Moniaive Station

Today's the day ......................... for a railway tale

This dilapidated building was once a ticket office and waiting room,  and is all that's left of Moniaive Station.

Moniaive was the terminus of the Cairn Valley Light Railway line that branched off the main route from Dumfries to Glasgow just north of Dumfries.  Today it is hard to believe that a railway once ran by the secluded banks of the Cairn water.  But it did exist, although like many other rural branches it was short lived, opening in 1905 and closing barely 45 years later in the face of competition from the motor bus, car and lorry.

The original concept for building it was that it would become popular as a scenic route serving Moniaive which would become a busy and fashionable health resort.  In the end the Cairn Valley line is best summed up as a railway that was used by ordinary people doing fairly ordinary things - and not enough of them to make it financially viable.  And even if it had survived into the 50s, it almost certainly would have gone under the Beeching axe.

Look in extras for a picture of Moniaive Station as it would have looked in its heyday ......................