Today, Provost Gillian Renwick and local historian and author, Don Martin MBE, unveiled a Red Wheel Plaque on the outer wall of East Dunbartonshire Council Headquarters at Southbank Marina in Kirkintilloch.
They were joined by Council Leader, Gordan Low and John Cameron CBE, Vice-President of the National Transport Trust (NTT), alongside members of local historical societies and representatives from the National Transport Trust and Scottish Canals.
Funded by Kirkintilloch and District Society of Antiquaries, the Red Wheel Plaque at Southbank Marina is one of over 200 Red Wheels around the United Kingdom – with more than 40 in Scotland - a scheme created by the National Transport Trust to recognise and pay tribute to the most significant sites of historical importance to transport heritage. The plaque carries a QR Code which takes the viewer to the NTT website for more information.
This, the most recent plaque to be inaugurated, commemorates the Kirkintilloch Basin, the site where coal was brought by the Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway for transfer to the Forth & Clyde Canal. Opened 200 years ago, in October 1826, the Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway was one of Scotland’s earliest public railways and at 10 miles long, it ran from the Monkland collieries to Kirkintilloch. Another Red Wheel Plaque to commemorate the Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway was unveiled earlier today at Coatbridge Sunnyside Train Station in North Lanarkshire.
Provost Gillian Renwick said, “The Red Wheel Plaque is a wonderful addition to the East Dunbartonshire Council Headquarters building, which stands on the site of the northern terminus of the Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway at Kirkintilloch Basin.
The Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway plays such an important part in our local heritage and is a thread that runs through the lives of many local families.
I’m delighted to see the plaque situated here as a reminder of our past, alongside the existing sculpture commemorating the building of small cargo boats called ‘puffers’ in Kirkintilloch. Together they mark key aspects of the area’s special history in what is now a beautiful marina.
“I’d like to thank Don Martin for all his work in researching and promoting the Monkland & District Railway and joining me to unveil the plaque today. I’d also like to thank the Kirkintilloch and District Society of Antiquaries who funded the plaque and the National Transport Trust for recognising this area as part of their scheme to ensure sites like Kirkintilloch Basin are properly recognised and celebrated.”
Don Martin MBE, said, “In 1824 the Monkland & Kirkintilloch became the first railway in Scotland to receive comprehensive powers under an Act of Parliament to operate both goods and passenger services, including by steam locomotive. Under these powers, a large part of it was opened on 17 May 1826, when a horse-drawn coal train ran from Gartsherrie to the Forth & Clyde Canal at Kirkintilloch.
“It later became the first railway in Scotland to operate a steam locomotive successfully. In doing so it was the first in this country to operate a timetabled service by steam. This began on 4 July 1831, when a regular goods service was started between Chryston and Kirkintilloch. The Monkland & Kirkintilloch was also the first railway to order a steam locomotive from a Glasgow builder. Glasgow later became one of the foremost locomotive-building cities in the world.
“Most importantly of all, the Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway was laid with patent rails that were designed to support steam locomotives and allow them to pass along at speed. After the Stockton & Darlington it was the second public railway in the world to be provided with these rails, the Birkinshaw patent rails.”
John Cameron CBE, Vice-President of the National Transport Trust, added, “Last year the whole world celebrated the 200th anniversary of the modern railway which made its debut between Stockton and Darlington in September 1825. This year we are focused closer to home, for the Scots are nothing if not quick learners - and the S&D’s successful application of Birkinshaw's malleable rail allowing the weight of a steam locomotive to be safely borne was rapidly emulated by the Monkland & Kirkintilloch.”
Some key facts about the Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway:
- Under its 1824 Act of Parliament the Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway had powers to use steam locomotives. It introduced the first Glasgow-built steam locomotive in 1831
- The first commercial train on the line was a horse-drawn coal train from Gartsherrie to the Forth & Clyde Canal at Kirkintilloch on 17 May 1826
- It was the first of a group of early North Lanarkshire lines that formed the core of the Scottish railway network.
Events have been held to mark the 200th anniversary of the Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway in Kirkintilloch including talks and guided walks. An exhibition, entitled ‘Monkland & Kirkintilloch – Scotland’s First Modern Railway’ at the Auld Kirk Museum, is running until Wednesday 20 May 2026. There visitors can see photographs, objects of railway memorabilia and a display from a local model railway society. For more information on this visit the East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture Trust website.
