The Ancient and Royal Burgh of Stirling, the one-time home of Scotland’s parliament, sits on the River Forth, which the railway crosses just north of the station. Stirling station was opened by the Scottish Central Railway in 1848 when the company’s line arrived from the Caledonian Railway at Garrtsherrie (near Coatbridge) via Greenhill and Larbert. The Stirling and Dunfermline Railway opened from Alloa in 1852 and, like the Forth and Clyde Junction Railway that arrived in 1856, both soon became part of the North British Railway. While the former enjoyed success, the latter’s route to Balloch was never more than a very minor branch.
The station quickly became an important centre because it was in a pivotal position for radiating routes. Ownership rationalisation saw it become part of the Caledonian Railway, which consequently operated the main north-south route from Perth to Greenhill, while the North British came in from the east via Alloa or south from Falkirk over Caledonian metals. Railway grouping forced
