Leadhils Traditional Cache
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Just before you get into leadhills. You travel up the beautiful valley between Elvanfoot and Leadhills
The Leadhills & Wanlockhead Railway
Britain's highest adhesion railway, reaching 1498 feet above sea level, it was originally built in 1900 for the Caledonian Railway Company for transporting refined lead to the central belt of Scotland. The lead mines closed in the late 1930's, but passenger traffic continued until the end of 1938. There is a Museum of Lead Mining at Wanlockhead and you may wish to combine a visit to the Railway with one to the Museum. Local accommodation is available for those who wish to make a visit to Leadhills and the surrounding area a holiday experience. Upper Nithsdale has stunning scenery and a wealth of historic places to visit including Drumlanrig Castle part of the Buccleuch Estate .
The Leadhills & Wanlockhead Railway Society was formed in 1983 to construct and operate a 2ft gauge tourist railway between two villages on the old standard gauge trackbed. Track laying commenced in 1986 with the station at Leadhills being built from scratch. A limited service began in 1988 over a 1/4 mile of track and has been improving steadily ever since, it has now reached the border with Lanarkshire and Dumfries & Galloway, negotiations are at present under way to extend the track into Wanlockhead and build a station complete with run round loop, with the acquisition of more locomotives and coaches the shed at Leadhills is becoming quite full. A Hudswell Clark 68hp ex. mines locomotive was recently restored at Anniesland College of Further Education in Glasgow as part of a training scheme and will be brought into service soon.
Petrer Pan (Visiting Steam Locomotive)
All trains are hauled by diesel locomotives at present, although an Orenstein and Koppel steam locomotive is being restored for use on the railway. The signal box at Leadhills is an interesting attraction due to the preservation of the mechanical equipment from the West Highland Line, and the use of the terra cotta facing bricks from the now demolished Risping Cleuch Viaduct built on the original line by 'Concrete Bob McAlpine' at the beginning of the century.
Leadhills & Wanlockhead are in the Lowther Hills on the B797, between Clydesdale (M74) and Nithsdale (A76). Access from the M74 is via Junction 13 (Abington) and the B797 , or Junction 14 (Elvanfoot) and the A702 / B7040. Access from Nithsdale is via the A76 (Dumfries to Sanquhar) and the B797 to Leadhills.
The railway operates at Easter and every weekend (including Bank Holidays) from May until the end of September.
Trains departures are:-
Easter weekend then Saturdays & Sundays from May to the last weekend in September
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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