The route of the Gifford & Garvald Railway 1890

The route originally proposed in November 1890 was the most direct and economically logical to join Ormiston to Gifford and Garvald with
only a slight detour off the east-west line to avoid the policies of Saltoun Hall.
The line left the North British Railway's Macmerry branch east of Ormiston station and struck off south-eastwards over
the headstream of the Tyne Water, swinging round the Red Row to the south of Wester Pencaitland,
where the first station was to be built to placate Mary Hamilton Ogilvy of Winton and Pencaitland.

Thereafter the line was to go straight to Birns Water, bridging it north of Milton Mill, and then swing north-eastwards,
passing close to the villages of West and East Saltoun, between which a station was to be built for the
convenience of Fletcher of Saltoun and his tenants.
Fletcher furthermore required three sidings to be provided on his estate: one at Milton Mill,
another to the north of East Saltoun and the third to serve his limekilns near Blance Burn.
Then the line had to go straight across country south of Bolton Moor Wood to Gifford Common, north of the village,
where a station and associated works required 7,211 square yards of land.

After leaving Gifford the line was to go northeast­wards to the ten mile post south of Morham Bank farm,
past the Chesters, to terminate in a field west of Tanderlane farm.
More than anything, this line depended on the willingness of Fletcher of Saltoun to allow his
estate to be bisected.   If his goodwill were lost a much more difficult route would have to be selected.

The Gifford & Garvald Railway Act 1891
 

The Gifford and Garvald Railway came into statutory being on 3 July 1891,
at the very end of the Railway Age.

Empowered by the Act, the proprietors were to be able to raise £111,000 to construct a line 12 miles 200 yards long,
and it also armed them with considerable powers of compulsory purchase which were to remain
in force for three years from the passing of this act.

Three landowners, however, were specifically named in the Act for the protection of their interests.
Charles Stuart, Baron Blantyre wanted nothing to do with the railway and the limits of deviation were to be strictly adhered to near his property.
For the protection of Mary Ogilvy of Winton and Pencaitland, certain fields had to be purchased by the company, compulsory arbitration by Thomas Buchanan,
valuator, Dundee, was required and, most important of all, a station for passengers, animals and goods
was to be built and maintained 'for all time coming,' to be called Pencaitland station.
 
John Fletcher of Saltoun demanded a similar station at Saltoun and he also required three
quite separate sidings to serve his various interests including his limekilns.

The promoters were required by the Act to deposit with the Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer
on behalf of the Court of Exchequer in Scot­land the sum of £4,240 15s, to be repaid on the public opening of the line.
They were given five years to complete the project, an inadequate length of time as it turned out.
Finally, the agreement between the company and the North British Railway, which had been confirmed in March 1891,
was appended to the statute.

The North British Agreement

The Marquess of Tweeddale and Walter Gray of Nunraw entered into an agreement with the
North British Railway Company that made it clear that the Gifford and Garvald Railway was
ultimately to be a mere extension of the North British network, obtained with negligible
financial commitment on the N.B.'s part.

The proprietors of the Gifford and Garvald were to purchase the land, to construct a "single line railway
with rails weighing at least 75 pounds per yard, and to build all stations, station masters' houses, gatekeepers' houses,
engine-sheds, sidings, signal cabins, signals, cranes, turntables, water-tanks with water supply, wires,
speaking telegraphic apparatus and Tyer's train tablet system of working and anything else
required to the satisfaction of the chief engineer of the North British.


In exchange, the North British was in perpetuity to manage the traffic and provide locomotives and rolling stock.
In addition it was to provide all the manpower, with power of appointment, suspension and dismissal; all officers, agents, book-keepers, booking and
other clerks, servants, enginemen, guards, signalmen, porters, carters and surfacemen,
with the exception of the Gifford and Garvald's secretary.

In return the Gifford and Garvald was to have a splendidly run railway and 50 per cent of the gross revenues or,
if this was not enough to maintain a dividend of 4 per cent per annum, the North British were to make it up
from receipts accruing from traffic including mails passing over their system.
Built-in cross-subsidisation was envisaged from the very beginning.

Now all that had to be done was to build the railway and hand it over to the North British to run.