Serving the fishing ports of Banff & Macduff, the Great North of Scotland (Western Extension) was first proposed in the mid 1840s, but financial support for the scheme was not forthcoming. However, with the completion of the Great North of Scotland Railway line between Kittybrewster & Huntly the plans were reauthorised, though funds could only be raised to build the line as far as Turriff. The junction with the GNSR mainline was moved from Inverury to Inveramsey (4 miles to the west) to save costs, and the line was easily constructed and opened on 5 September 1857.

The remainder of the route to Macduff was authorised on 27 July 1857 and constructed by the Banff, Macduff & Turriff Extension railway. A ruling gradient of 1 in 66 allowed the earthworks to be kept to a minimum. From 1857 until 1st July 1872 the terminus of the branch was Banff & Macduff, a station situated high up on the Hill of Doun, after which the line was diverted through a new station - Banff Bridge - to a new terminus at Macduff. The earlier terminus was closed and completely demolished, and only the turntable pit can be found today. Residents in Banff were also served by Banff Harbour station (later shortened to Banff), which was on a short branch from Tillyfourie on the GNSR Coast Line.

Passenger services over the entire branch were withdrawn on 1st October 1951, with goods services running to Macduff until 1st August 1961, after which the service was cut back to Turriff. Final closure came on 3 January 1966 after which the track was lifted.