Great North of Scotland Railway

Great North of Scotland Railway
Dates of operation	1846–1923
Successor	London and North Eastern Railway
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm)
Length	334 miles (538 km)
Headquarters	Aberdeen

The Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR/GNoSR) was one of the smaller Scottish railways before the grouping, operating in the far north-east of the country. It was formed in 1845 and received its Parliamentary approval on June 26, 1846, following over two years of local meetings. In 1923 it was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway as its Northern Scottish area.

1 Extent
2 Chief Mechanical Engineers
3 See also
4 References
5 Reading
6 External links

Extent

The GNSR's eventual area encompassed the three Scottish counties of Aberdeenshire, Banffshire and Moray, with short lengths of line in Inverness-shire and Kincardineshire.^[1] The railway operated its main line between Aberdeen Waterloo and Keith. Although the line had several branches its remoteness has resulted in only its main line remaining today.

There were connections westward with the Highland Railway at Boat of Garten, Elgin, Keith and Portessie^[1] and southward with the Caledonian Railway and North British Railway at Aberdeen, where the three shared a station.^[2]

The headquarters were at 89 Guild Street in Aberdeen and the works at Inverurie. In 1921 the railway comprised 334 miles of line and the company’s capital was £7 million.^[2]

The company also owned hotels in some of the towns and resorts served by its stations. In the early 20th century it also developed a network of feeder bus services.^[2]

Chief Mechanical Engineers

D. K. Clark 1853-1855
J. F. Ruthven 1855-1857
W. Cowan 1857-1883
James Manson 1883-1890
James Johnson 1890-1894
William Pickersgill 1894-1914
Thomas E. Heywood 1914-1922
R. E. Williamson 1922-1925

References

^ ^a ^b Conolly (2004)
^ ^a ^b ^c Harmsworth (1921)

Reading

A History of the Great North of Scotland Railway (Sir Malcolm Barclay-Harvey, Locomotive Publishing Co Ltd, 1949)
Conolly, W. Philip (2004). British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-0320-3.
Harmsworth’s Universal Encyclopedia. 1921.

External links

The "Big Four" pre-nationalisation British railway companies

Great Western London Midland & Scottish London & North Eastern Southern

GWR constituents	Great Western Railway Cambrian Railways Taff Vale Railway Barry Railway Rhymney Railway Full list

LNER constituents	Great Central Great Eastern Great Northern Great North of Scotland Hull & Barnsley North British North Eastern Full list

LMS constituents	Caledonian Furness Glasgow & South Western Highland Lancashire & Yorkshire London and North Western Midland North Staffordshire Full list

SR constituents	London and South Western Railway London, Brighton and South Coast Railway South Eastern and Chatham Railway South Eastern Railway London, Chatham and Dover Railway Full list

See also History of rail transport in Great Britain 1923–1947 List of companies involved in the grouping

Constituent railway companies of the London and North Eastern Railway

Constituent companies	Great Central Railway Great Eastern Railway Great Northern Railway Great North of Scotland Railway Hull and Barnsley Railway North British Railway North Eastern Railway

Subsidiary companies	Brackenhill Light Railway Colne Valley and Halstead Railway East and West Yorkshire Union Railway East Lincolnshire Railway Edinburgh and Bathgate Railway Forcett Railway Forth and Clyde Junction Railway Gifford and Garvald Light Railway Great North of England, Clarence and Hartlepool Junction Railway Horncastle Railway Humber Commercial Railway and Dock Kilsyth and Bonnybridge Railway Lauder Light Railway London and Blackwall Railway Mansfield Railway Mid-Suffolk Light Railway Newburgh and North Fife Railway North Lindsey Light Railway Nottingham and Grantham Railway and Canal Nottingham Joint Station Committee Nottingham Suburban Railway Seaforth and Sefton Junction Railway Sheffield District Railway South Yorkshire Junction Railway Stamford and Essendine Railway West Riding and Grimsby Railway

(Full list of constituents)

Historical Scottish railway companies

Primary companies	Caledonian Railway Glasgow and South Western Railway Great North of Scotland Railway Highland Railway North British Railway

Caledonian Railway	Aberdeen Railway Alloa Railway Alyth Arbroath and Forfar Busby Railway Cathcart District Clydesdale Junction Crieff Junction Crieff and Comrie Crieff and Methven Junction Dumfries, Lochmaben and Lockerbie Dunblane, Doune and Callander Dundee and Perth Dundee and Perth and Aberdeen Forfar and Brechin General Terminus and Glasgow Harbour Glasgow and Garnkirk Glasgow Central Railway Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Greenock and Wemyss Bay Hamilton and Strathaven Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Leadhills and Wanlockhead Lochearnhead, St Fillans and Comrie Paisley and Barrhead District Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Polloc and Govan Rutherglen and Coatbridge Scottish Central Scottish Midland Junction Scottish North Eastern Solway Junction Symington, Biggar and Broughton Talla Railway Wishaw and Coltness Lines built by the Caledonian Railway CR Cleland and Midcalder CR Main Line CR Douglas Branch CR Hamilton Branch CR Hamiltonhill Branch CR The Switchback Independent lines worked by the Caledonian Railway Callander and Oban Killin Railway

Glasgow and South Western Railway	Ardrossan Railway Ardrossan and Johnstone Ayr and Dalmellington Ayr and Maybole Junction Ayr to Mauchline Ayrshire and Wigtownshire Barrhead Branch Bridge of Weir Railway Cairn Valley Caledonian and Dunbartonshire Junction Castle Douglas and Dumfries Dalry and North Johnstone Darvel Branch Girvan and Portpatrick Junction Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Greenock and Ayrshire Kilmarnock and Troon Largs Branch Maidens and Dunure Maybole and Girvan Paisley and Renfrew Paisley Canal Line

Great North of Scotland Railway	Aberdeen and Turriff Aboyne and Braemar Alford Valley Banff, Macduff and Turriff Junction Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Boddam Branch Deeside Railway Denburn Valley Formartine and Buchan Inverury and Old Meldrum Junction Keith and Dufftown Moray Coast Morayshire Railway St Combs Light Railway Strathspey Railway

Highland Railway	Buckie and Portessie Branch Dingwall and Skye Duke of Sutherland Findhorn Railway Fortrose Branch Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Inverness and Aviemore Direct Inverness and Nairn Inverness and Perth Junction Inverness and Ross-shire Kyle of Lochalsh Extension Perth and Dunkeld Sutherland and Caithness Sutherland Railway Independent lines worked by the Highland Railway Dornoch Light Railway Wick and Lybster Light Railway

North British Railway	Aberlady, Gullane and North Berwick Ballochney Bathgate and Coatbridge Blane Valley Border Counties Railway Border Union Railway Campsie Branch Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway and Dock Company Coatbridge Branch Dunfermline and Queensferry Edinburgh and Bathgate Edinburgh and Dalkeith Edinburgh and Glasgow Edinburgh and Hawick Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway Edinburgh, Loanhead and Roslin Railway Edinburgh and Northern Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Forth and Clyde Junction Glasgow, Bothwell, Hamilton and Coatbridge Glasgow City and District Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Glasgow and Milngavie Junction Glasgow, Yoker and Clydebank Kelvin Valley Railway Kirkcaldy and District Railway Kincardine Line Leadburn, Linton and Dolphinton Monkland and Kirkintilloch Monkland Railways Mallaig Extension NBR North Berwick Branch North British, Arbroath and Montrose Stirling and Dunfermline Strathendrick and Aberfoyle Slamannan Slamannan and Borrowstounness West Highland Railway Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness

Joint lines	Caledonian and Dunbartonshire Junction City Union Dundee and Arbroath Darvel and Strathaven Glasgow and Paisley Joint Glasgow and Renfrew District Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Kilsyth and Bonnybridge Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint

Other lines	Brechin and Edzell District Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway Cromarty and Dingwall Light Railway Denburn Valley Line Dundee and Arbroath Invergarry and Fort Augustus Lochaber Narrow Gauge Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Tranent to Cockenzie Waggonway