Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway

The line was built as an extension from the Wishaw and Coltness Railway (W&CR) to get access to unexploited coal resources in the area towards Shotts and Fauldhouse, and to connect to the isolated ironworks at Wilsontown; it was authorised under the Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway Act 1841, and it opened on 2 June 1845.

Planned with great hopes of opening up mineral resources, it crossed "empty moorland south of Shotts"[5] and a Government inspector reported at opening that at the eastern end, "the line terminates in a large field, about a mile from a small village called Whitburn".

[6] Getting financial support from shareholders was not easy in the 1840s, and quoting the names of successful and growing iron works—at that time seen as the technological future—was a way of attracting subscriptions.

)[8] There were passenger stations at Daviesdykes (or Davies Dykes), Blackhall, Headless Cross (or Headlesscross), Crofthead (on the west side of present-day Fauldhouse) and at Longridge, on the main road between Whitburn and Forth (now the A706).

The abutments do not rest against solid material, but are backed with peat dug from the adjoining moss, which, when thrown up and drained of its moisture, becomes light an offers no resistance to the thrust.

This bridge, however, appears to have settled down to a steady bearing, as the soffit of the arch had been pointed with cement on the 15th April last, since which time there has been no further yielding.

I examined it very carefully, having got on the roof of a carriage, and passed very slowly along it, and I could not perceive any crack or defect in the pointing, so that I do not apprehend any danger; but I intimated to the directors that it would be necessary to strengthen the abutments, and to remove the peat by small portions at a time, supplying its place with earth, gravel, or other heavy and resisting material, well rammed, and immediate attention was promised to it.The general character of the line is a steep ascent for the first four miles, at gradients varying between 1 in 60 and 1 in 80, after which it is nearly level.

The weight of the traffic will therefore descend the above mentioned gradients.The permanent way is ballasted 15 feet wide, and is laid with transverse fir sleepers, 8 feet long and 8 by 4 inches in section; the rails are of the parallel form, 56 lbs per yard; the chairs are cast to fit them and are slid on from either end, keyed in their place with an iron wedge, and spiked down to the sleepers; a singular arrangement which precludes the shifting [of] a broken or defective rail, without deranging the permanent way for its whole length.There are no passenger sheds or waiting rooms erected, and the line terminates in a large field, about a mile from a small village called Whitburn.There can be no chance of collision on this single line, as the Company intend to use only one engine.

As time moved on, differences of approach grew, particularly over the use of locomotive power, and the G&GR became frustrated over the bottleneck at Coatbridge, where through rail traffic crossed a busy road intersection on the level.

It built its own high-level line, by-passing the M&KR, and renaming itself the Glasgow, Garnkirk and Coatbridge Railway (GG&CR).

An Annual General Meeting on 9 February 1849 tried to present an optimistic view from a gloomy base: The traffic on the line has progressively improved, notwithstanding the general depression of the iron trade, on which it so much depends, and although the passenger traffic has been stopped on the Wishaw and Coltness Railway Company since that line has been under the management of the Caledonian Railway Company ...

When this is accomplished, the Directors propose to resume the passenger traffic on the main line.The statement of accounts showed that the gross revenue had amounted to £3,576 and the net profits, £1,461.

A stagecoach proprietor by the name of Croall ran a road coach from Edinburgh to Longridge from 16 May 1846, from where the train took passengers on to Townhead: the throughout journey took 3¾ hours.

[12] Conflicting with Cobb, the Glasgow University Archives Hub says that "there were passenger stations at Morningside, Daviesdykes, Blackhall, Headless Cross, Crofthead and Longridge.

In 1847 the proprietors saw that the future was a sale of their line to the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway (E&GR), and a parliamentary bill was prepared; however standing orders prohibited the amalgamation of companies which had not expended half of their authorised capital.

[4][13] Despite the line's limited success, the shareholders sold at a premium: in 1851 it was reported that the company's 28,000 shares of £50 had recently been redeemed by the E&GR at £75.

[15] The E&GR had no direct rail connection to their newly acquired line—trains would run from the WM&CR over the Edinburgh and Bathgate line.

He had obtained a patent for the process in October 1850, and the torbanite had been discovered on the Torbanehill estate, about halfway between Bathgate and Whitburn.

[18] The rival Caledonian Railway operated a service from its own Morningside station, 40 m away by rail, heading north to Motherwell.