Kirkcaldy is a town of 50,000 people that grew rapidly after the arrival of railway in 1847, evolving from the sleepy ‘Lang Toun’ with a population of 12,000 to a thriving industrial community. Linen factories sprang up, later becoming linoleum factories, while coal mines and engineering works, together with a busy harbour and a rail network, ensured that the town would never be quite the same.