The Waverley Route Restored

by Roy Perkins

Published 15 June 2017
The Waverley Route ran from Edinburgh, through the Scottish Borders, to Carlisle. Opening in 1862, the line was closed in 1966 as a result of the Beeching Report; feelings ran so high when it closed that there were protests which delayed the last passenger service on the line by two hours, led to the arrest of the local minister and required the local MP to mediate with the police.
Named after the famous novel by Sir Walter Scott, the line ran through the countryside where it was set, providing a link between some of the most isolated communities in Britain. Now that the Waverley Route is due to reopen between Edinburgh and Tweedbank, just beyond Galashiels, in December 2014, Roy Perkins uses a collection of old and new photographs to take the reader on a tour of the stunning Borders landscape through which it will run again.