2025 is being celebrated as 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway, with the year marking the bicentennial of the opening of the pioneering Stockton and Darlington Railway. It is also a special year for local railway history, for in 1825 plans were afoot for Dundee to get its own railway which would link it to Newtyle.
In this talk, drawing heavily on the collections held by Archive Services at the University of Dundee, Kenneth will give a brief account of the history of railways in and around Dundee, from lines that became part of major national trunk routes to others that fared less well and schemes that were never realised. In doing so he will illustrate the important part local railways played in British railway history and also show the major impact that railways had in shaping Dundee and its environs in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Kenneth Baxter is an archivist and historian who was born and educated in Dundee. He was awarded a PhD by the University of Dundee in 2008 and has served on the Council of the Abertay Historical Society since 2009. He has contributed chapters to several Abertay Historical Society publications including Tayside at War, Creatures of Fancy: Mary Shelley in Dundee and In One Woman's Life: Celebrating Mary Brooksbank.
The talk will take place in Lecture Theatre 2, Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee. Non-members are welcome - donations requested.
