Joy, I don't know of any links on West Highland Transport. But bear in mind that most transportation about the west coast had always been by sea until the era of the railways in the late 19th century and the 'heavy goods vehicles' on the roads from after WWII. I remember as a boy the coal still came by steam boat ("puffer") and was beached at low tide when a horse and cart went into the sea alongside to fill with the coal. The the first roads began to be built as military roads after the 1715 Jacobite Rising - The cattle trade had "drove roads" but they were no more than "ways" of (often muddy or stony) interweaving small paths created by a herd walking along across the landscape. The road network was extended in the second half of the 18th century by private owners of land, sometimes using community labour which was required as community service. The landowners had an obligation to provide for education and the church as "Heritors" and formed the first organizations now evolved into the County Councils - called the County Commissioners, as managing the funding for roads and bridges which began to come from taxes in money rather than contributed labour after a while. The "improvers" among the landowners brought in outside money from the West Indies or India and later from the industry evolved in industrial revolution - coal mines and shipping besides - and many others bankrupted themselves by borrowing against the value of their land in the second half of the 18th century - trying to improve land with dykes and drainage and improve transport with roads and piers and bridges and better housing. For example in Knapdale in Argyll from 1750 to 1800 there was an almost complete turn-over of the old land-owning families due to endebtedness. My great grandmother in Ardrishaig remembered in the 1830s and 40s the landowning Campbells of Skipness having to stay with friends for four months of the year because their rental money had run out and their own home farm could support their staff but not them also. Similarly Campbell of Barcaldine said he had nothing to eat but what he could shoot on his place because he was only 22 and inherited a debt-ridden house and estate and so stayed with friends with a big garden so as to eat (until his army career could start I think.) It is not a picture you get from the current literature, for political reasons, but it is interesting and surprised me. So few landowners cold contribute to roads unless they had outside (like West Indies slave produced) money. I do not know about the far north, but in southern Inverness-shire and Argyll, much of the original infrastructure was built with slave money. But it was well spent. Early 20th century Council concrete bridges are having to be replaced, while some 17th and 18th century stone arch bridges are still carrying hefty loads of timber on 18 wheelers. The construction of the Crinan (Argyll) and Caledonian (Inverness-shire) canals was the major transportation improvement in the Highlands in the early 19th century. Thomas Telford was the engineer much involved. They were in aid of improving sea transport and communications. They came before the railways. They came to have greater use as the steam paddle boats were put into service and had regular runs about the West Coast and Isles - continued today by the hugely subsidised CalMac ferries which replaced the steamers of David MacBrayne. Of course the 1840s were the potato famine years and there was a bad agricultural depression after the Napoleonic Wars (Waterloo was 1815) due to no longer feeding the troops, the collapse of the kelp market, the greatly increased population (due in part to potatoes being grown as a field crop and the vaccination for smallpox introduced in 1750s. This in spite of thousands of young men who died from disease or were killed in the Highland regiments in colonial or international wars). So improvements in transportation at that period were confined to the new paddle steamer services which were out of the Clyde and largely based upon funds coming from industry for their initial investment. Highland estates never paid for themselves and the rentals were never adequate to make any improvements, even on the richer lands in Islay and near Campbeltown, so it always had to be outside money that improved transportation. Some of the landowning families were also bankrupted in the railway mainia (MacNeill of Gigha lost his mainland estate) of the 1830s period - investing. But the rails did not come to the west coast (at Oban in Argyll and Mallaig and Kyle of Loch Alsh in Inverness-shire) until late in the 19th century. Most of the roads (other than those for forestry) had been built by the early 20th century, although they have been continuously improved until recent years when the (happily for people but not for their roads) higher standards of living has meant that there is no longer much funding for improvements, only maintenance. I hope this is some help. Diarmid Campbell, Kilmelford, Argyll ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joy" <beatsme@netins.net> To: <SCT-ARGYLL-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, July 12, 2003 2:28 PM Subject: [ARGYLL] Transportation questions > Hi All ~ > > Can anyone suggest some good links about the transportation methods > available, primarily in the Western area of Scotland during the > 1700-1900 era? > > It always amazes me when I find a family link far from home. I realize > people moved due to famine, ownership changes of the land, and just the > hope of opportunity for a better life than where they were born. I've > visited many sites and gained quite a bit of information, but remain > interested in a better understanding of what the common citizens faced. > > Any recommendations or information is appreciated. > Joy USA > > ______________________________