New book explores railway line's history

Roger Jermy’s new work, entitled The Eyemouth Branch, features historic pictures, maps and anecdotes.

The book describes the history of the short, steeply-graded railway which formerly linked the fishing port of Eyemouth with the East Coast Main Line at Burnmouth, close to Berwick-upon-Tweed in the Scottish Borders.

It opened in April 1891 and was built so that the fish, landed at Eyemouth, could be readily transported to the markets of Birmingham, Edinburgh and London.

British Railways first advertised the proposed closure of the line in September 1961, and the last trains ran on Saturday, February 3, 1962.

The book, which has many photographs – some dating back to the 19th century – as well as several maps and plans, totals 192 pages.

It is divided into 16 chapters dealing with such topics as the building of the line, its operations, its locomotives and rolling stock, the fish traffic, accidents on the line and the devastating effects of the local 1948 flood.

It has an extensive bibliography and an index and also contains poems and humorous tales linked with the railway.

The book is produced by The Oakwood Press, a specialist publisher of railway books.

The Oakwood Press is now a sub-division of Stenlake Books, of Catrine, Ayrshire.

The book is £17.95 and will soon be available from all good bookshops and other outlets, such as Alnwick’s Aln Valley Railway (AVR).

It is the sixth Oakwood Press railway book written by Roger, who is PR and press officer at the AVR.