Exhibition celebrating Scotland’s first modern railway set to open in Kirkintilloch

There will be something for everyone at a new railway exhibition launching in Kirkintilloch this month as the town celebrates the 200th anniversary of Scotland’s first modern railway.

The exhibition tells the story of the Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway which opened in 1826 and covered a 10-mile route from collieries in the Monklands to the Forth & Clyde Canal in Kirkintilloch.

Entitled ‘Monkland & Kirkintilloch - Scotland’s First Modern Railway’, it runs at the Auld Kirk Museum from Saturday 21 March – Wednesday 20 May 2026*.

There will be a Fun Day for young families on Saturday 11 April with the opportunity to dress up, hunt for Easter eggs and more! It runs from 10am - 5pm (closed 1-2pm).

Visitors will see:

• Significant and rare archival materials 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
• Archive photographs from the 1960s taken by Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway specialist Don Martin MBE, never previously shown
• 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.

Chair of the East Dunbartonshire Leisure & Culture Trust, Alan Wright, said, 

“I’d encourage families to come along as there will be lots to interest children and young people, particularly during the fun day over the Easter holidays. They will learn about the industrial heritage of the area, rooted in the railways and canals which provided jobs and transport links to the rest of the UK and beyond. 

“The bicentenary is a significant milestone and the Trust is proud to be partnering with the National Transport Trust and local groups like the Kirkintilloch & District Society of Antiquaries and the Lenzie Gauge 0 Group to commemorate it.

“I hope that this exhibition brings back memories for local people whose family lives would have been shaped by the Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway. I hope too that it can ignite interest in a new generation keen to learn about the history of Scottish innovation in transport.”

Some key facts about this important part of transport history:

• Under its 1824 Act of Parliament the Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway had powers to use steam locomotives. It was the first to introduce the first Glasgow-built steam locomotive in 1831
• The first commercial train on the line was a horse-drawn coal train from Gartsherrie to the Forth & Clyde Canal at Kirkintilloch on 17 May 1826
• It was the first of a group of early North Lanarkshire lines that formed the core of the Scottish railway network. 

Other events to mark the bicentenary are being organised at the Kirkintilloch end of the line. These include:

• Inauguration and unveiling of a National Transport Trust Red Wheel at Southbank Marina
• A talk on Early Scottish Railways by John Yellowlees, the Scotland Manager of the National Transport Trust on Wednesday 18 March at Kirkintilloch Town Hall
• A Talk on the History of the Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway by Don Martin MBE, local historian and author, accompanied by the launch of a book of photographs from the 1960s of the Monkland & Kirkintilloch line on Monday 16 April at the Auld Kirk Museum
• A Guided Walk along the northern part of the Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway on Thursday 7 May.

* Opening hours Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 1pm, 2pm – 5pm.

For more information on these events, visit the East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture Trust website.