Boddam Branch

Boddam branch
Locale Scotland Dates of operation 2 August 1897 – 1945 Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Length 15 miles (24 km)
Boddam Longhaven Bullers o' Buchan Cruden Bay Hatton Pitlurg Auchmacoy Formartine and Buchan Railway to Maud Junction Ellon Formartine and Buchan Railway to Dyce

The Boddam Branch Line was a 15-mile branch line constructed by the Great North of Scotland Railway from Ellon railway station to Boddam in Aberdeenshire in 1897. The line was single track, with passing loops at stations.

History

The line was constructed to connect the newly built luxury GNSoR Cruden Bay Hotel in Cruden Bay to the wider rail network. From there, the line ran on to Boddam to serve local quarries. The line ran through a very rural area, from a junction with the Formartine and Buchan Railway at Ellon railway station, however the line was constructed to a high standard, with bridges throughout.

In Cruden Bay itself, the station was connected to the Hotel by the electric Cruden Bay Hotel Tramway.

Closure

The line and tramway were closed to passengers in 1932 due to lack of traffic. The hotel was served by a Rolls Royce motorcar until its closure, when it was requisitioned by the armed forces following the outbreak of World War II. After the war, the hotel and tramway were demolished completely.

The line was closed to freight in 1945, with the branch being used to store wagons until the track was lifted in 1950.

The line today

Bridge over the trackbed near Pitlurg station.

Unlike the Formartine and Buchan Railway, the route of the line was not preserved as it closed far earlier. That said, few parts of the line are built on and many farms have not gone to the trouble of leveling the ground on the route. Most of the route is still visible, with several embankments, cuttings and road overbridges still in situ along the route (however many have been backfilled to allow farm access).

Most of the bridges which carried the railway have been taken down, including the substantial Cruden Bay viaduct, although three pillars of it remain standing. One large bridge remains, spanning the Water of Cruden at Bridgend. Numerous culverts are remaining, possibly five or more are over small burns between Pitlurg and Hatton, one is over the Water of Cruden at Nethermill, one is over the smaller burn at Cruden Bay, and another, which can be walked through, is at Bullers o' Buchan. A number of well built bridge buttresses are still standing for the railway and for overbridges. The photo has one of many similar looking overbridges.

The remaining evidence of station sites is slim, some having been built on. The station hotel at Hatton remains while a goods shed there was demolished in 2012. All stationmasters' houses exist today.

Walking the full length of the line is impossible, as some sections have been removed entirely (particularly where the line crossed the A90 and A975), several extant sections are fenced prohibiting access and other sections are thick with bushes. Sections that can be done include Hatton to Bogbrae and a section around the Burn of Forvie.

There are no plans to reinstate the line.