A&FR line from the joint Arbroath station to the junction at St Vigeans, and also to the docks at Arbroath over the A&FR harbour line. Furthermore, as the NBR Montrose line would not be ready for some time, the NBR requested running powers over the Friockheim - Glasterlaw spur, which had twice been lifted and reinstated, and again lifted. The spur was ready on 26 July 1876. In 1870 the SNER opened its Dundee and Forfar direct line. This joined in to the A&FR line east of Forfar, facing towards the station. Goods trains started running on 12 August 1870; approval for opening for passengers was refused at first because of signalling shortcomings, but passenger operation started on 14 November 1870. In 1879 the portion of the former A&FR (now Caledonian) line between Arbroath and St Vigians Junction was transferred to the Dundee and Arbroath Joint company, in view of the NBR involvement on the line. On 28 December 1879 the Tay Bridge fell into the firth, and the NBR now ran goods trains via Perth and Dundee; passengers crossed the Firth by ferry to Broughty Ferry. The NBR opened its line from St Vigeans to Montrose for goods only at first on 1 March 1881. In 1902 the Friockheim viaduct (on the spur between Friockheim Junction and Glasterlaw) was in need of major reconstruction work; this was carried out over two years at considerable expense to the Caledonian: the major user was the NBR. Nonetheless traffic soon declined; Caledonian Railway trains between Dundee and Aberdeen were discontinued from 1 February 1908 and the spur line closed once again, this time finally. Between 1907 and 1912 the Arbroath station was reconstructed and modernised. Grouping and nationalisation At the end of 1922 it was intended that all the main line railways of Great Britain would be "grouped" in accordance with the Railways Act 1921. The Caledonian Railway was a constituent of the new London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) with an intended vesting date of 1 January 1923. Technicalities prevented all the legal requirements being finalised by the due date, although for practical purposes the transfer took place. The Arbroath and Forfar Railway had not operated its line since 1848: it was only a financial company, and it argued that the grouping of managements of the railways need not affect it. This proposal was turned down, and the A&FR shareholders received