Ballater Station is the famous terminus of the Aboyne & Braemar Railway and the Station Building has been excellently preserved, only recently undergoing a major restoration and now open as a tourist centre and museum. Ballater Station was not intended as the terminus of the railway from Aberdeen, and this fact is reflected in it's design and can still be observed today (the main clue is the overbridge at the western end of the station - why would they build a road overbridge when the railway apparently ends at Ballater). Although the railway cutting through the town of Ballater west of the station has been infilled, the partially-built route of the railway to Ballater can be walked at the other end of Ballater and remains as a path to Bridge of Gairn. From Ballater Station the route of the railway east to Dinnet is a well-preserved walk through open grassland and woods.

The original Ballater Station was not of the standard expected for Royal Visits. It was rebuilt in the mid-1880's into the style that has survived today. Although the Station Building survives, the second (bay) platform at the eastern end of the station has been infilled, and the goods yard (immediatly north of the curved platform on a site now occupied by houses) and engine sheds (behind the Albert Memorial Hall) have both been demolished).

Royal Carriage for Ballater

The Heritage Lottery Fund has been asked for £276,000 to restore a coach used as a Rastafarian into its former regal splendour - as a result of a suggestion made by HRH The Prince of Wales

Aberdeen & Grampian Tourist Board wants to restore the GWR Royal Saloon built for Queen Victoria's Diamond Juibilee and position it at Ballater Station. When the station, once the terminus of the Royal Deeside Branch from Aberdeen, was reopened as a visitor centre by Prince Charles in 2001, he suggested the inclusion of a restored "royal" carriage next to the platform.
A feasibility study was carried out and completed in October 2001, concluding that the addition of a carriage would be a very worthwhile addition to the existing visitor attraction.

The saloon was rescued from a holiday camp in Aberporth, where it had been repainted into the colours of the Ethiopean national flag, which is also used to represent the Rastafarian movement, which has the country's former emperor Haile Selassie as its adopted figurehead. In danger of being destroyed, the Great Western Railway Heritage Trust removed the unique 58ft carriage to its workship in Swindon in May this year. It was only then that its true historical significance was realised.

The saloon will require intricate restoration - silk upholstery and Brazilian mahogany interior, which will increase the estimated restoration costs. The overall condition of the carriage is good, despite the fact that it has been used as a holiday home since 1935. Around 85% of the original body can be conserved, it has been estimated.

"Heritage Railway" magazine Issue No. 45 January 2003