The January issue of The Railway Magazine usually focussed on Scotland. The January 1959 edition was no exception. [1] Included in the Magazine were articles by:
H.A. Vallance about The Strathspey Line.
J.W. Grant about Scottish 0-4-4 Tank Engines.
G.H. Robin about The Lanarkshire & Dunbartonshire Railway.
M.D. Grenville about Scottish Railways in 1859.
This article picks up on the article by H.A. Vallance, and begins a journey along the Strathspey line which ran down the valley of the River Spey from Keith towards Abernethy. Initially the line ran Southwest along Strathisla before crossing the watershed to Strathspey.
At much the same time (November 1860) as the Highland Railway promoted its scheme from Forrest to Grantown-on-Spey and on across the Grampians by the Druimuachdar Pass into Strathtay, the Great North of Scotland Railway subscribed £100,000 to a nominally independent scheme was promoted by the Keith & Dufftown Railway. In addition to its subscription, the Great North of Scotland Railway undertook to work the railway.
Vallance tells us that from Dufftown, “the Strathspey Railway was to run north-westwards for nearly four miles to Craigellachie, and thence in a south-westerly direction, through Strathspey, for some 28 miles to Abernethy. Connection with the Inverness & Perth Junction Railway (IPJR) was to be provided by a short branch south of Grantown. The railway was authorised on 17th May 1861 (five days before the IPJR), and the construction of the main line went ahead with all possible speed, but the works on the branch at Grantown were not undertaken.” [1: p4]
The railway between Dufftown and Abernethy opened on 1st July 1863. Two months later, on 9th September, the last section of the IPJR was opened. The lack of a physical link between the two lines meant that the Strathspey line suffered financially. Vallance says that powers for the link were obtained on 5th July 1865, “when the Strathspey Company was authorised to extend its railway from Abernethy to a junction with the line to Perth some two miles north of Boat of Garten. Earlier in the year, the IPJR and its associated companies had been amalgamated, and in June had assumed the title of the Highland Railway.” [1: p5]
The Strathspey trains were extended from Abernethy to Boat of Garten on 1st August 1866, but a dispute with the Highland Railway soon arose with the Highland Railway over costs associated with the junction signal box meant a temporary closure of the link until the dispute could be settled. The link reopened 1st June 1868 on the basis that a separate track would provided for the Strathspey, from the original junction as far as the Station at Boat of Gareth where a physical connection would occur.
The Strathspey line also formed a junction at Craigellachie with the Morayshire Railway which gave a cess Loosiemouth via Elgin. The short connection between the Morayshire Railway and the Strathspey line was opened on 1st July 1863. Vallance notes that once the working agreement with the Great North came into force, “the Morayshire Railway virtually lost its separate identity. The Great North thus secured complete control of a route from Keith to Elgin, but many years were to elapse before through trains between Aberdeen and Inverness ran via Craigellachie.” [1: p5]
An extract from a drawing in H.A. Vallance’s article which shows the length of the Strathspey line from Keith through Dufftown and Craigellachie to Boat of Garten. Great North of Scotland lines are shown solid black, those of the Highland Railway are shown dashed. [1: p4]
On 30th July 1866, “the Great North obtained powers to absorb the Keith & Dufftown and the Strathspey Railways, and the fusion became effective two days later. At the same time, the Morayshire Company was authorised to amalgamate with the Great North as soon as mutually acceptable terms had been agreed; but so involved were its finances that it was not possible to reach an agreement until 1880.” [1: p5]
Keith to Dufftown
This length of the line has become the preservation line, the Keith and Dufftown Railway. Their website is on this link. [41]
In the 21st century, “only a single platform remains in full-time use at Keith Railway Station, though the Dufftown branch platform (numbered 1) is available if required for turning back trains from the Aberdeen direction. … The bays have been filled in, having been abandoned and tracks lifted in the early 1970s after the closure of the Moray Coast Line (for which the station was a terminus). A signal box (which retains the name Keith Junction) remains at the eastern end to control a passing loop on the single track main line beyond the station, the now little-used goods yard (formerly used by trains accessing the nearby Chivas Regal whisky plant) and the stub of the Dufftown branch.” [6]
Further information about Keith Railway Station can be found here. [7]
Vallance describes a journey along the line in 1959. Starting from Keith Station (Junction), “the Craigellachie line ascends Strath Isla for some eight miles, past the single-platform station of Keith Town, Auchindachy, and Drummuir.” [1: p5]
The line continues from Keith Town Station, Southwest towards Auchindachy.
Just to the Southwest of Keith Town Station the line passed under two bridges. The first carries Bridge Street which became the A96. The second [11]Approximately the same area in the 21st century as seen on Railmaponline.com’s satellite imagery. [9]The bridge carrying the A96 over the line as seen from the next bridge down the line. [Google Streetview, October 2014]The bridge carrying Old Town over the line to the Southwest of the A96, seen from the South on Old Town. [Google Streetview, October 2014]
Strathisla Mill sat on the banks of the Isla.
Strathisla Mill on the banks of the River Isla was passed just before the line bridged the river. [12]The same location in the 21st century. The older mill buildings are now part of the Strathisla Distillery complex. [Google Maps, January 2026]The bridge over the River Isla to the South of the mill buildings. [12]The same bridge over the River Isla, in the 21st century. [Google Maps, January 2026]The next bridge along the line. [13]The same location in the 21st century. [Google Maps, January 2026]The same bridge seen from the Southeast. [Google Streetview, October 2014]The same bridge seen from the North. [Google Streetview, October 2014]
Further Southwest another overbridge links the Douglasbrae Lime Kilns to the road network. The main road here is now the B9014.
The next overbridge carried the access road to Douglasbrae Lime Kilns over the River and the railway. [13]The same location in the 21st century. I am not quite sure what I think about the two different names given to the site of what we’re on e the Douglasbrae Lime Kilns – Strathisla Pet Crematorium sounds so much better than Douglasbrae Knackery! [Google Maps, January 2026]Looking back to the Northeast from the bridge carrying the access road. [Google Streetview, October 2014]The bridge carrying the access road, seen from the Southwest on the B9104. [Google Streetview, June 2023]The view Southwest along the line from the access road bridge. [Google Streetview, October 2014]
The line continues Southwest towards Bridge of Maisley.
At Bridge of Maisley the line passed under what is now the B9104, close to a junction with a minor road which first served Maisley Lime Works, before running West on the North side of the River Isla. The railway then bridges the river, crossing from the North bank to the South bank. [13]The same location in the 21st century, the three bridges are still evident. [Google Maps, January, 2026.The bridge which carries the B9014 across the railway, seen from the road to the Northeast of the line. [Google Streetview, June 2023]The view back to the Northeast along the railway. [Google Streetview, June 2023]The view ahead to the Southwest along the line. [Google Streetview, June 2023]The railway bridge over the Isla is hidden by vegetation from the B9014. This is the view from the North on the minor road mentioned above. [Google Streetview, March 2022]The railway remains on the South side of the river for a very short distance before crossing back to the other bank, travelling in a southerly direction. [13]The same location in the 21st century. [Google Maps, January 2026]
A short distance to the South, the line approaches Auchindachy Station.
Auchindachy Station as shown on the 1868 25″ Ordnance Survey, published in 1869. [15]The location of Auchindachy Station as shown on the ESRI satellite imagery provided by the National Library of Scotland (NLS). [16]
Auchindachy Railway Station had two platforms set on a gentle curve. Photographs of the station can be found here. [17]
Turning to look to the Southwest. In 2022, the view along the line was completely obscure by tree growth. The photograph below was taken earlier in the 21st century.
Looking Southwest along the line from the bridge carrying the B9014 over the line. [Google Streetview, August 2011]A short distance further Southwest the railway bridges the River Isla again. [20]The same location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, January 2026]
In short shift trains heading South entered Drummuir Railway Station. …
Drummuir Railway Station at around the turn of the 20th century. [23]The same location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, January 2026]
Drummuir station was first opened in 1862 by the Keith and Dufftown Railway. The station was closed to passengers by British Railways in May 1968, but the line remained open for freight and special excursions for some time. It was reopened as a preserved station in 2003 by the Keith and Dufftown Railway Association.
Further pictures of Drummuir Railway Station can be found here. [26]
Immediately Southwest of the site of Drummuir Station the line passes under a road bridge and crosses the Burn of Drumhendry. This is the location at the turn of the 20th century. [27]The same location in the 21st century. [Google Maps, January 2026]Looking back to the Northeast through Drummuir Railway Station. [Google Streetview, September 2011]Looking Southwest from the road bridge, the view ahead is obstructed by foliage but it is possible to seethe Burn of Drumhendry after it has passed under the railway. [Google Streetview, September 2011]The bridge over the Burn of Drumhendry seen from a point to the Northwest of the bridge over the railway. [Google Streetview, September 2011]The next structure along the line, again at the turn of the 20th century. [27]The same location in the 21st century. The railway can just be made out but the route of the road is less easy to pick out so its centre-line is highlighted by the blue line. [Google Maps, January 2026]At the same location, the bridge parapet and the view back along the line towards Drummuir. [Google Streetview, May 2022]At the same location, the other bridge parapet and the view ahead along the line. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
“About a mile beyond Drummuir is Loch Park, a narrow sheet of water lying in a wooded gorge. The railway skirts its southern shore on a narrow ledge at the foot of the precipitous hillside.” [1: p5]
Just before passing the dam at the East end of the Loch the line passes under the road which runs across the West end of Loch Park.
Just before the line passes Loch Park it is bridged once again. [27]The same structure in the 21st century. [Google Maps, January 2026]The tidy looking structure seen from the road to the East. [Google Streetview, May 2022]Looking East back along the line from the bridge. [Google Streetview, May 2022]Looking West along the line from the bridge towards Loch Park. Note the well-kept permanent way but between the railway and the road. [Google Streetview, May 2022]A view from the West looking past the platelayer’s hut towards the road bridge. [Google Streetview, May 2022]This modern satellite image shows the railway running alongside Loch Park. Its route appears as a dark line in the trees immediately adjacent to the Southeast shore of the Loch. [Google Maps, January 2026]A very similar area as it appears on the 25″ 2nd Edition OS Map from the turn of the 20th century. [28]
“From the summit at the western end of Loch Park, the line descends at 1 in 60 into the valley of the River Fiddich, which is crossed on a masonry bridge shortly before Dufftown is reached. ” [1: p5]
The next structure to the Southwest appears on the map extract below. …..
The line passes under what will be the B9014. [29]The same location with the B9104 crossing the line in the 21st century. [Google Maps, January 2026]The bridge seen from the Northeast. [Google Streetview, May 2022]Looking Northeast along the line from the B9014 bridge. [Google Streetview, May 2022]Looking Southwest from the same bridge. [Google Streetview, May 2022]
The next map extract shows the junction close to the Parkmore Distillery, where a branch serving Parkmore Lime Works and Glendullan and Mortlach distilleries left the main line. …
The line to Dufftown continued to the West on the South side of the Parkmore Distillery, while the short branch ran south to serve local industry. At the turn of the 20th century, the Parkmore Limekilns had their own short siding. [30]Approximately the same area in the 21st century. [Google Maps, January 2026]The railway bridge over the B9104, seen from the North. [Google Streetview, May 2022]A view from the South on the B9104. The railway bridge carrying the line over the B9104 is on the left. The access road from rail level down to the road network is on the right. The branch line ran through the area which, in the 21st century, is wooded at the right side of the image. [Google Streetview, March 2022]Glendullan Distillery had its own short siding with the line running towards Mortlach Distillery. [31]Glendullan Distillery is owned by Diageo in the 21st century. The alignment of the old railway siding and branch are shown by the orange lines superimposed on the Google Maps satellite imagery. [9]The line curves round the East side of Dufftown. [32]The route of the line as it appears on the railmaponline.com satellite imagery. [9]The bridge carrying the A941 over the route of the old branch to Mortlach Distillery and over Dullan Water – the Bridge of Crachie. [Google Streetview, June 2023]A closer view of the bridge over rail and river. [32]
The branch only ran a short distance beyond the Bridge of Crachie to serve Mortlach Distillery
The short branch terminated at Mortlach Distillery. [33]A similar area in the 21st century with the railway route superimposed again. [9]
Returning to the main line we see it bridging the River Fiddich. …
The main line bridges the River Fiddich and begins to curve round to the Northwest. [34]The route of the line is again superimposed on the modern satellite imagery. [9]The view looking East from Castle Road (B975) towards the bridge over the River Fiddich. [Google Streetview, September 2025]As the line approached Dufftown Station it passed Glenfiddich Distillery. [35]The Glenfiddich Distillery in the 21st century with the original railways shown as orange lines superimposed on the satellite imagery from railmaponline.com. [9]Looking North alongside Glenfiddich Distillery from Castle Road (B975), the line can be seen in a shallow cutting on its approach to Dufftown Railway Station. A DMU can be made out in the middle left of the photograph. [Google Streetview, September 2025]
A remarkable number of distillery buildings survive in the 21st century in the immediate vicinity of Dufftown. The most famous of these is the Glenfiddich Distillery which continues to produce a significant volume of Whisky. [37]
Parkmore Distillery buildings are no longer used for producing Whisky. They were operational from 1894 but mostly silent from 1931, closing officially in 1988; its well-preserved buildings are now used by Edrington Group for whisky warehousing, with its rare existing whisky valued by collectors and its grounds sometimes hosting whisky experiences. [38]
Glendullan Distillery is a significant but often behind-the-scenes producer of single malt Scotch whisky, primarily for Diageo’s blends like Johnnie Walker, though it also contributes to The Singleton range. Founded in 1897, it operates a larger, modern facility built next to the original, which now serves as storage and workshops after its closure in 1985. [39]
And Mortlach also remains active. It was founded in 1823 and is now owned by Diageo. Its Whisky is a key component in several Johnnie Walker bottlings,and Diageo also markets four Mortlach single malts. [40]
Balvenie Distillery, owned by William Grant & Sons Ltd., sits to the Northeast of the Glenfiddich Distillery on the East side of Dufftown Station. Grant left his employment at Mortlach Distillery to set up his own company in 1886 when the foundations of the new distillery were laid. The distillery remains active. “David Stewart MBE, Balvenie’s Malt Master, is one of the industry’s most experienced experts and began working with William Grant & Sons in 1962. He was the first to create the process that would later be known as wood finishing, whereby whiskies are matured in one type of cask, such as ex-Bourbon barrels, then transferred into a second cask type (such as ex Sherry, Port or Rum), resulting in a greater depth and complexity of the final flavour of the whisky. He received his MBE from Queen Elizabeth II on the 5th of July, 2016, for his services to the Scotch Whisky Industry.” [42]
Kininvie Distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Dufftown, owned by William Grant & Sons, built in 1990 primarily to supply their popular blends like Grant’s and Monkey Shoulder, though it now releases its own single malts, often using shared facilities (mash/fermentation) with its sister distillery, The Balvenie. [43]
Dufftoen Railway Station at the turn of the 20th century. [36]Dufftown Railway Station in the 21st century. It is now the terminus of the preservation line. [9]
Dufftown Railway Station “first opened on 21st February 1862 by the Keith and Dufftown Railway. There was a goods yard to the southwest, which is used for stock storage nowadays. The station closed on 6th May 1968 to passengers. The line for westbound trains was lifted shortly after. Goods traffic ceased around 1991. In 2003, the Keith and Dufftown Association reopened the station and the line as a preserved railway and set up their headquarters at the station.” [44]
Some images of Dufftown Station can be found here [45] and here. [47]
We complete this leg of the journey standing on the platform of the preservation railway at Dufftown Railway Station. The next leg of the journey will take us over the watershed into Strathspey.
References
The Railway Magazine Volume 105 No. 693, Tothill Press, London, January 1959.
H.A. Vallance; The Strathspey Line; in The Railway Magazine Volume 105 No. 693, Tothill Press, London, January 1959, p3-9.
H.A.Vallance notes that in the years prior to the coming of the railways to the North of Scotland there was a series of different initiatives intended to improve transport links. The first were the roads built by General Wade (250 miles of military roads) which “were quite unsuited to the requirements of trade operating under peace-time conditions.” [17: p11] The biggest contribution to raid development was made by Thomas Telford. He “was appointed to survey for new roads and for the improvement of existing highways. In the course of … 17 years he constructed about 920 miles of road, and built some 1,200 bridges.” [17: p11] But it was the coming of the railways to the Highlands, that most effectively addressed the regions transport problems.
Earlier articles about the Highland Railway network can be found here, [3] and here. [4] These two articles cover the Strathpeffer Branch and the Fortrose Branch repectively.
Trains Illustrated No. 18 which was published in 1976 focussed on The Highland Railway. [1] The introductory article, ‘Highland Retrospect’, was written by Paul Drew. [1: p4-11]
Paul Drew commences his article with a short reflection on the excitement of waking on one of the sleeper services heading North into the Scottish highlands. Two routes provide an intensely enjoyable experience in the right weather: “The awakening on the West Highland line at Garelochhead, perhaps, or on Rannoch Moor … winding in a generally northward direction towards Fort William, Mallaig and Skye and the Hebrides; and daybreak on the Highland line proper, the Perth-Inverness main line of the old Highland Railway, somewhere between Blair Atholl and the outskirts of Inverness, following the old coach road up to Druimuachdar summit, at an altitude of 1484ft, or dropping down the hills between Spey and Findhorn and Findhorn and Moray Firth.” [1: p4]
Drew expresses his opinion that the Highland Railway (HR) route offers the greatest diversity of scenery but whether “you travel from Euston to the Highland or from Kings Cross to the West Highland line the contrast between the [suburbs of London] … and the glories seen on waking – even, for devotees, in a Scotch mist – is one of the attractions of the journey. Before World War II one could start an overnight journey to a Highland line station from Kings Cross as well as Euston, and up to 1914 from St Pancras also with, on a summer evening, a daylight exit from London.” [1: p4]
He seems to like the route taken by trains from St. Pancras best. Their route “was via Leeds, the magnificent MR route across the Pennines, Carlisle, the North British Railway’s Waverley route through the best parts of the Lowlands to Edinburgh, and so by the East Coast route over the Forth Bridge to Perth, the beginning of the HR main line – all far better traversed in daylight.” [1: p4]
He notes too that it was common practice not to disturb a passenger’s sleep which meant that sleeper services on the HR were normally made up of “HR vehicles and through coaches and sleeping cars from England (LNWR, West Coast Joint Stock, GNR, North Eastern, East Coast Joint Stock, Midland, and probably Midland & North British joint stock) and from Scotland (Caledonian and North British) but also of privately hired ‘family’ saloons, horseboxes, flat wagons conveying carriages and, from the turn of the century, motorcar vans, all supplied by a wide variety of English and Scottish railways.” [1: p4]
Occasionally, these trains would also include the “private saloon of the Duke of Sutherland, who owned not only one or two passenger vehicles but a 2-4-0 tank engine, Dunrobin, and its successor, an 0-4-4 tank of the same name, which he ran – often driving himself – on his private railway. It was in Sutherland, and ran from Golspie via his seat, Dunrobin Castle, to Helmsdale. The line was eventually taken over by the Highland and forms part of the Farther North line from Inverness to Wick and Thurso. Both Dunrobins were allowed to work (within limits) over HR tracks, even south of Inverness, but not, it seems on public passenger trains – at least not expresses.” [1: p4]
Drew notes that, “The marshalling of the heterogeneous caravans at Perth, where vehicles were made over by the CR and NBR, was a frequent cause of unpunctuality and indeed chaos. Besides, most of the trains tended to run late during the summer, especially on the HR main line, which even after the central portion south of Druimuachdar has been double-tracked in the 1890s, tended to be congested; a high-season shortage of HR motive power aggravated matters, and reliance on telegraphy for many years before introduction of the telephone did not make for flexibility in train operation. Disgruntled Sassenach passengers in Perth, Edinburgh Waverley and other big Scottish stations would mutter that they ordered this matter better in England.” 1: p4]
It would be easy to take the perspective of a southerner when considering the HR, seeing it “mainly as a means of moving tourists and sportsmen from England, and such consumer goods and other freight as the impoverished Highlands could afford to import.” [1: p4] But it would be quite wrong to do so. “The Highland Railway was conceived by Highlanders, in the Highlands, as an outlet for the fish and agricultural produce of the Highlands from northern Perthshire to John o’ Groats and from Inverness eastwards to the Aberdeenshire border and westwards to Wester Ross, a region that in the 1840s was still only slowly recovering from the oppression and impoverishment that had followed the Forty-Five insurrection a century before. The HR was the creation not of middle-class businessmen but of country landowners who ranged from the rich Duke of Sutherland to poor lairds who could afford little more than to encourage, rather than to oppose (like many landowners in the south) building the railway over their land, often asking for a station to serve their tenants.” [1: p4]
With a route mileage of more than five hundred miles, H. A. Vallance tells us, “the Highland occupied third place among the five fully-independent pre-1923 main line railways of Scotland. Its popularity with those who love railways arise from the scenic charm of its terrain, and also from the way in which the small company succeeded in working its traffic in the face of natural difficulties, and with limited financial resources, over routes that were largely single track.” [17: dust-jacket]
Prior to the 1850s, “there was already a trickle of summer tourists from the Lowlands and England, who used a surprisingly well-developed system of stagecoaches or drove in their own carriages; but it was not until the 1850s, after Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort had ‘invented’ Highland tourism by establishing Balmoral, that the trickle began to grow into a flood. Deerstalking, grouse-shooting and fishing, at least by rich people from south of Perth, developed slowly. For 20 years after the HR Inverness-Perth line, by the original route via Forres, was opened in 1863 the management adopted a take-it-or-leave-it attitude to passengers, though by the 1880s receipts from through passenger traffic from England, including much first class in the summer, were considerable. And for long afterwards the HR left the provision of really comfortable passenger vehicles to the English railways and the Caledonian.” [1: p4-5]
Drew continues: “To promoters seeking a route for a railway from Inverness to the south there were three options. The first was a relatively easy alignment along the flat coast via Forres to Elgin, thence through undulating but not mountainous country to near Inverurie and on through Lowland Buchan to Aberdeen. Second was the route of the old coach road via Kingussie, Druimuachdar and Blair Atholl to Perth, and the third was through [the] Great Glen to the area of Fort William, beyond which progress to Glasgow was through a region of mountains and lochs which had long been thought impassable for a railway – or at least to involve too many major civil engineering works – until it was traversed by the West Highland line towards the end of the century, some years after the threat of a Glasgow & North Western Railway over an even more difficult route than the West Highland.” [1: p5]
The disadvantages of the route via Aberdeen were it’s circuitous route and, at the time particularly, there being no bridges crossing the River Tay and the Firth of Forth and the failure of any such route to serve inland Invernessshire. Also significantly perhaps, was an innate suspicion (perhaps too strong a word) amongst highlander promoters of a railway that there was any need to serve the lowland city of Aberdeen.
“Nevertheless,” says Drew, “the first train to reach Inverness from the South, in 1858, was from Aberdeen, over the Great North of Scotland [Railway (GNSR)] as far as Keith and then over the Inverness & Aberdeen Junction line, which later became part of the HR.” [1: p5]
The Aberdeen to Inverness Railway Line, (GNSR – Aberdeen to Keith)
The GNSR was “floated to build a railway from Aberdeen to Inverness. … It obtained its Act on 26th June 1846. It is estimated that [this] cost £80,000 and the company was at once in financial straits, … accentuated by the crash which followed the ‘Railway Mania’s, then at its height. … [Eventually, work] started on 25th November 1852. … The railway was opened from Kittybrewster (1½ miles from Aberdeen) to Huntly, a distance of 39 miles, on 19th September 1854. Four years previously, the railway had been completed from Perth to Aberdeen. A through journey was then made possible between England and the south of Scotland, and Huntly. From this latter point coaches, running in connection with the trains, continued the journey to Inverness.” [17: p12-15]
The line was extended into Aberdeen to Waterloo Quay in 1855, and in October 1856 it reached Keith around halfway between Aberdeen and Inverness. The GNSR had overstretched itself and could not fund the remaining 55 miles of line to Inverness.
The original Great North of Scotland Railway terminus in Aberdeen opened on 1st April 1856, and closed to passenger service on 4th November 1867 with the opening of Aberdeen Joint Railway Station. This extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey undertaken between 1864 and 1867, published in 1869 shows the station as it was in its prime. [15][18]The next significant location on the line was the station at Kittybrewster which is shown here as an extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey undertaken between 1864 and 1867, published in 1868. [19]Dyce Railway Station was opened (along with the line) in 1854 by the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR). It later became a junction for the Formartine and Buchan Railway (F&BR) which diverged here and headed north to Peterhead and Fraserburgh; this opened to traffic in 1861 and had its own platforms alongside the main line ones. Passenger services over the F&BR ended as a result of the Beeching Axe on 4th October 1965 but the station remained open until 6th May 1968. [15] Freight continued to Peterhead until 1970 and to Fraserburgh until October 1979. There is still evidence on the ground of the old branch platforms which sat on the site of the station car park. The former branch lines are now a long distance cycle path, accessible from the western end of the car park. The station was reopened by British Rail on 15th September 1984. This extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1865, published in 1866 shows the station soon after it became a junction station. [16][20]
The GNSR left Dyce and followed the southern edge of the River Don’s floodplain, passing through Kintore before bridging both the Aberdeen Canal and the River Don just to the North of Port Elphinstone Railway Station.
Kintore Railway Station acted as a junction station for the Alford Valley Railway which branched off the GNSR line just to the Northwest of Kintore Railway Station. The Alford Valley Railway opened in 1859. It had stations at Kemnay, Monymusk, Tillyfourie, Whitehouse and Alford. The line also served Kemnay Quarry and three other granite quarries in the area. The train took just over an hour for the 16-mile (26 km) journey. [27][28]This next extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1864 to 1866, published in 1867, shows Port Elphinstone Railway Station and the bridges over the Aberdeen Canal and the River Don. As can be seen on this extract a short branch line served the canal wharves at Port Elphinstone. [21]Inverurie Railway Station was the next significant location on the GNSR and appears on this extract from the 25″Ordnance Survey of 1864 to 1866, published in 1867. [22]Further to the Northwest, the line bridged the River Urie (Ury). This extract is from the Ordnance Survey of 1866 & 1867, published in 1867. [23]
To the West of Keith, the Highland Railway held sway. The Inverness &Aberdeen Junction Railway was one of the constituent parties that formed the Highland Railway in 1865, as noted below.
The line crossed the River Urie (Ury) once again further to the Northwest. This extract comes from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1867, published in 1868. [24]
Beyond this viaduct the line ran along the South side of the River Ury and then to the South side of the Gadie Burn. It crossed the Burn just to the West of the village of Oyne and its railway station.
The village of Oyne, its railway station, and both road and railway bridges over the Gadie Burn. This extract is taken from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1867, published in 1868. [25]Insch Railway Station at Rothney, as it appeared on the 1867 25″ Ordnance Survey. [26]The next station on the line was Wardhouse Station. [29]And then Kennethmont Railway Station. [30]And Gartly Railway Station. [31]North of Gartly the railway bridged the River Bogie twice in short succession before arriving at Huntly. [32]Huntly Railway Station sat on the East bank of the River Bogie with Huntly to the West of the river. Huntly was the temporary terminus of the GNSR from 19th September 1854 until an extension was opened taking the line as far as Keith in October 1856. [17: p15-16] This extract is from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1871, published in 1872. [33]
North of Huntly, on the extension to Keith the line. Missed the River Deveron and ran through Rothiemay Railway Station.
This extract from the 25″Ordnance Survey of 1870 and 1871, published in 1872 shows the viaduct over the River Deveron and Rothiemay Railway Station. [34]Further West the line passed through Grange Station which three years after opening in 1856 became the junction station for the Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway which opened a branch to Banff and Portsoy. [35][36]This next extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1867 & 1868, published in 1869, shows Keith Railway Station which was the terminus of the GNSR line from October 1856 until the Inverness & Aberdeen Junction Railway reached Keith from Nairn in 1858. . [37][38]
The Keith and Dufftown Railway ran Southwest from Keith to Dufftown. It can be seen curving away from the station at the left of the OS map extract above. At Dufftown, the line made an end-on connection with the Speyside Railway at Dufftown, and the Morayshire Railway connected to the Speyside Railway at Craigellachie, this ultimately gave the GNSR access to Elgin. [39]
The Aberdeen to InvernessRailway Line(HR – Keith to Inverness)
The GNSR’s protracted/torturous efforts to reach Inverness created space for others to act. Interests in Inverness sought to provide a different link to the South via Druimuachdar to Perth but were thwarted by its rejection by Parliament (in 1846), nonetheless they “obtained authority for a short line from Inverness to Nairn with a view both to blocking a GNSR approach to Inverness and also the Inverness route which eventually branched off from the Inverness-Aberdeen route at Forres, Nairn, and ran via Dava summit (1052ft), Grantown-on-Spey, Aviemore and on to Perth via Druimuachdar. (Only in the 1890s was the direct line built from Inverness via Slochd summit and Carr Bridge to Aviemore, affording the shortest route to the South.)” [1: p5-7]
Drew continues: “The Inverness & Nairn railway took only a year to build (1854-55). The eastward extension of the Inverness-Nairn line was the Inverness & Aberdeen Junction, which ran via Forres and Elgin to Keith, to which point it was opened in 1858, met the GNSR and provided the Inverness-Aberdeen through route. Two years later the Inverness & Perth Junction Company was formed. Construction of the Forres-Perth line made quick progress from both ends, despite the need to take the line for 100 miles through the central mountain tract of Scotland. The through route from Inverness via Forres to Perth was completed in 1863. The Inverness & Aberdeen Junction, which had absorbed the Inverness & Nairn, and the Inverness & Perth Junction, were amalgamated in 1865 to form the Highland Railway.” [1: p7]
West of Elgin the line bridged the River Lossie before passing through Mosstowie Station, then passed a connection to a mineral railway serving Newton Quarries and on to Alves Station.
After Alves Station it was only a short distance to the junction for the Burghead & Hopeman Branch. The line then continued on to Kinloss.
The 25″ Ordnance Survey shows the junction with the HR’s Burghead & Hopeman Branch and the adjacent roads and bridge at around the turn of the 20th century. [58]The same location in the 21st century. The road has been realigned. The route of both railway lines are still easily made out! [58]The old road bridge still crosses the railway adjacent to the newer A96 road bridge. [Google Streetview, May 2023]Looking West along the line from the A96. [Google Streetview, May 2023]Kinloss Railway Station opened on 25th March 1858 by the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway. It was re-sited on 18th April 1860, to the east, but it was moved back to its original location in May 1904. It closed to passengers on 3rd May 1965nand completely on 7th November 1966. [59][60]The same area in the 21st century. [59]Kinloss Railway Station in the 21st century, looking East from the level-crossing. [Google Streetview, May 2023]Looking West from the level-crossing at Kinloss Station site. [Google Streetview, May 2023]
After leaving Kinloss trains for Inverness next ran into Forres Railway Station. Over the years the railway infrastructure at Forres has seen significant changes.
In 1858, the first railway station at Forres was located at the end of Market Street which became known as Old Station Road. The station building was demolished in the 1950s. It had been used as the stationmaster’s house since the junction opened.
A route to the South from Inverness was finally completed in 1863. It met the line running between Elgin and Inverness at Forres. Forres was chosen as the junction for the new mainline south, since it was the half-way point on the Inverness & Aberdeen Junction Railway between Inverness and Keith. Keith was also an important railway junction and the point where the line joined the GNSR and branches to the coast and Strathspey. [62]
A new ‘triangular’ station wastl constructed to allow all trains entering Forres, from either the East or West, to access the new line directly on a curve. The three curved platforms, and three junctions, gave the new Forres station its distinctive layout. [62]
The location of the new station was south-west of the existing Inverness-Aberdeen line. The original line was retained as a goods loop, with trains now leaving and re-joining the line (east-west) on a curve. Services from Inverness to Perth curved to the south on a junction at the west of the station, to arrive at the southbound platforms. [62]
Three individual signal boxes controlled the junctions at each point of the triangle: Forres East, Forres West, and Forres South. [62]
The closure of the link to the South from Forres occurred as part of the cuts following the Beeching Report in the 1960s. Further remodelling of the whole area took place in the 21st century. This saw much of the existing infrastructure removed and a new functional station built by 2017. [62]
West of Bodies the line ran on through Auldearn Station, bridged the River Nairn and entered Nairn Railway Station.
Auldearn Railway Station on the 35″ Ordnance Survey from the turn of the 20th century. It opened on 9th December 1895 and was closed by 6th June 1960. [72]The site in the 21st century – all evidence of the station has disappeared. [72]Looking West from the overbridge at the East end of the site of Auldearn Railway Station. [Google Streetview, May 2022]The bridge over the River Nairn as it appears on the 25″ Ordnance Survey from the turn of the 20th century. [73]The same location in the 21st century. [73]
Nairn Railway Station opened on 7th November 1855. In 1885, the Highland Railway Company agreed to improve the facilities at Nairn. The station buildings were replaced with improved accommodation for passenger and staff. The gables of the cross wings were surmounted with the Scotch thistle, the Prince of Wales feather, and other designs sculpted in stone. The masonry work was completed by Mr. Squair of Nairn. At the same time a new station master’s house was erected. The platforms were extended to around 440 yards (400 m) and raised in height to the level of the carriages. A new iron foot bridge over the line connected the platforms, avoiding passengers using a foot crossing over the running lines. The bridge over Cawdor Road was also widened at the same time. The work was completed in 1886. [76]
Heading Southwest out of Nairn trains passed through Gollanfield Junction Station which served the short Fort George Branch.
Gollanfield Station as it appeared on the Landranger OS map prior to closure. [79]Gollanfield Junction Railway Station opened in 1855 by the Inverness and Nairn Railway, it was initially named Fort George after the military base nearby. In July 1899, the Highland Railway opened a direct branch to Fort George (which was actually sited in the village of Ardersier). With the opening of the branch, the station was renamed Gollanfield Junction. Passenger services on the branch were withdrawn in 1943 and it closed to all traffic in August 1958. The following year, the station was renamed Gollanfield by British Railways. [77][78]The same location in the 21st century. Goods traffic at the station ceased in May 1964 and it was closed to passenger traffic on 3rd May 1965. Most of the buildings were subsequently demolished after closure, but the station house remains standing and is used as a private residence. [77][78]Looking East from the road bridge which used to span Gollanfield Railway Station, [Google Streetview, August 2021]Looking West from the road bridge which used to span Gollanfield Railway Station, [Google Streetview, August 2021]
Further details of Gollanfield Railway Station and photographs can be found here. [79]
The next stop on the line was at its terminus at Inverness.
J. W. P. Rowledge; The 4-4-0 Locomotives of the Glasgow & South Western and Highland Railways; in Brian Stephenson (ed.) Locomotives Illustrated No 117, January-February 1998, Ian Allan, Berkhamsted, Herts, 1997.
Roger Farnworth 
