on the Edinburgh & Glasgow. Formal merger In 1846 it became clear that the E&GR directors favoured a purchase of the coal railways, giving it immediate access to the collieries and ironworks, and gaining possession of the territory against newly promoted lines. Such a sale appeared at first to please everyone, but Lancashire shareholders in the E&GR felt that the terms of such a takeover were too favourable to the small Scottish lines, and a major row broke out in the E&GR: the scheme was dropped. In this period, numerous other railways were promoted and alliances seemed to be formed and abandoned quickly, but the only large newcomers were the E&GR and the Caledonian Railway. Having been rebuffed by the E&GR, the Monkland companies decided upon a formal merger, and obtained the necessary Parliamentary sanction on 14 August 1848. The new Monkland Railways Company was formed with a nominal share capital of £329,880, the sum of the capital of the three former companies; the shares were converted as follows: Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway £25 shares converted to £22 16s 0d in Monkland Railways shares Ballochney Railways Railway £25 shares converted to £40 10s 10d in Monkland Railways shares Slamannan Railway Railway £50 shares converted to £22 15s 10d in Monkland Railways shares. With revenue of about £100,000 annually it was a profitable concern. New lines Slamannan Junction Railway The Slamannan Railway terminated at Causewayend, a wharf on the Union Canal. This was close to the new E&GR main line, and a connection seemed desirable. An independent company, the Slamannan Junction Railway, was formed to build the link; the submission to Parliament for an Act of Parliament was supported financially by the E&GR and the Monkland joint companies together. In fact its shareholders sold the company to the E&GR immediately after obtaining the enabling Act, and the E&GR built the line from Bo'ness Junction (later renamed Manuel High Level) on the E&GR main line to Causewayend. The short line was completed by January 1847, but remained dormant until the Monkland lines altered their line to standard gauge, in August 1847. Bo'ness The harbour at Borrowstounness (Bo'ness) was also not far from Causewayend, and a connection to it was desirable, enabling export and coastwise mineral trade. In addition there were ironstone pits and blast furnaces at Kinneil. The nominally independent Slamannan and Borrowstounness Railway (S&BR) had been promoted by the Slamannan company