to do this due to the need to accept paying patients to contribute to the costs. By 1909 the financial position was so serious that the directors agreed to close the sanatorium the following year, but Sir James Caird, the Dundee jute baron, agreed to provide £1,000 per year if the institution was taken over by Dundee Royal Infirmary, and the transfer was completed in October 1910. The sanatorium eventually closed in 1969 but continued as an NHS convalescent and respite care home until 4 November 1980 (according to the national archives). Geography Auchterhouse stands below the southern slopes of the Sidlaw Hills. The Auchterhouse Burn flows south to join the Dronley Burn, which continues across the south of the community, joining the Dighty Water on the southern boundary of Auchterhouse. This then flows eastwards, to the north of Dundee, to join the Firth of Tay at Monifieth. The land rises from south to north, reaching at Auchterhouse Hill, the highest point in the community. In the north the land consists of moorlands over underlying sandstone. The lower lying southern parts consist of glacial till which, when drained, produces good crops of oats, barley, potatoes and turnips, and is suitable for dairy farming. There are a number of spruce and Scots pine plantations, particularly on the higher ground. Transport A feasibility study to build a railway from Strathmore to Dundee was proposed in 1825, and the first meeting of the Dundee and Newtyle Railway Company took place the following year. Construction started rapidly, and the section from Hatton to Balbeuchley was completed by 1827. The line opened on 16 December 1831. The coaches were, at first, drawn up the Hatton incline by a newly installed stationary engine, with horses providing the power from the top of the incline. The horses were assisted by a wagon sheet on a pole attached to the carriage to harness favourable winds. A second stationary engine was installed at Balbeuchley the following year, and in 1833 two steam engines, the Earl of Airlie and the Lord Wharncliffe, replaced horses on the level sections. Coal and lime were carried from Dundee, while in the other direction, fruit was transported and stone from local quarries provided building material for the rapidly expanding city. In addition, 31,000 passengers were being carried by 1833. In 1834 a locomotive derailment at Pitpointie resulted in the death of John Anderson, the