Sign in

Private company

Gifford and Garvald Railway

Former railway line in Scotland

The Gifford and Garvald Railway was a 9.25-mile-long (14.89 km) single-track branch railway line in East Lothian, Scotland, that ran from a junction west of Ormiston on the Macmerry Branch to Gifford via three intermediate stations, Pencaitland, Saltoun, and Humbie.2 It ceased to exist in 1923.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

Jul 3, 1891Founded1

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

The Gifford and Garvald Railway was a 9.25-mile-long (14.89 km) single-track branch railway line in East Lothian, Scotland, that ran from a junction west of Ormiston on the Macmerry Branch to Gifford via three intermediate stations, Pencaitland, Saltoun, and Humbie.2

The story

The line was proposed in November 1890 and the company was authorised by the Gifford and Garvald Railway Act 1891 (54 & 55 Vict. c. lxxxv) on 3 July 1891 to construct a line of 12 miles and 200 yards. Only 9.25 miles of line was completed and opened on 14 October 1901. Run by the North British Railway from opening the line remained independent until 1923 when it became part of the London and North Eastern Railway. At Pencaitland, the line served the Glenkinchie distillery, and continued onward to Gifford where it terminated next to what is now the Gifford Community Woodland. The extension of the line to Garvald was never completed.

The line closed to passengers on 3 April 1933 when the Macmerry Branch withdrew its services. After a bridge collapse in August 1948 the section from Gifford to Humbie closed but the remaining line stayed open. On 2 May 1960 the line past Humbie closed to freight and the remaining line on 25 April 1965.

From Wikipedia’s article on Gifford and Garvald Railway, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. Jan 1, 1923Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. Jul 3, 1891Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3