 The main contractor for the construction of the reservoir, and the line, was James Young and Sons of Edinburgh; the contract for the railway construction was in the sum of £49,113, and work on it started on 28 September 1895.Engineering design was by J and A Leslie and Reid of Edinburgh.In March 1897 more than half of the railway had been built, from Broughton to the Tweed Bridge near Tweedsmuir, and the Caledonian Railway ran an inspection train from Edinburgh to the site.