From American Oak to a rejuvenated Scottish Railway

The Keith and Dufftown Railway is now only a tourist attraction, thanks to Beeching.  It runs for eleven miles from Keith to Dufftown.   Just to explain for those who don’t know, the Beeching cuts resulted from a report of 1963, written by Dr Richard Beeching entitled ' The reshaping of British Railways.'  This is a euphemism.  In reality, 55% of stations and 30% of the route miles were earmarked for closure and few were saved by protests.  This was a response to the motor vehicle and was a massive mistake in my view.  It explains why the only railway route out of my busy market town is east/west and why we take the car to go in all other directions.  Air pollution is a big problem locally.  

I digress.   

Originally our route today was the Great North of Scotland Railway linking Aberdeen with Huntley, which opened in 1845.  By 1867 it had expanded to include two branch lines and ran from Aberdeen to Keith.  

All the staff are volunteers.  Our enthusiastic ticket inspector doubles as a tour guide and explains that Beeching withdrew the passenger service in 1968 though a goods only service operated until the 1980s. The line was totally shut down in 1991, reopening in it’s current form in more recent years.   

Dufftown is the main centre of operation of the railway where there is a booking office, waiting room and licensed cafe called the Buffer Stop, which is open during the operating season. 

There is currently nothing at Drummuir Station except the platform.  

At Keith Town station, there is a booking office and a shop which is also only open during operating season.

At present there is no connection to the mainline, as two 60 ft sections of track were uplifted. However, there are long term plans to reconnect the two lines.

Below is a map delineating the good old days

We set off from Dufftown (featured in the photos above) and got off in Keith, where the photo below was taken.  It looks ahead at the line which is going no where.  (Yet)  It is only half a mile to the mainline station. 

Here is a view from the train as it is stationary at Keith.  

 

Here are some views of the return journey.  The woods, rhododendrons and grazing sheep contribute to this peaceful experience. 

 

 

The train is diesel rather than the more romantic steam, and it's more like the branch line to Newbury or Penistone than the Thunderbolt Expess, but heh!

Above is a man made lake, Loch Park, which is one mile long and two hundred yards wide. It is owned by Drunmore Castle Estate and is used for trout fishing.  The Laird lives elsewhere, the Castle being used as conference centre.

We pass one of the many Speyside Distilleries, see below.  

 

Back in Dufftown we have a cuppa in the café, not exactly the Orient Express, but a nice experience. 

We pop home for a rest then have dinner at the Bothy, Burghead.  This is an excellent little café/restaurant. I enjoy pizza and Happy Chappy from the Cromarty Brewery.  It’s a nice hoppy ale.  

Then it’s home to the wood burning stove

And another well earned beer!  Take your pick.