St Andrews Railways: Leuchars to Anstruther

The five mile branch line from Leuchars Junction, on the main line from Edinburgh to Aberdeen a short distance south of the Tay Bridges, to the ancient university town and home of golf, St Andrews, was the first link of the coastal railway that eventually encircled East Fife. Built entirely by local interests and with local capital, the small and independent St Andrews Railway was a pioneer of the cheap railway movement – a reaction against spiralling costs, over-elaborate engineering and rapacious landowners. It prospered as its terminus attracted an increasing amount of traffic and eventually was absorbed by Scotland’s largest company, the North British. Carrying goods to St Andrews and the traffic associated with the Guardbridge papermill, this single track branch line also carried considerable numbers of passengers. Surviving Grouping, Nationalisation, and dieselisation, the Leuchars to St Andrews branch finally succumbed to closure in an era of hollow promises and unfulfilled hopes.