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Borders Railway - Now Open

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HowardGWR

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The haugh is land in the bottom of a valley ie the flood plain either side of a river.

Yes FeggUK, thanks, but does anyone know the answer to my question please?

Interesting what someone did to my perfectly valid English and non-abusive word. I wondered whether that was automatic?
 
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michael769

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You are correct that the word haugh is sometimes anglicized to hall in Scottish placenames, however that is not the case here. Hall is also a Scots word in its own right referring to large houses or castles.

In this case the name comes from Fountainhall House, formerly known as Penkaet Castle, it's name was changed around 1685 by Sir John Lauder. Fountainhall literally means "large house near the spring", and at the time a string spring was indeed known to exist somehwre in the area, probably near the house. Some years earlier Charles II had granted substantial lands in the area to Sir John's father, and with Sir John talking he name Lord Fountainhall in later years this led to the area becoming known as Fountainhall.

For those interested there is a guide to Scots placemens at: http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/docs/ebooks/guide-to-scots-origins-of-place-names.pdf.
 
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PaxVobiscum

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You are correct that the word haugh is sometimes anglicized to hall in Scottish placenames, however that is not the case here. Hall is also a Scots word in its own right referring to large houses or castles.

In this case the name comes from Fountainhall House, formerly known as Penkaet Castle, it's name was changed around 1685 by Sir John Lauder. Fountainhall literally means "large house near the spring", and at the time a string spring was indeed known to exist somehwre in the area, probably near the house. Some years earlier Charles II had granted substantial lands in the area to Sir John's father, and with Sir John talking he name Lord Fountainhall in later years this led to the area becoming known as Fountainhall.

For those interested there is a guide to Scots placemens at: http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/docs/ebooks/guide-to-scots-origins-of-place-names.pdf.

Interesting. The Fountainhall area of Aberdeen however was originally 'Fountain Haugh'.
http://www.mcjazz.f2s.com/FountainhallHouse.htm
 

HowardGWR

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You are correct that the word haugh is sometimes anglicized to hall in Scottish placenames, however that is not the case here. Hall is also a Scots word in its own right referring to large houses or castles.

In this case the name comes from Fountainhall House, formerly known as Penkaet Castle, it's name was changed around 1685 by Sir John Lauder. Fountainhall literally means "large house near the spring", and at the time a string spring was indeed known to exist somehwre in the area, probably near the house. Some years earlier Charles II had granted substantial lands in the area to Sir John's father, and with Sir John talking he name Lord Fountainhall in later years this led to the area becoming known as Fountainhall.

For those interested there is a guide to Scots placemens at: http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/docs/ebooks/guide-to-scots-origins-of-place-names.pdf.
Thanks for the interesting reply, but seeing the reply from PaxNobiscum, I wonder if it's just that Sir John Lauder did the *******isation of 'haugh'. After all the 'fountain' is the spring and he could have meant the very common local word for low lying place but it got spelt as hall? Just a thought. :D
 

michael769

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It is possible. But the landed gentry of the time would speak the same language as the English upper classes (primarily English with a smattering of Norman French and Latin). I would personally doubt that the use of a Scots term would occur to someone like that, and the area was already known as Pencaitland at the time.

(For the avoidance of confusion I am talking about a different Fountainhall to PaxVorbiscum, mine is in the Lothians http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst1061.html)
 
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HowardGWR

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It is possible. But the landed gentry of the time would speak the same language as the English upper classes (primarily English with a smattering of Norman French and Latin). I would personally doubt that the use of a Scots term would occur to someone like that, and the area was already known as Pencaitland at the time.

(For the avoidance of confusion I am talking about a different Fountainhall to PaxVorbiscum, mine is in the Lothians http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst1061.html)

Talking of Latin, I see neither of us spelt PaxVobiscum correctly so perhaps that proves how names get altered! :D
 

railjock

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Good aerial picture of the city bypass work in the Midlothian Advertiser.

http://www.midlothianadvertiser.co....r-down-the-line-for-borders-railway-1-3243248
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Good aerial picture of the city bypass work in the Midlothian Advertiser.

http://www.midlothianadvertiser.co....r-down-the-line-for-borders-railway-1-3243248


It clearly shows the deviation of the new route from Kings Gate to Millerhill to allow Shawfair stationto be built. The old route runs along the top left of the picture.
 

snowball

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Wow! They've made spectacular progress with the bridge in the three months or so since the road diversion opened. It looks substantially finished, structurally speaking.
 

HowardGWR

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Good aerial picture of the city bypass work in the Midlothian Advertiser.

http://www.midlothianadvertiser.co....r-down-the-line-for-borders-railway-1-3243248
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---



It clearly shows the deviation of the new route from Kings Gate to Millerhill to allow Shawfair stationto be built. The old route runs along the top left of the picture.

Please tell me that is not a single line tunnel box for the new line??? From the height it is difficult to judge.
 

Zoidberg

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The next phase of work in that area is described in the Edinburgh Evening News at http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/section-of-a6106-to-close-for-six-months-1-3255755

It's encouraging to read that the tunnelling work is ahead of schedule and reinstatement of the A720 City By-Pass will be completed by April at the latest.

An extract:

A ROAD leading off Edinburgh’s busiest junction will be shut for six months – to allow vital work on Borders Railway line to progress.

A section of the A6106 – the main road into Millerhill on the city’s outskirts – will be closed from where it connects to the heavily congested Sheriffhall junction to the Old Craighall Road roundabout.

The closure, expected to be enforced later this month, will allow the road to be relaid so it bends around the 35-mile line linking Edinburgh Waverley to the Borders.

The works are sure to further clog up a junction drivers have previously voted Scotland’s worst as the section, also known as Millerhill Road, will be closed until at least July to carry out the realignment.

...

A 130ft-wide tunnel has already been carved beneath the City Bypass, close to Sheriffhall junction, to make way for the rail line. The major carriageway will now be transferred back to its original alignment by April at the latest.

Network Rail project director Hugh Wark said: “We have made rapid progress with the structure, which will carry the City Bypass across the railway. If all continues to go well, this should allow us to reinstate the original alignment sooner than we anticipated. Once the City Bypass is restored to its original route, we will begin the task of removing the diverted road.
 

Tobbes

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I presume that they mean the tunnel will be 130ft long..... :idea:

Tobbes
 

snowball

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The reason the tunnel is so long is to allow for slip roads in the event of a flyover or underpass being built in the future at the nearby Sheriffhall road junction.
 

railjock

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The reason the tunnel is so long is to allow for slip roads in the event of a flyover or underpass being built in the future at the nearby Sheriffhall road junction.

Shame they couldn't have such foresight on some of the single track bridges they are building.
 

OxtedL

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Shame they couldn't have such foresight on some of the single track bridges they are building.

Yes, if only they'd left provision for four tracking for when they eventually need to run two trains an hour all day! :roll:
 

HowardGWR

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Yes, if only they'd left provision for four tracking for when they eventually need to run two trains an hour all day! :roll:

I don't think that is very amusing at all. I agree with the criticism of lack of foresight.
 

snowball

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Does anyone please know:

How many new bridges of single track width are they building (not counting old refurbished structures)?

How many of these are overbridges?

I've looked at parts of the plans but it would take a long time to check every one.
 
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OxtedL

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I don't think that is very amusing at all. I agree with the criticism of lack of foresight.

You're going to need some pretty rapid population growth to need complete doubling any time in the foreseeable future.

It may be a lack of foresight, but if they are indeed building single track bridges then that's because there's a limit to what you can expect those in charge to foresee (and to fore-pay-for) when running a line through some pretty empty countryside towards some fairly modest populations, which is I hope you'll agree an accurate description of the line south of Gorebridge.
 

route:oxford

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You're going to need some pretty rapid population growth to need complete doubling any time in the foreseeable future.

It may be a lack of foresight, but if they are indeed building single track bridges then that's because there's a limit to what you can expect those in charge to foresee (and to fore-pay-for) when running a line through some pretty empty countryside towards some fairly modest populations, which is I hope you'll agree an accurate description of the line south of Gorebridge.

Lack of foresight is why the route between Alloa and Stirling is just single track.
 
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