 The company held a poor hand.It had incurred heavy expenditure on building the Waverley Route but had its endeavours obstructed over access to what is now the West Coast Main Line (WCML) in Carlisle.The company had "physical" access to the WCML via Port Carlisle Junction and Port Carlisle Branch Junction and "legal" access via running rights, but the Caledonian and LNWR conspired to make life difficult, by, for example, refusing through bookings for passengers from the NBR.