews Railway had never made significant profits, and had paid dividends generally of 1%, while never paying off the deficit on capital account amounting to £5,000.

The issue dragged on, but in early 1897 agreement was reached, and on 15 July 1897 the North British Railway (General Powers) Act 1897 was passed, approving the absorption, which was to be effective from 1 August 1897.

The NBR decided to provide one and a second platform, and a siding there, and to convert the signalling to tablet working instead of the obsolete train staff and ticket system.

Holiday traffic was exceedingly heavy in the summer, with seemingly every loop and siding occupied by a passenger train on the busiest days, and working the single line sections proved difficult.

[16][page needed] These arrangements enabled the NBR to operate a weekend summer train in 1910, the Fifeshire Coast Express, from Glasgow to Crail on Friday evening, returning on Monday morning.

The workers and the materials for the construction brought considerable extra traffic to the line; the aerodrome was opened in July 1918 as a Royal Air Force station.

The decline in income was serious and in 1929 the LNER announced the closure of Kingsbarns, Boarhills, Stravithie and Mount Melville stations to passengers; this took effect on 22 September 1929.

During World War II three airfields were opened near the line: at Crail, the earlier aerodrome was reopened, and new fields at Stravithie and Dunino (near Kingsbarns) were set up, once again involving considerable construction traffic.

The future of the line was already plain to see, as both passenger and goods carryings continued the pre-war decline, as road services were discovered to be more convenient and cheaper.

[18] Several detailed transport studies conducted by consultants were undertaken between 2008-2019 demonstrating a favourable case for the reinstatement of both passenger and freight on the mothballed line, still fully intact and owned by Network Rail.

The line is planned to reopen in 2024 and will offer a direct train service between Leven and Edinburgh, thus creating opportunities for employment, leisure and tourism.

It was announced on 18 September 2020 that Network Rail is to begin vegetation clearance, site surveys and geological investigations to inform the development of plans to reopen the Levenmouth line, with stations at Cameron Bridge and Leven.

‘Although still at a very early stage, it is fantastic to see work happening literally preparing the ground and to inform the design of the line’, said Graeme Stewart of NR’s Levenmouth project team on 15 September.

’We have been working on developing a range of options which will define what the project looks like and how it is delivered.’[21] From Thornton the line fell with a ruling gradient of 1 in 100 to Leven; from there slight undulations followed leading to a minor summit at Largo, approached from each direction at 1 in 115.