Slamannan and Borrowstounness Railway

The Slamannan Railway had been opened in 1840 between Arbuckle (near Airdrie) and Causewayend (on the Union Canal, west of Linlithgow).

The port was declining in importance, particularly due to nearby Grangemouth, which benefitted from the termination of the Forth and Clyde Canal and the authorities at Bo'ness welcomed the prospect of a railway connection.

Evidently there had been a cooling off over building the line at all, for the directors addressed the shareholders reminding them of the advantages of the connection to Bo'ness, emphasising that at the time the Monkland company had no ultimate terminal of their own, relying on onward conveyance by other railways or by canals.

[1] Even then there was dubiety over the profitability of the new line, but this was laid to rest when John Wilson, owner of the Kinneil iron works, guaranteed annual traffic to the value of £3,000, and at a shareholders' meeting on 12 June 1849—fourteen days before the land purchase powers were due to lapse—the decision to actually build the line was taken—but even now this was subject to getting Wilson's undertaking properly formalised.

Contracts for building the line between Myrehead and Bo'ness were let to John Barr & Co in October 1849, the works to be finished by April 1851.

Moreover, the E&GR were now making technical stipulations regarding the composition of wagon wheels, which would be extremely expensive to comply with.

The shareholders now decided (on 28 May 1850) to build the "low level line" after all, crossing under the E&GR near Myrehead Farm (later to be known as Manuel).

An engine turntable had to be provided at Bo'ness, and Lt-Col George Wynne inspected the line on 6 June 1856 and passed it as fit for passenger operation.

The Slamannan Railway had operated trains to Causewayend, and there seems to have been no proper station there, but probably simply a place near the canal wharf where passengers boarded and alighted.

There is a photograph of Manuel (Low Level) station on the Canmore website of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.

The line served mainly coal mines, with connections to foundries, oil works, and an interchange for canal traffic near Causewayend.