Grange railway station (Banffshire)

Grange railway station was a railway station in the parish of Grange, historically in Banffshire (although currently in Moray). Opened in 1856 by the Great North of Scotland Railway, three years later it became a junction station after the Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway built a branch to Banff and Portsoy.

The Great North of Scotland Railway was absorbed by the London and North Eastern Railway in 1921 and became part of British Railways when the railways were nationalised in 1948. The station was recommended for closure by Dr Beeching's report "The Reshaping of British Railways" and closed on 6 May 1968. The railway remains open as the Aberdeen to Inverness Line.

History

The Great North of Scotland Railway had opened its first line, from Kittybrewster, near Aberdeen, to Huntly, in 1854.^[4] An extension of this line to Keith opened on 10 October 1856, with Grange one of the intermediate stations.^[5]

On 30 July 1859 the Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway opened a 16 ¹⁄₄ miles (26.2 km) line from Grange to Banff and a 3 ¹⁄₄ miles (5.2 km) branch from Tillynaught to Portsoy. The GNoSR took over services on 1 February 1863, and the railway renamed the Banffshire Railway. An extension to Portgordon was authorised, but this was abandoned in 1867 and the Banffshire absorbed by the GNoSR.^[6] The line to Portgordon was later revived and extended along the Moray Firth coast to Elgin, and this opened on 1 May 1886. A curve was opened at the junction to allow Aberdeen trains direct access to the Coast Line without reversing at the station.^[7]

In the 1921 Grouping, the Great North of Scotland Railway was absorbed by the London and North Eastern Railway. This was nationalised in 1948, and services provided by British Railways. The stopping services on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line were recommended to be withdrawn in Dr Beeching's report "The Reshaping of British Railways,^[8] and the station closed on 6 May 1968.^[9]

Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway
Locale Scotland Dates of operation 1859 – 1968 Successor Great North of Scotland Railway Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Length 19.5 miles (31.4 km)
Legend
Banff Golf Club House Bridgefoot Ladysbridge Ordens Portsoy Harbour Portsoy 1st station Goods only after 1884 Portsoy 2nd station and line to Tochieneal opens in 1884, through to Elgin in 1886 Tillynaught Cornhill Glenbarry Knock To Keith Grange Curve giving access from Aberdeen opens in 1886 Cairnie Junction (after 1897) Rothiemay Huntly to Aberdeen

Services

Initially there were five services a day between Aberdeen and Keith, although this was later reduced to four.^[5] After the GNoSR took over branch services there were three trains a day to Banff.^[10]

In summer 1948 Grange was served by eight trains to and from Aberdeen, with Grange about 1 ¹⁄₂ to 2 hours from Aberdeen. A complex system of train portion working towards Inverness gave a service of 4 trains a day over the direct route via Mulben, three via Craigellachie (four on Sundays) and four via the Coast line. There were no Sunday services.^[11]

References

Footnotes

Sources

• Beeching, Richard (1963). The Reshaping of British Railways (PDF). HMSO. 
• Beeching, Richard (1963). The Reshaping of British Railways (maps) (PDF). HMSO. 
• 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.). Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. 
• Vallance, H. A. (27 June 1991). Great North of Scotland railway. The History of the Railways of the Scottish Highlands vol 3. David St John Thomas. ISBN 978-0-946537-60-0. 

Further reading

• Barclay-Harvey, Malcolm (1950). A History of the Great North of Scotland Railway. Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-2592-9. 

External links

• RAILSCOT on Banff Portsoy and Strathisla Railway