Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway

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Inverness and Aberdeen
Junction Railway

Locale	Scotland
Dates of operation	21 July 1856 – 1 February 1865
Successor	Highland Railway
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8¹⁄₂ in)

Legend

Inverness and Nairn Railway

Nairn

Auldearn

Brodie

Inverness and Perth Junction Railway

Forres

Forres (old)

Kinloss

Findhorn

Hopeman

Burghead

Coltfield

Alves Junction

Alves

Mosstowie

Elgin

Elgin (East)(MR)

Morayshire Railway to Rothes

Morayshire Railway to Lossiemouth

Lhanbryde

Fochabers

Balnacoul

Orbliston Junction

Orton

Morayshire Railway to Rothes

Mulben

Tauchers Platform

Buckie and Portessie Branch (HR)

Keith and Dufftown Railway (GNoSR)

Keith Junction

Great North of Scotland Railway

Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway is an historic railway in Scotland.

History

It was authorised by an Act of Parliament on 21 July 1856 as an extension to the Inverness and Nairn Railway, the line was opened in stages:

Nairn to Dalvey (Forres) - 22 December 1857
Dalvey to Elgin - 25 March 1858
Elgin to Keith - 18 August 1858

Originally the intention was to connect with the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) at Elgin, however the GNoSR offered to pay for the railway to be built to Keith.^[1]

During its short life, the following railways were absorbed by the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway (I&AJR).^[1]

Inverness and Nairn Railway on 17 May 1861
Findhorn Railway on 1 April 1862
Inverness and Ross-shire Railway on 1 June 1862

The railway merged with the Inverness and Perth Junction Railway to form the Highland Railway on 1 February 1865.

Findhorn Railway

The Findhorn Railway was incorporated in 1859 and ran from Kinloss branching off the I&AJR from the east. It operated as an independent concern until the company had money problems which resulted in it being taken over by the I&AJR. However this reprieve did not last long as the service was withdrawn in 1869, and the route lifted in 1873. Little remains of the track bed, partly because of the construction of the RAF base, Kinloss, over its route. Its junction with the mainline can be still be traced and is overgrown with a group of pine trees.

Connections to other lines

Inverness and Nairn Railway at Nairn
Inverness and Perth Junction Railway at Forres
Morayshire Railway at Elgin and Orton
Buckie and Portessie Branch of the Highland Railway at Keith Junction
Keith and Dufftown Railway at Keith Junction
Great North of Scotland Railway at Keith Junction

Current operations

Brodie station in 1974

The main line is still open with services provided by First ScotRail. However the majority of intermediate stations are now closed. All the connections to adjacent lines are also closed, with the exception of the Hopeman Branch which was used for freight traffic to Burghead maltings until 1992 - it remains intact through to Burghead but was mothballed in 1998 and has seen no traffic since then (it is now heavily overgrown).

The old station at Forres is closed and only one platform out of the previous six at the new station at Forres is now in service. The Keith and Dufftown Railway platform at Keith Junction is still in use, though the branch beyond there through to Dufftown saw its last Northern Belle special in 1991 and was disconnected from the national network by Railtrack in 1998 prior to the line being sold. The Keith and Dufftown Railway heritage group reopened it beyond Keith Town in 2001 and they hope to reinstate the missing link back to the national network at Keith in the future. Freight traffic is limited to occasional trainloads of whisky & containers to/from Elgin, where the former GNSR Elgin East station yard is still operational.

References

Notes

↑ 1.0 1.1 Awdry (1990)

Sources

Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063.
Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.
Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137.
Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 0-9068-9999-0. OCLC 228266687.
RAILSCOT on Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway
RAILSCOT on Findhorn Railway
RAILSCOT on Hopeman Branch

v t e 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 Garnkirk and Glasgow 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 Balerno line 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 Denburn Valley Formartine and Buchan Inverury and Old Meldrum Junction Keith and Dufftown Moray Coast Morayshire 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 Devon Valley Railway 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 Esk Valley Eyemouth Railway Forth and Clyde Junction Gifford and Garvald 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 NBR Macmerry Branch Monkland and Kirkintilloch Monkland Railways Montrose and Bervie Mallaig Extension NBR North Berwick Branch North British, Arbroath and Montrose Peebles Railway 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 Hagdale Chromate Railway Invergarry and Fort Augustus Lealt Valley Diatomite Railway Lochaber Narrow Gauge Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Rothesay and Ettrick Bay Light Railway Skye Marble Railway Tranent to Cockenzie Waggonway

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