 The Slamannan Railway had been opened in 1840 between Arbuckle (near Airdrie) and Causewayend (on the Union Canal, west of Linlithgow).It was built with the hope of opening up mineral extraction in the otherwise undeveloped land that it crossed.The mineral workings proved disappointing, and an early intercity passenger service between Edinburgh and Glasgow over the line and associated lines and the Union Canal was wiped out when the more technologically advanced Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway (E&GR) opened in 1842.