A train on the Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway

A volunteer-run railway in Scotland is coming to the rescue of travellers by providing a service when local roads are closed for resurfacing.

Buses are often called in to replace trains, but it is rare for trains to provide a bus replacement service.

Buses will be unable to get to Wanlockhead in Dumfries and Galloway next week (starting on 4 July 2016) when the B797 road is closed.

So the narrow-gauge Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway has stepped in to meet the bus from Lanark and to provide onward connections.

“We will be connecting the communities while the road is closed, so that people can attend the doctor’s surgery in Leadhills, or to go shopping in Lanark,” said a railway spokesman.

The railway will also be providing a commuter service for people working at and visiting the Mining Museum in Wanlockhead which is Scotland’s highest village.

The railway is Britain’s highest adhesion railway, reaching 1,498 feet above sea level, and normally runs diesel-hauled services between Leadhills and the county boundary just outside Wanlockhead.

The track has been laid on the original track bed of the Caledonian Railway.

It is open every weekend from April to the end of September from 11.00 to 16.00.

It has been operating since 1986 and carries over 3,000 passengers per annum.

Details of the bus replacement service timetable, including connections to Glasgow: LR

Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway