Golden ticket day on the new Borders Railway
By Gala Water
© Geoff’s Rail Diaries 2015
Geoff’s Rail Diaries
5 September 2015
It was hard to imagine that this day
might come - the beginning of
celebrations to mark the reopening,
after 46 years, of part of the former
Waverley route. It’s “Golden Ticket”
day, with trains running for special
ticket-holders only. I’m up in Edinburgh for a ride on the first
train from Waverley tomorrow - today I’ll do some
photography...
The reopened part of the former main line from the
Scottish capital to Carlisle is at the northern end - from
Edinburgh to Tweedbank, just beyond Galashiels. There
was never a station there - but there is space for a car
park, it’s 20 minutes walk from Abbotsford and is close by
the Borders General Hospital and a number of other
facilities. It’s only a mile or so away from Melrose, but the
railway route has disappeared
beneath the bypass. A terminus at
Galashiels could have been tricky...
The line climbs steeply from Edinburgh,
with lengthy stretches at 1 in 70 as it
approaches the summit at Falahill.
Beyond, it descends on easier gradients, in
the valley of the Gala Water - in the company of the A7 and a
minor road, which should make my task easier. My first sight of a
moving train was near Heriot - I almost
had to pinch myself, to be sure I wasn’t
dreaming.
There seemed to be no shortage of trains
running back and forth - RealtimeTrains
indicated an average of four trains per
hour should pass from mid-morning until late(ish) afternoon. I
would miss the odd one as I drove between vantage points, but
should see plenty of movements. I’m not absolutely certain how
many trains were operating - there was a 6-car class 158 set, a
5-car 158/170 rake - and were there three 4-car 158 sets?
I made my way down to Galashiels and back, enjoying the
sunshine, the scenery and the passing trains. I paused for a
photo at Fountainhall, where our special train stopped for
the same reason on 5 January 1969 - the old station
building still stands. After Tynehead (no, not beside the
Gala Water) I headed back towards
the city, pausing only to take a look
at Newtongrange station. No sign of
any trains - until I got back into the car...
Another day perhaps.
Links:
•
Borders Railway
•
Last Day of the Waverley Route
•
First Day of the Waverley Route