NO7155The North British Arbroath and Montrose Railway was established by Act of Parliament in 1871. In the race to the north, the railway cuttings through the hard, andesitic lavas of Usan and Craig were the last parts of the original line to be completed. Due to the difficulty of construction, this section used a single line track from just south of the Cotton Bridge at Usan, through the cutting at Craig and then over both viaducts at Montrose Basin. However, after the Tay Bridge Disaster of the 28th December 1879, with the loss of 75 lives, it was thought to be prudent to inspect both Montrose viaducts as they also had been designed by Sir Thomas Bouche. Serious problems were found with the more northerly South Esk Viaduct in that although the plans showed a straight bridge, the viaduct had a distinct curve. Many of the piers were out of alignment and rigorous tests of the viaduct resulted in it being demolished. The rebuild, to a W.R. Galbraith design, was done by Sir William Arrol. The line was later reopened for passenger traffic in 1883. If the deficiencies in the viaduct had not been detected, Montrose might have had its own “Tay Bridge Disaster”. The more southerly brick viaduct, known as Rossie Viaduct or Ferryden Viaduct , dated 1879, was retained in its original form.
In 2003, the single line track at Usan was identified as a reason for the uncompetitive journey times between Dundee and Aberdeen. More recently, an intention to dual this only remaining section of single track on the east coast line looks to have been shelved or abandoned, at the present time, because of an estimated cost of over £100 million. The project may be further complicated by Montrose Basin being a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The single line track adds about twenty minutes to the rail journey between Aberdeen and Edinburgh and this is clearly bad for business. The one and a half mile section of single track means that at certain times, trains have to slow down and wait for others to pass. This particular section of track is anomalous in that it is the only section of single line track on the main, east coast line between Aberdeen and London.
The signal box, which seemed a permanent fixture in the landscape at Usan, was closed in 2010 and then removed as centralised automation replaced the need for such a building.
One of the attached photos shows the railway track to the south of Cotton Bridge where the double track line becomes a single one; the other photo shows a Turbostar travelling northward on single line track as it heads toward Craig cutting and the two viaducts over the Basin before reaching Montrose.
Whether or not ideas to change the single line track between Usan and Montrose will be shown a green light or a red one remain to be seen. Your discussion comments on this topic are now invited.
Andrew Diack, B.A., (Hons)
NO7155 : Railway points at UsanNO7155 : Train travelling north on single track rail at Usan