ABSTRACT
Although this chapter draws together the remaining parts of the British Isles there is an interesting balance of contrasts and similarities in the evolution of the rail network. An obvious point of contrast is the physical connection between Scotland and the rest of Great Britain compared with Ireland's situation as aseparate island. Therefore, when rail gauges were standardized it was appropriate to consider Ireland as a separate entity and 5 feet 3 inches emerged as the most appropriate gauge (being the most common at the time), whereas Scotland conformed to the British standard of 4 feet 8.5 inches. It will also become apparent that whereas Scotland's main-line railway system developed on top of a system established during the wagonway era, Ireland's railways were laid out on the proverbial 'clean slate': industrial railways made a contribution, notably through the demonstration of the feasibility of the 3-foot gauge but this innovation was essentially contemporaneous with the development of steam railways in general. On the other hand, both Scotland and Ireland experienced only restrained competition between railway companies compared with England and Wales (not altogether surprising in view of the extreme rurality of much of the land involved and the special importance of the London traffic in the ca se of England and Wales). Also related to this point is the delay in extending rail services to all parts of these regions. Expansion after 1865 produced only a slightly higher percentage increase in Scotland and Ireland (79.3 per cent) than in England and Wales (74.6) (Table 4.1). New construction was particularly significant in northern Scotland and western Ireland (Figure 4.1). Moreover, the final phase of expansion involved a measure of government support, related to a programme of social and economic development in the so-ca lied 'Congested Districts'. Much of the expansion in the west of Ireland was related to this scheme while in Scotland the extensions from Fort William to Mallaig and Strome Ferry to Kyle of Lochalsh were assisted in the same way. The plan for this chapter is first to provide an overview of the development process in the two regions and then follow this up with some consideration of the competition generated by the companies. The case study will focus on the Congested Districts of Ireland to examine the reasons for state support and the achievements of this programme in terms of railway development.
