Lethenty railway station

Lethenty
General information
Location	Lethenty, Aberdeenshire Scotland
Coordinates	57°18′40″N2°22′59″W / 57.311°N 2.383°W / 57.311; -2.383
Grid reference	NJ 769 245
Platforms	1
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Inverury and Old Meldrum Junction Railway
Pre-grouping	Great North of Scotland Railway
Key dates
1 October 1856 [1]	opened to passengers
6 July 1856	Opened for goods
2 November 1931	closed for passengers
6 February 1961	station closed for freight
1966	line closed completely

Lethenty railway station was a railway station in Lethenty, Aberdeenshire on the short rural branch line from Inverurie to Old Meldrum serving the rural community of the area. ^[2]

History

The railway station opened on 26 June 1856 ^[3] or 1 October 1856. ^{[4] [5]} and closed to passengers on 2 November 1931.

The station continued to be used for freight traffic until official closure on 6 February 1961. ^{[6] [7]}

The station lay 2.25 miles from Inverurie ^[4] In the early 20th century the station and the platform were rebuilt using stone for the latter and wood for the former. It had a single siding that lay beyond the level crossing that served the Lethenty meal mill via a waggon turntable. ^[4]

The station lay at 195 feet above sea level on a section of the single track line, that for down trains presented a climb that was not too challenging, but it was continuous with Fingask at 244 feet and Oldmeldrum at 264 feet. No signals or passing loop were present. ^[4]

Lethenty had facilities for parcels, freight, horseboxes, and livestock. ^[8] It had no crane and did not serve private carriages or furniture vans. ^[9] The staff originally consisted of a stationmaster and porter. ^[9] In 1915 milk churns, parcels and freight traffic were quite regular. ^[10]

The platform survives however the station building has been demolished. A railway cottage still stands nearby.

Previous services

All trains stopped at Lethenty, unlike the service at Fingask. ^[11] The line had no Sunday service. Tickets were issued from Lethenty in 1937 and 1938 despite the 1931 closure, however these may represent tickets for onward travel from Inverurie issued as the station was still staffed however it could relate to passengers travelling in the freight train goods van that was permitted at the time. ^[12] The last railtour to visit the line was in June 1965 with a two car DMU. ^[13]

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Inverurie Line closed; Station open		Great North of Scotland Railway Inverury and Old Meldrum Junction Railway		Fingask Line and Station closed

References

Notes

1. Railway Passenger Stations by M.Quick page 281
2. British Railways Atlas.1947. p.38
3. "Lethenty Station". canmore.org.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
4. McLeish, p.10
5. Railway Passenger Stations by M.Quick
6. McLeish, p.79
7. McLeish,p.65
8. McLeish, p.12
9. McLeish, p.16
10. McLeish, p.17
11. McLeish, p.15
12. McLeish, p.59
13. McLeish, p.66

Sources

• Butt, R. V. J. (October 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   978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC   60251199. OL   11956311M.
• 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   978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC   22311137.
• McLeish, Duncan (2014). Rails to Banff, Macduff and Oldmeldrum. Pub. GNoSRA. ISBN   978-0902343-26-9.