Grange railway station (Scotland)

Grange
The site of the station in 2017
General information
Location	Grange, Banffshire (current day Moray) Scotland
Coordinates	57°32′33″N2°50′36″W / 57.5424°N 2.8433°W / 57.5424; -2.8433
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Great North of Scotland Railway Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway
Pre-grouping	Great North of Scotland Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
5 January 1857	Opened [1]
20 July 1859	Branch line opened [2]
7 March 1960	Curve to Coast Line closed [3]
6 May 1968	Closed [1]
Location

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 1923 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. ^[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 1923 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 The stopping services on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line were recommended to be withdrawn in Dr Beeching's report "The Reshaping of British Railways", ^[8] and the station closed on 6 May 1968.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
Legend
Banff Golf Club House Bridgefoot Halt Ladysbridge Ordens Portsoy Harbour Portsoy (first) ( goods only after 1884 ) Portsoy (second) Moray Coast Rly Tillynaught Cornhill Glenbarry Knock Millegin Great North of Scotland Railway to Keith Grange curve to Aberdeen opened 1886 Cairnie Junction Rothiemay Huntly Great North of Scotland Railway to Aberdeen
This diagram: view talk edit

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]

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Cairnie Junction Towards Aberdeen		Great North of Scotland Main Line		Keith Towards Elgin and Inverness
Terminus		Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Great North of Scotland Banff branch		Millegin

References

Footnotes

1. Butt 1995, p. 108.
2. Vallance 1991, Appendix 1.
3. Vallance 1991, Appendix 3.
4. Vallance 1991, p. 24.
5. Vallance 1991, p. 30.
6. Vallance 1991, pp. 50–51.
7. Vallance 1991, pp. 94–95.
8. Beeching 1963a , p. 125
   Beeching 1963b , map 9
9. Butt 1995, p. 190.
10. Vallance 1991, p. 51.
11. "Passenger Timetable: Scottish Region". British Railways. May 1948. Table 150. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2013.

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 (1998) [1950]. A History of the Great North of Scotland Railway (2nd ed.). Ian Allan. ISBN   978-0-7110-2592-9.

External links

• RAILSCOT on Banff Portsoy and Strathisla Railway