The Port Road volume 3 - Newton Stewart to Stranraer
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- This, the third volume in the series, covers the route between Newton Stewart and Stranraer - both the long closed Town and the still active Harbour stations.
For those who have not seen the previous volumes - or who might like to watch them again - they can be found at
Volume 1 (Dumfries to Castle Douglas
• The Port Road - Volum...
Volume 2 (Castle Douglas to Newton Stewart)
• The Port Road volume 2...
Volume 4 will eventually cover the line from Stranraer to Portpatrick - one of my favourite places in the whole of Scotland
This is a very well done episode of the rail connections and older scrapped lines I applaud the input of this programme
Thank you Douglas.
What a fantastic account of this once great railway which should never have been left to die. Many thanks for making and sharing.
You're very welcome John. Glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks Tim. Another lost route, so sad especially when you consider the amazing engineering achievements to build the line in the first place. It would have made a super cycle trail, although it should still carry trains. 🚂🚴♂️🙏🇺🇦
Thankyou very much Tim, I've thoroughly enjoyed all 3 'volumes' of The Port Road.
I 'know it well' only through Dovetail Games 'Train Simulation', which in itself is a superbly compiled route. I have it installed on my PC and 'drive' over it regularly, being an ex: BR fireman I am a steam man through and through.
However your most excellent volumes have brought the route 'to life' so to speak.
My very very sincere thanks for the excellent presentation, photography, drone footage and quality in narration.
Let there be more!
I'm delighted to hear your response. Making the three volumes gave me a lot of physical exercise as you can imagine in some very isolated places, occasional frustration when planned activity was prevented by weather, and the chance to meet some fascinating old railway people. Volume 4 is mostly filmed but there are two or three spots still to be done - all, sadly a long way from home and, as I can't really cope with night-time driving these days, they'll have to wait for spring to arrive. I may be able to get some work done on volume 5, the Kirkcudbright branch, closer to home, whilst the Whithorn branch is another for the longer summer days.
However, if the good lord spares me, they'll appear online in due course. There's also the Glasgow & South Western between Kilmarnock and Sanquhar on the "to do" list - I shan't be idle!
Best wishes.
Thanks again Tim very glad you managed to finish the story and get to Stranraer. I have not yet shown this to my wife but she will like me thoroughly enjoy it as she was brought up in Glenluce in the 50's with the track running at the end of her garden. Her uncle at that time was one of the signal men who travelled the whole area manning the many boxes in that part of the world. He was on duty in the signal box at Stranraer harbour on the day the Princess Victoria left on its fateful journey and remembered the day very well. With the impending closure of the line he packed up his family and moved to Nottingham where he got a signal mans job there which must have been quite a transformation.
I was seven years old when the Princess Victoria was lost so don't really remember it - BUT - later that year travelled to Ireland for my uncle's wedding and vividly remember my father's reaction on arriving at Holyhead harbour in the small hours and seeing, on the stern of our ship "Princess Maud - Stranraer" - - "Oh God! It would be one of those".
He clearly had no idea that the Maud and Margaret were totally different vessels from the Victoria and either of them would have survived the crossing on that wild January night.
Although we crossed in August, it was still a lively voyage on a 2000-ton ship - unlike the 30 000 tonners currently operating out of Cairnryan.
Best wishes.
@@schoolshorts Although, for those Holyhead crossings, you knew you'd drawn the short straw if it was Princess Maude, unlike the Caledonian or the Hibernian. Thanks for this marvellous series, great photography and history combined, I hope some locals can offer you lifts in the future to allow you to continue.
@@fredbloggs8816 Cambria and Hibernia were the regular vessels on the Holyhead route, for many years the biggest ships in the British Railways fleet, diesel engined and twice the size of the old Princess Maud.
In an act of incredible generosity a friend in England, same age as myself, has given me his car on the grounds that my need is greater than his. Now that IS a friend.
Hopefully I'll be filming for a little while yet. Sooner or later age will put a stop to it. Best wishes.
Bonnie Gallowa’ indeed. It’s an area of Scotland that’s often overlooked, perhaps for the better. Thank you for producing this excellent series. My favourite stretch of the Port Road is from Parton to Loch Skerrow.
Galloway - the great undiscovered Scotland - long may it remain so! A beautiful, unspoilt part of the world. I can't argue with your favourite stretch of the line - mine too, I think.
A well thought out and edited video Tim, a lot of research gone into the history of this line, like many others long gone a sad end for all to see, look at the state of the railways now . 🤔
Thanks Stephen. The age of the railways - as we knew them - came to an end in the 1960s with the wide spread of the motor car. Their future now lies in moving vast numbers of people or substantial bulk cargoes. Areas like Dumfries and Galloway could never really support the railway, even in its heyday. Railways were simply too labour-intensive to be economical in sparsely populated areas. I can't see the Waverley route ever returning to Carlisle and as for the Port Road - nae chance!
A really fine history of the line, well presented and enjoyable to watch and listen to.
Thanks RSD - a lot of work went into it so it's good to know that people have enjoyed it. Best wishes.
Superb film, really well done. Thank you.
Just delighted to know you enjoyed it Best wishes.
A wonderful series. Thank you very much. I grew up near Creetown, while the line was still open and travelled many times to Dumfries. Looking forward to the Kirkcudbright volume. I remember in July 1963, as per the Scotsman, British Railways provided a first class roadblock on Bridge Street after a train skidded on wet rails and pushed a carriage through the station wall at the buffers. I still have a copy of the Scotsman picture / caption.
Thank you Andrew - always glad to hear that the series is being enjoyed. The Kirkcudbright volume is underway but we're at that time of year just now when Carlisle is awash with specials and immediate needs take precedence over longer-term projects. Everything comes to him who waits!
Excellent Tim - most informative.
Thanks Euan - a lot of work went into it!
What a fine video. It took me back to my days at Glenluce Primary School in the early 60s. From the upper playground I could see the rail traffic at Glenluce Station. To top that, there were Vulcan bombers flying from RAE West Freuch, practising bombing runs over Luce Bay.
I even remember my mother being taken to Dunragit to catch the Glasgow train.
An enviable childhood - beautiful part of the world with steam trains AND Vulcan bombers. Not unlike my own, although in my case it was Gloster Javelins followed by Hawker Hunters and then - yes - eventually Avro Vulcans (RAF Middleton St George, now Teesside Airport). Best wishes.
Great narrative Tim and history, surprising what you learn from above.👍
Thanks David - I learnt a lot myself in the making of it.
Great set Tim, very enjoyable & informative viewing. Great old photos & films too. Looking forward to volume 4.
It'll probably be spring before it's finally ready but much of it is already in the can. Other projects are in hand too.
Thank You Tim for this production which I found very enjoyable. I also enjoyed the two earlier episodes and look forward to No. 4
Thank you - glad that you enjoyed them. Much of Volume 4 is "in the can" but there are a few bits I need to film at Portpatrick - a 200 mile round trip from my home - and as I avoid night-time driving these days, the work will have to wait until the spring. Hopefully it will be worth it.
A lovely series of videos on a route that should never have been closed as it was the shortest route between most of the UK and Northern Ireland. Important for both strategic and economic reasons this was a act of self mutilation by the government of the UK and demonstrates the importance of looking at the future of our major infrastructure. It also strengthens the case for Scottish independence which will probably come about as a result of the British governments refusal to consider anywhere other than London and the South East. It's yet another reason why Yorkshire has many who think they would be better served by becoming independent of the UK!
Thanks for this interesting and informative series on the Port Road, (including the interesting music, which seems to be a series of variations on "Will ye no come back again"!
Much enjoyed by myself and I am sure many others with a railway background.
Excellent video. I've sometimes wondered why the Dumfries - Glenluce route wasn't retained rather than the winding and remote route to Ayr. There seem to be larger settlements along the Newton Stewart route and it provided direct access to Dumfries for onward travel to Glasgow or Carlisle and southwards. It's a shame that the trains at Stranraer no longer connect with the ferry. Since the harbour is now redundant, it seems crazy to persist with the station there and not establish a new terminus closer to the town.
Thank you James. Your comment got me to watch the video again - the first time for several months - and, to my surprise, I quite enjoyed it!!
I fear that, in the mid-1960s (my college years) the prevailing mentality was that the railway had had its day, that before long everyone would own a motor car and - well - who would want to use a Victorian transport system? Needless to say, no-one foresaw the problems which mass car ownership would bring. And yet, curiously, this was the very period in which the West Coast Main Line was being brought bang-up-to-date with those very impressive high-speed (for the time) new blue and grey electric trains - so much nicer to travel in than the cramped, claustrophobic Pendolinos which have replaced them.
Hopefully Volume 4 will be online in the near future - it's nearly ready. Best wishes.
@@schoolshorts Thanks for the reply. Yes, the factors that led to the Beeching Report and cuts to the rail network are well known and remain controversial but I still think the Dumfries - Stranraer line would have been the more useful link to retain. Just like the successfully rebuilt Edinburgh - Tweedbank line, it could it be another route to reinstate?
The Beeching cuts also wanted to end the railway at Ayr, with no service at all to Girvan or Stranraer. Apparently Northern Irish MPs complained that their journeys to London would be compromised as they relied on the night train to and from Stranraer. So the direct line to Ayr, Kilmarnock, Glasgow was retained.
Lovely series, well done.
Thank you - it's kept me occupied in my old age - and, if the good lord spares me, there'll be more to come. Best wishes.
Thouroughly enjoyed all 3 volumes. What a fantastic production Tim, a great history lesson, lots of fantastic videos and photos. May i also add that you have such a great voice too ! All in all, makes fantastic watching …😊
Thank you. It's always good to hear that one's work is appreciated. Best wishes.
Thank you and I'm delighted that you enjoyed the series - further episodes to come.
Attitudes were different in the 1960s when road traffic was seen as the future. No-one foresaw the problems that universal car ownership would bring. However, what's done is done and, in the case of the Port Road, I fear there's no going back.
The music is based on "Bonnie Gallowa' " which is very similar to "Will Ye No Come Back Again" - well spotted!
Been looking forward to the Stranraer-Portpatrick video, hope it will be posted sometime. 🙏
It will be coming but a recent computer mishap has caused the loss of some material. It may well be that the Kirkcudbright branch will be ready before the Portpatrick. Provided the good lord spares me, they'll both be online one of these days. Patience - good things are worth waiting for!
@@schoolshortsExcellent news thanks for the reply.
Only those who are of a certain age will remember using this line, we used it many times not only going further south to London but also visiting relatives in Newcastle, I also remember that most of the people in Northern Ireland petitioned to keep the line open, hard to believe that Stranraer is now not even operating the passenger ferry any more
Sadly, I never knew it. I only moved to Scotland in 1980 - 15 years after closure. Although I now know the remnants very well indeed, I can only imagine the everyday reality of the line in its heyday. Best wishes to you.
Very interesting video Tim We used to stay in Girvan on hols and I went to the end of the line. I am not sure if I got any video there but I did get some at Girvan. Short sighted not to re open the town station.
Thanks Colin. An attractive place, Girvan. I used to call in regularly there, years ago, on the Paddle Steamer Waverley. At one time I had pupils living right on the seafront there - their sitting room window had a magnificent view of Ailsa Craig!
Stranraer Town station - a disastrous mistake.
@@schoolshorts Days out on Waverley were our main reason for staying in that area. I will get some of those cruises on my Archive sailing from Ayr and Largs. I would like a view like that but am happy I do have a good view over the hills for miles around
Brilliant
Thank you - much appreciated.
Ohh very good, you got it finished!! 😁
Yes indeed - a couple of years of work have gone into that - now for volume 4!
I enjoyed that showing somewhere I've never visited. By the way was there no sound 20:25 to 20:50?
Stranraer itself, like most ferry ports, has little to offer - but everything for many miles around is mind-blowing and you really ought to get to explore it for yourself. I'd be happy to provide a list of "must see" places.
No - there was no sound track on the section in question. I suppose I could have added music but I don't think it would have added much.
Excellent series, do you intend to do the branches to Kirkcudbright and Wigtown?
I've been out this very day filming on the old Kirkcudbright branch so - yes - hopefully it'll be published fairly soon. Wigtown - well, as my Irish relatives used to say - "If I'm spared"!
It's odd, given current state, that they've not decided to relocate Stranraer Station from the port closer to the old Town Station. There'd be no need to new track, just platform and access.
I believe they did this at Falmouth Dock, but had to leave a spur to level track, so the driver could change ends. And that situation resulted in a 2nd new station being built at Falmouth.
They would have to relay a single track into the old Town station as any point where a station could be built on the existing harbour branch isn't particularly convenient for town passengers - but it would hardly be a major undertaking.
@@schoolshorts I'm originally from Stranraer and this is the wrong kind of thinking for the town, what it needs is for the harbour to be working again and not left derelict.
Interestingly, on a recent stay in Stranraer I got talking to the landlady of my b&b and she expressed exactly the opposite view - that the ferries brought no money into the town and their removal was the best thing possible.
Between 1980 and 2011 I frequently travelled to Northern Ireland and, even with the 8000 ton ships then in use I frequently experienced sitting out at sea for 45 minutes or so at low tide waiting for a sufficient depth of water to approach the terminal. What chance with the 30.000 tonners that Stena now operate?
I'd agree that a great deal could be done to develop the marina - and that WOULD bring money into the town. 13 years after the last ferry departed, nothing seems to have been done in that direction.
@@schoolshorts That lady is talking rubbish, maybe she didn't make money but the town was buzzing when the ferries were there. The town centre was full of foreign-plate cars, campers and bikers, the owners spending money in the locale. B&Bs and hotels were hit hard after the result of ferries leaving, many closed and sold off. I worked for the local newspaper at the time and local business owners were worried sick of ferries leaving, and some them didn't survive the downturn. Stranraer is now a ghost town. Stena Voyager was 20,000 tonnes gross and was based at Stranraer harbour for years. Sorry I don't believe the 45 minute wait all at sea in one of Britain's busiest shipping lanes, being local I travelled frequently 'over the water' and it never happened once. I left the area in 2008.
@@dcanmore I agree that Stranraer is something of a ghost town today - so is Dumfries which has not lost any ferries. The staggering growth of internet shopping and the subsequent damage done by the Covid pandemic are the principal causes of the towns' declines - widespread throughout the U.K. Indeed, it's not easy to find a town which is not in a similar position today - Castle Douglas perhaps being the one example of a shopping centre which has survived in a healthy state in Dumfries & Galloway.
I'm not in the habit of making up stories on my videos. More than once I have sat out in Loch Ryan with the captain coming onto the PA system to explain the reason for the delay - lack of water at the terminal. I hold a day skipper's ticket and have just checked the marine charts for the year 2000 - they show a depth of 5 metres at the Ro-Ro terminal - 16.5 feet - and surprisingly little more at certain points in the approach channel. The two Stena ferries currently operating out of Cairnryan draw 20 feet and require a greater depth than that to operate safely.