Description

The monument comprises part of a railway incline surviving as an earthwork, a cutting and an associated stone engine house, forming part of the former Dundee and Newtyle railway.

The Dundee and Newtyle was one of the earliest railways in Scotland, opening in 1831 to carry freight and passengers between Dundee and its Strathmore hinterland. The original construction employed horse- drawn carriages for its level sections, supplemented by stationary engines to provide haulage for the three steep inclines which formed an integral part of the original design. The inclines rapidly became obsolete as steam power was introduced for the line as a whole and in the 1860s they were by-passed.

The upper part of the Balbeuchley incline survives as a substantial earthwork, with the remains of stone facing on the N part of the E side. The earthwork survives to its original height, up to 15m above the surrounding fields. The flat summit of the incline is 4-5m wide and grassed over. All traces of the rails and sleepers have been removed or obscured. The S part of the surviving section is a cutting rather than an embankment, reflecting the need to maintain a regular gradient despite the irregular topography of the surrounding area.

At the top of the incline are the remains of a small stone building surviving up to 2.5m high on its E side. This represents the engine house. The E wall has been incorporated into a N-S field wall. The remainder of the structure survives to varying degrees, although the W wall has been robbed to its foundations.

The area to be scheduled encompasses the visible earthwork, part of the cutting, and the stone building. It is irregular in shape with maximum dimensions of 330m N-S by 40m as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as a well-preserved element of one of the earliest railways in Scotland. The use of steep inclines in association with horse-power on intervening levels represents a short-lived but significant episode in the development of railway technology. The association of the surviving earthwork, cutting and engine house preserves the essential component elements of the original design of the incline, which was integral to the operation and economic fortunes of the Dundee and Newtyle railway.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

Reference:

The Railway Magazine, Aug, Oct, Dec, 1951.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland