The railways covered in this album were constructed piecemeal and it took some time before they were formed into a comprehensive network under the auspices of the North British Railway. Add in the myriad of mineral lines built to serve the collieries and a complex system emerges. Between 1890 and 1970 the line as far as Cowdenbeath enjoyed main line status as part of the Edinburgh to Perth direct line. Once coal was king in this area, but coal mining is now long gone, and the remaining route is a shadow of itself today with ScotRail providing the majority of trains over the route.