had been £39,304. Now the network was 146 miles and revenue was £39,967 (). Huge sums were being written off in failed ventures, while equally huge sums were being sought for new ones. Some shareholders remembered George Hudson's offer of 8% for the company in 1847, which had been refused. It was noted that the Caledonian Railway was equally determined to enlarge its system, but was doing so by leasing smaller companies, avoiding a large payment at the beginning. In early 1852, a new preference share issue failed, and at the Shareholders' meeting in March two directors resigned, and Learmonth was forced to declare that he too would go in due course. This was hardly a tenable position and on 13 May 1852 he resigned. James Balfour took over, but Balfour was not well suited to the role and he had little influence on the course of the North British. He too left the company, and in 1855 Richard Hodgson took over. His task was formidable; no dividend was paid to ordinary shareholders for some time. By September 1856, Hodgson had routed an opposing faction on the Board, and operating expenses were down to 44%. At a Special Shareholders' Meeting on 15 July 1856 he announced that the Company's money bill had been passed, enabling the Company to issue shares and to pay down debt with the money raised: he announced, somewhat prematurely, that the Company was free from debt. The Ordinary Shareholders would get a dividend of 2.5%. Lines in the Borders In April 1856, the independent Selkirk and Galashiels Railway opened its line, to be worked by the NBR; this was followed in July 1856 by the Jedburgh Railway, connecting with the NBR at Roxburgh and also worked by the NBR. The Selkirk line was absorbed by the NBR in 1859, and the Jedburgh Railway in 1860. Hodgson reiterated Learmonth's statement that extending from Hawick to Carlisle was a priority. The water was muddied by the Caledonian Railway's stated intention to build its own branch from Carlisle to Hawick, and then by the independent Border Counties Railway. This was a speculative line from Hexham, on the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, striking north into presumed mineral-rich areas. It was authorised in 1854, and opened as far as Chollerford in 1858; its significance was the potential to enter the area between Carlisle and Hawick: in 1857 it presented a Bill