Philorth Bridge Halt railway station

Philorth Bridge Halt
Philorth Bridge Halt
Location	Scotland
Grid reference	NK020644
Platforms	1
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Pre-grouping	Great North of Scotland Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
1 July 1903	Opened as Philorth Bridge Halt
3 May 1965	Closed

Last updated April 25, 2021

Philorth Bridge Halt railway station, not to be confused with Philorth railway station on the old Formartine and Buchan Railway, was a request stop on the Fraserburgh and St Combs Light Railway, Aberdeenshire.^[2] It was opened in 1903 as Philorth Bridge Halt^[1] and stood just to the east of Philorth Bridge, the Water of Philorth and the lane to Cairnbulg Castle.

History

The line from Fraserburgh to St Combs opened in 1903 and was the last line built by the Great North of Scotland Railway before it became part of the London and North Eastern Railway. The line was closed in 1965 by the Scottish Region of British Railways as part of the Beeching Cuts.^[1] The St Combs line was partly unfenced and it was therefore classified as a light railway with locomotives carrying cow catchers.^[3] Philorth Castle, renamed Cairnbulg Castle is located nearby.^[4] The 1948 timetable gives the station name as Philorth Bridge Halt.^[5]

Infrastructure

The short single platformed halt stood on the landward side,^[6] of the line just to the west of Philorth Bridge. It was accessed via a path running across the road and photographs show that it was built of wood with a gravel surface, very similar to Kirkton Bridge Halt railway station. A simple shelter was present with no lighting and the station had no sidings or signalling.^[7] Two railway related huts stood on the other side of the track from the halt. A photograph of 1951 suggests that the halt was located on the seaward side of the line.^[7] White posts beside the track at the halt assisted the train driver in positioning the train in poor light conditions or after dark.^[3]

Services

The line in 1910 had seven return workings on weekdays and an additional late night Saturday train from Fraserburgh that departed at 9.30pm and returned at 10pm. No Sunday services were provided on the railway. The 1964 - 1965 timetable had 11 return workings per day between Fraserburgh and St Combs with an additional service on Saturdays.^[8] The full journey took around twenty minutes and connections for Aberdeen were available at Fraserburgh railway station.

Philorth Bridge was a request stop with passengers required to inform the guard if they wished to alight there.^[5] The line closed to goods on 7 November 1960, Philorth Bridge Halt however had never handled goods.^[9]

The site today

The trackbed is visible in places however nothing remains of the halt.

Former Services

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Kirkton Bridge Halt Line and Station closed		Great North of Scotland Railway St Combs Branch		Cairnbulg Line and Station closed

Related Research Articles

The villages of Inverallochy and Cairnbulg lie some four miles east of Fraserburgh, in North East Scotland.

Cairnbulg Castle is a z-plan castle situated in Cairnbulg, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was described by W. Douglas Simpson as one of the nine castles of the Knuckle, referring to the rocky headland of north-east Aberdeenshire. It stands by the River Philorth and was originally known as Philorth Castle.

St. Combs railway station was a station on the Fraserburgh and St Combs Light Railway, Aberdeenshire. It was opened on 1 July 1903 and stood 5 1⁄8 miles (8.2 km) from Fraserburgh.

Cairnbulg railway station was a station on the Fraserburgh and St Combs Light Railway, Aberdeenshire. It was opened in 1903 as Inverallochy and was renamed Cairnbulg on 1 September 1903.

The Formartine and Buchan Railway was a railway in the north east of Scotland. It was built to link Fraserburgh and Peterhead with Aberdeen. It had a junction with the main line of the Great North of Scotland Railway at Dyce.

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Tillynaught railway station or Tillynaught Junction was a junction railway station in what is now Aberdeenshire, Parish of Fordyce, 6 miles south-west of Banff. Tillynaught was opened in 1859 by the Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway, and in 1867 was absorbed by the Great North of Scotland Railway. This junction station was served by Aberdeen to Elgin trains as well as trains running to the branch terminus at Banff.

Ordens railway station was opened in 1859, its services restricted and renamed Ordens Platform railway station by 1911 and finally Ordens Halt railway station in 1924 with a restored service. The station was close to a farm of that name and served a very rural locality. The line from Tillynaught opened in 1859 and a temporary terminus opened on 30 July 1859 and a permanent station opened in 1860. There was a single platform.

Knock railway station was an intermediate stop situated on the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) line from Grange and Cairnie Junction to Tillynaught. Knock served the rural community and later the Knockdhu Distillery in Banffshire. The line northwards ran to Tillynaught where it split to reach Banff by a branch line or Elgin by the Moray Coast line.

Kirkton Bridge Halt railway station or Kirkton Bridge Platform railway station was a request stop on the Fraserburgh and St Combs Light Railway, Aberdeenshire. It was opened in 1904 as Kirton Bridge Halt, later renamed as Kirkton Bridge Platform, on the links to serve the Fraserburgh golf course users and tourists a year after the line's other stations had opened. The 1948 timetable gives the station name as Kirkton Bridge Halt.

Cambus O'May railway station or Cambus O'May Halt, served Aberdeenshire, Scotland from 1876 to 1966 on the Deeside Railway. It was intended to serve the anglers on the River Dee, tourists, the 1874 Cambus O'May House hunting lodge and the local population of this rural district and stood 39 3⁄8 miles (63.4 km) from the Aberdeen (Joint) station. It was the last stop before Ballater.

References

1 2 3 4 Butt 1995, p. 185.
↑ British Railways Atlas.1947. p.38
1 2 Maxtone, Graham (2018). Then and Now on the Great North. V.1. GNoSR Association. p. 92.
↑ NK06, Surveyed: 1938 - 1955, Published: 1957
1 2 Timetable World - Table 152. Fraserburgh and St Combs.
↑ NK06SW - A, Surveyed / Revised: Pre-1930 to 1958, Published: 1959
1 2 RailScot - Philorth Bridge Halt
↑ Unseen Steam
↑ Great North of Scotland - St Combs Branch

Sources

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 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
Maxtone, Graham and Cooper, Mike (2018). Then and Now on the Great North. V.1. GNoSR Association. ISBN 978-0902343-30-6.

Coordinates: 57°40′10″N1°58′02″W / 57.6695°N 1.9671°W / 57.6695; -1.9671

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[FOOTNOTEButt1995185-1] 1 2 3 4 Butt 1995, p. 185.

[2] British Railways Atlas.1947. p.38

[MX-3] 1 2 Maxtone, Graham (2018). Then and Now on the Great North. V.1. GNoSR Association. p. 92.

[4] NK06, Surveyed: 1938 - 1955, Published: 1957

[Co-5] 1 2 Timetable World - Table 152. Fraserburgh and St Combs.

[6] NK06SW - A, Surveyed / Revised: Pre-1930 to 1958, Published: 1959

[RSF-7] 1 2 RailScot - Philorth Bridge Halt

[8] Unseen Steam

[9] Great North of Scotland - St Combs Branch

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v t e Great North of Scotland Railway
Constituent railways	Aberdeen and Turriff (originally Banff, Macduff and Turriff Junction) Aboyne & Braemar Alford Valley Banff, Macduff and Turriff Extension Banffshire (originally Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla) Deeside Formartine and Buchan Inverury and Old Meldrum Junction Keith and Dufftown Morayshire Strathspey
Successor railway	London and North Eastern
Heritage railways	Alford Valley Keith and Dufftown Royal Deeside Strathspey
Rail trails	Deeside Way Formartine and Buchan Way
Aberdeen–Inverness line List of Great North of Scotland Railway stations Locomotives of the Great North of Scotland Railway