How Scotland's iconic rail routes were born: From the dawn of the steam train to the West Highland Line
A new exhibition is delving into the history of railway tourism - and will open in August.
It was the advent of modern-day holidays - a bustling rail network that took travellers to picturesque destinations across Scotland and a Victorian age in which iconic rail routes such as the West Highland Line were born.
Now, a new exhibition is drawing on Scotland’s national archives to explore the history of railway tourism.
Scots on the Move: Railways and Tourism in Victorian Scotland will feature photographs, tourist guides, booklets, posters, letters and other historical documents to transport visitors to the dawn of the steam era.
The exhibition at the National Records of Scotland running in August will start from the first passenger railway in the early 19th century and end with the emergency of the motor car more than a century later.
The showcase, tied to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, will cover the evolution of the train, from Stephenson’s ‘Rocket’ - originally built to run on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the world's first inter-city passenger railway line - to Queen Victoria's royal carriages.
The free exhibition will be hosted in General Register House’s dramatic Adam Dome on Princes Street.
Alison Byrne, chief executive of National Records of Scotland, said: “Our summer exhibition will capture an exciting moment in Scotland’s history. Railways normalised travel and shaped holiday habits, which we still recognise today.
“It will be a great opportunity for visitors to take a peek inside Scotland’s national archive and sample some of the history that National Records of Scotland preserves for current and future generations.”
The exhibition will feature the creation of some of Scotland’s most iconic routes, as structures such as the Glenfinnan Viaduct, completed by 1901 at the top of Loch Shiel, transform scene rail travel.
But it will also explore the trepidation that Victorians experienced amid the rapid expansion of the railways. As NTS points out in promoting the exhibition, there were fears at the time over the changing nature of the landscape, as people worried about the speed of trains, as well as accidents, crime and social upheaval.
The exhibition will run from August 4-29 from 9am to 4pm each weekday at General Register House on Princes Street.
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