Aberdeen's Railways : Lost Railways in the North-East

A railway into the fertile Dee Valley was first proposed in 1845, and a bill for a railway from Aberdeen to Aboyne (a distance of some thirty miles) was authorised on 16 July 1846. Construction was however postponed until the Aberdeen Railway (then under construction) was completed, so as to make use of the heavy construction material being used which would help lower costs on the Deeside Railway. This led to nasty disagreements and calls for the latter to be wound up, after it gave the Aberdeen Railway some Ł16,000 of its capital to help speed up progress. However, collapse of the scheme was averted and the company was reorganised by 1849. Progress however was still hampered by a lack of funds, and it was not until 28 May 1852 that the Deeside Railway was re-authorised as a railway linking Aberdeen and Banchory, the Aboyne extention being abandonded until the railway was established. Within 14 months construction was complete and the first chapter in the valley's railway history had begun.

The Deeside Railway ran between Aberdeen and Banchory, a distance of some 16 miles, and although the complete line to Ballater earned the tile "Deeside Railway" in latter years, at no point was a Deeside Railway company in ownership of the entire line. Traffic along the Deeside corridor was substantial and on 1 August 1875 the line was formally amalgamated with the Great North of Scotland Railway, who had leased the line since 1 September 1866. Substantial changes were made in later years, with double track extending from Ferryhill Junction to Park from 1899 till 1951, and major rebuilding of Culter, Park, Banchory & Ballater stations. However, in 1966 with falling passenger numbers and amid much controversty the line was closed by British Railways.
The last passenger train, consisting of a Cravens Class 105 Diesel-Multiple Unit, ran on 28 February 1966.

The last freight train ran on 2 January 1967 and all track was lifted by 1972. Today the route of the "Deeside Line" (as the branch was affectionatly known by locals) is in places difficult to find, with some stations having been demolished - Banchory being the largest station to have totally disappeared. In several places the trackbed has been built over and the Beltie / Blarnacrag Viaduct (situated between Torphins & Lumphanan) was demolished in 1989, making restoration of the line difficult.

However, in 1996 the Royal Deeside Railway Preservation Society was formed with the aim of reinstating a portion of the Deeside Line as a tourist (heritage) railway. Activities are currently concentrated on the Banchory - Milton of Crathes section of the line, with a small visitor centre located at the Milton end of the line. A large stockpile of track panels are located just off the trackbed between Crathes & Banchory and a number of rolling stock items are under the care of the group, including the Deeside Line Battery Railcar which was introduced as an experiment by British Railways in 1958 and has been tastefully restored.

After a long, drawn out planning application the RDRPS recieved partial planning approval on 10th June 2003. For more details, see their website at http://www.deeside-railway.co.uk.

Deeside Railway

Stations

Ferryhill Junction - Banchory