Next year marks the 200th anniversary of Scotland’s first modern railway and planning is underway to mark the important occasion.
The Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway, which covered a 10-mile stretch from a colliery in Monklands to the Forth & Clyde Canal in Kirkintilloch, opened in 1826 and its bicentenary will be celebrated in style in East Dunbartonshire next year.
The area’s railway heritage will be firmly in the spotlight from March 2026 with a series of events planned by the East Dunbartonshire Leisure & Culture Trust in partnership with the Kirkintilloch & District Society of Antiquaries over the Spring.
Central to the commemorations will be an exhibition at the Auld Kirk Museum in Kirkintilloch from 21 March-20 May 2026. Entitled ‘Monkland & Kirkintilloch - Scotland’s First Modern Railway’, it will include:
- Significant archival documents from the East Dunbartonshire Archives at the William Patrick Library, Kirkintilloch, including a contemporary drawing of the first Monkland & Kirkintilloch Locomotive, another early drawing that shows a remarkable Horse Trial in 1828 and a large contemporary coloured map of the whole line
- A range of objects like sections of rail, stone sleeper blocks and an Edmondson Ticket Dating Press with a representation of Monkland Railways tickets
- A display from a local model railway society featuring a range of appropriate models of locomotives and wagons.
Other events to mark the bicentenary are being organised at the Kirkintilloch end of the line, with details to be confirmed. These include:
- Inauguration and unveiling of a National Transport Trust Red Wheel at Southbank Marina
- A railway-themed fun day at the Auld Kirk Museum
- A talk on Early Scottish Railways by John Yellowlees, the Scotland Manager of the National Transport Trust
- A Talk on the History of the Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway by Don Martin MBE, local historian and author
- A Guided Walk along the northern part of the Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway
- The launch of a Book of photographs from the 1960s of the Monkland & Kirkintilloch line.
Chair of the East Dunbartonshire Leisure & Culture Trust, Alan Wright, said, “This is a very significant anniversary for the area with our industrial heritage rooted in the railways and canals providing jobs and transport links to the rest of the UK and beyond.
“It is right that we mark the bicentenary and I’m delighted that the Trust is working with local groups like the Kirkintilloch & District Society of Antiquaries to bring the story of the Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway to life for a new generation.
“Details of the events that are in the pipeline will be firmed up over coming months so keep an eye out for more information on how to get involved with local celebrations in Spring 2026.”
A wee bit of historical background:
- In May 1826 the first public edge-railway in Scotland, the 10-mile Monkland & Kirkintilloch (M&K), was opened. Under its 1824 Act of Parliament the M&K had powers to use steam locomotives
- The first commercial train on the M&K was a horse-drawn coal train from Gartsherrie to the Forth & Clyde Canal at Kirkintilloch on 17 May 1826
- The M&K was the first of a group of early North Lanarkshire lines that formed the core of the Scottish railway network.
