Buckie railway station (Highland Railway)

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Buckie (Highland Railway)
Buckie HR railway station (site), Moray (geograph 6271284).jpg
General information
Location Buckie, Moray
Scotland
Coordinates 57°40′01″N2°56′16″W / 57.6670°N 2.9377°W / 57.6670; -2.9377
Grid reference NJ 42819 65632
Platforms1
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original company Highland Railway
Pre-groupingHighland Railway
Post-grouping London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 August 1884 [1] Station opens as 'Buckie'
9 August 1915 [1] Station closed to passengers
1 April 1944Closed to goods traffic

Buckie railway station [2] [3] was one of two stations which once served the town of Buckie, in the parish of Rathven, Scottish county of Moray. This Highland Railway station was served by trains on the Buckie and Portessie Branch north of Keith until 1915 and remained open for freight until April 1944. [4]

Contents

History

Work had begun on the Keith to Portessie line of the Highland Railway on 7 November 1882. The station was opened by the Highland Railway in 1884 to serve the sizeable town of Buckie but had a short life with services being suspended during World War I on 9 August 1915 [5] In 1917 the track between Aultmore (towards Keith) and Portessie was requisitioned by the Admiralty [6] and the rails south of Buckie removed as far as Aultmore, although it was the intention to reinstate the track and restart services when the war ended. The north and south sections of line were re-opened by 1919 but the central section of the line was still without track in 1923, [7] when the Highland Railway was absorbed by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). After this amalgamation the track between Buckie and Aultmore was relaid, however services were not restarted and the track removed again [8] in around 1937. [9]

The line to Aultmore became the terminus of a goods spur from Keith and continued in use until 1966 and the separated stub from Buckie to Portessie survived until 1944 in isolation from the rest of the, by then, London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) system.

The construction of the GNoSR Moray coast route had "effectively doomed the Highland route. Westbound journeys were shorter via the GNSR, and although the route to Aberdeen was longer, the Moray Coast Railway had services that were faster, more frequent and more convenient, with through trains running from Elgin, along the coast and to Aberdeen. As a rather straggly branch line, the Highland route struggled to compete, and the population between Buckie and Keith was too sparse to provide much additional traffic." [4]

Buckie and
Portessie Branch
(Highland Railway)
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BSicon exvSHI2gl-.svg
Portessie Junction
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Portessie
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BSicon exdHST.svg
Buckie
(GNoSR)(HR)
BSicon exdCONTgq.svg
BSicon exSTR~L.svg
BSicon exSTRr.svg
BSicon exdSTR~R.svg
BSicon exHST.svg
Rathven
BSicon exHST.svg
Drybridge Platform
BSicon exHST.svg
Enzie
BSicon exHST.svg
Aultmore
BSicon CONT2.svg
BSicon xSTR+c3.svg
BSicon STRc1.svg
BSicon xABZg+4.svg
Keith West Junction
BSicon dCONTgq.svg
BSicon STR~L.svg
BSicon STR+r.svg
BSicon dSTR~R.svg
BSicon vHST.svg
Keith Junction
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Keith East Junction
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Infrastructure

The station was accessed via East Cathcart Street and stood near the old Cluny Rope and Sail Works and the United Free Church. In the late 1930s it had a single platform, and a sizeable station building which was probably similar in design to the nearby Rathven railway station building. [10] The station agent had a cottage here, a goods shed was on one siding and two other sidings were present in the goods yard. [11] In 1902 the station additionally had a signal box on the Rathven end of the platform and a weighing machine was located in the goods yard. [3]

The station was designed by Murdoch Paterson who also designed the station itself. [12] [13]

The site today

In 2011 the goods shed and the station agent's house still stood.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highland Railway</span> Former British railway company

The Highland Railway (HR) was one of the smaller British railways before the Railways Act 1921, operating north of Perth railway station in Scotland and serving the farthest north of Britain. Based in Inverness, the company was formed by merger in 1865, absorbing over 249 miles (401 km) of line. It continued to expand, reaching Wick and Thurso in the north and Kyle of Lochalsh in the west, eventually serving the counties of Caithness, Sutherland, Ross & Cromarty, Inverness, Perth, Nairn, Moray and Banff. Southward it connected with the Caledonian Railway at Stanley Junction, north of Perth, and eastward with the Great North of Scotland Railway at Boat of Garten, Elgin, Keith and Portessie.

The Buckie and Portessie Branch was a railway branch line in Scotland, built by the Highland Railway to serve an important fishing harbour at Buckie, in Banffshire. It connected with the rival Great North of Scotland Railway at Portessie.

Aultmore railway station was a station which served the village of Aultmore, in the Scottish county of Moray. It was served by trains on the Buckie and Portessie Branch north of Keith. The latter station is now the nearest to Aultmore. Until 1 January 1899 the station was known as Forgie.

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Portessie railway station was a joint Highland Railway (HR) and Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) station at the junction between the Moray Coast Railway and the Buckie and Portessie Branch which also served the small fishing village of Portessie, in the parish of Rathven, Scottish county of Moray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buckie railway station</span> Disused railway station in Scotland

Buckie railway station was a railway station in Buckie, in current day Moray. The station was opened by the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) on its Moray Firth coast line in 1886, served by Aberdeen to Elgin trains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buckpool railway station</span> Disused railway station in Scotland

Buckpool railway station was a railway station in Buckpool near Buckie in Moray. The railway station was opened by the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) on its Moray Firth coast line in 1886, served by Aberdeen to Elgin trains. The village and station were originally named Nether Buckie station and the station was renamed 'Buckpool' on 1 January 1887, closing to regular passenger traffic on 7 March 1960, several years before the closure of the line itself in 1968.

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Spey Bay railway station was a railway station in Spey Bay, Moray. The railway station was opened by the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) on its Moray Firth coast line in 1886, served by Aberdeen to Elgin trains. The station was originally named Fochabers-on-Spey railway station on 1 May 1886. In November 1893 it became Fochabers railway station, Fochabers and Spey Bay railway station on 1 January 1916 before finally becoming on 1 January 1918 Spey Bay railway station. It closed to regular passenger traffic on 6 May 1968 on the same date as the line itself.

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Garmouth railway station was a railway station in Garmouth, parish of Urquhart, Moray. The railway station was opened by the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) on its Moray Firth coast line in 1884, served by Aberdeen to Elgin trains. It served the villages of Kingston-on-Spey and Garmouth and closed to regular passenger traffic on 6 May 1968 on the same date as the line itself.

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Urquhart railway station was a railway station serving the village of Urquhart, parish of Urquhart, Moray. The railway station was opened by the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) on its Moray Firth coast line in 1884, served by Aberdeen to Elgin trains.

Calcots railway station was a railway station in the parish of St Andrews-Lhanbryd, Moray. The railway station was opened by the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) on its Moray Firth coast line in 1884, served by Aberdeen to Elgin trains. It served a rural area rather than a discrete settlement and closed to regular passenger traffic on 6 May 1968 on the same date as the line itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enzie railway station</span> Former railway station in Scotland

Enzie railway station was a station which served the hamlet of Enzie, in the Scottish county of Moray. It was served by trains on the Buckie and Portessie Branch north of Keith. The latter station is now the nearest to Enzie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drybridge Platform railway station</span>

Drybridge Platform railway station or Drybridge railway station was a station which served the hamlet of that name in the parish of Rathven and in addition provided transport for the inhabitants of the Parish of Deskford, Scottish county of Moray. It was served by trains on the Buckie and Portessie Branch north of Keith.

Rathven railway station was a station which served the hamlet of that name, about a mile away in the parish of Rathven, Scottish county of Moray. It was served by trains on the Buckie and Portessie Branch north of Keith.

Findochty railway station was a railway station in the small fishing village of Findochty, Moray about 3 miles to the east of Buckie. The railway station was opened by the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) on its Moray Firth coast line in 1886, served by Aberdeen to Elgin trains.

Portknockie railway station was a railway station that served the small fishing village of Portknockie, close to Cullen in Moray. The railway station was opened by the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) on its Moray Firth coast line in 1886, served by Aberdeen to Elgin trains.

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Tochieneal railway station was a railway station that served the small industrial village of Tochieneal, close to Cullen in Moray. The railway station was opened by the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) on its Moray Firth coast line in 1884. The station closed to regular passenger traffic on 1 October 1951, more than a decade before the total closure of the line itself in 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glassaugh railway station</span> Former railway station in Scotland

Glassaugh railway station was a railway station that served the rural area of Glassaugh and the nearby Glenglassaugh distillery close to Portsoy in Moray. The railway station was opened by the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) on its Moray Firth coast line in 1884, served by Aberdeen to Elgin trains. The station closed to regular passenger traffic on 21 September 1953, more than a decade before the total closure of the line itself in 1968.

References

Footnotes

Sources

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Rathven   Highland Railway
Buckie and Portessie Branch
  Portessie