The Old Deeside Railway part 1

Text © Copyright Stanley Howe, August 2007
Images are under a seperate Creative Commons licence.

This railway gradually edged its way from Aberdeen up Deeside towards Balmoral, after Queen Victoria took ownership of the castle there in the mid 19th Century. It eventually stopped at Ballater. Since being classified as uneconomic by Beeching in 1964, and thereafter dismantled, bits and pieces were sold off to adjacent landowners. On safety grounds many bridges and viaducts were destroyed. These events have effectively scuppered initiatives to make the route into a long distance path, but sections closer to Aberdeen have become designated the Deeside Way, whilst other short sections are paths or cycle tracks or bridleways. This article, illustrated by photos from the GEOGRAPH archive, is meant to be a useful substitute for a de facto full length Deeside Way. It may also be a means of highlighting lacunae in present day photographic coverage, and encourage those gaps to be filled.

Aberdeen to Banchory - opened 1853

"The first turf was cut on the estate of Park by Mrs A J Kinloch on 5th July 1852, and the line was opened for traffic (from Ferryhill to Banchory) on 7th September 1853. Guild Street Station in Aberdeen was not opened until 1954, whence 3 trains per day did the round trip up Deeside." A.I.McConnochie - Deeside (1895). In the 1890's the lines between Ferryhill and Peterculter were doubled to facilitate 'Subbies' (commuter stopping trains) to run alongside Expresses (limited stop longer-distance trains).

NJ9405 Aberdeen (Guild Street) station:
NJ9405 : South College Street Arches, Aberdeen by Richard Slessor NJ9405 : Aberdeen Railway Station by Richard Slessor NJ9405 : The Railway at Aberdeen by Richard Slessor NJ9405 : Aberdeen Railway Station by Stanley Howe
NJ9405 : Deserted platforms at Aberdeen railway station by Carol Walker NJ9405 : Inside Aberdeen railway station by Carol Walker NJ9405 : Aberdeen railway station by Carol Walker NJ9405 : College Street rail bridge by Stanley Howe

NJ9404 Ferryhill junction
NJ9404 : Tunnel at Ferryhill rail junction by Stanley Howe NJ9404 : Ferryhill junction rail bridge by Stanley Howe NJ9404 : Under the Ferryhill rail bridge by Stanley Howe

NJ9304 Duthie Park
NJ9304 : Polmuir Road Deeside Railway abutment by Stanley Howe NJ9304 : Old Deeside Railway bridge abutment by Stanley Howe NJ9304 : Old Deeside Line, Duthie Park by Stanley Howe NJ9304 : Old Deeside Line (ODL) by Stanley Howe NJ9304 : Old Deeside Line by Stanley Howe
NJ9304 : Old Deeside Railway cycle track by Stanley Howe NJ9304 : Down line Old Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe NJ9304 : Umbelliferous flowers by old rail track by Stanley Howe NJ9304 : B9077 road bridge by Stanley Howe NJ9304 : Up-line old Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe
NJ9304 : Down-line old Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe NJ9304 : Approach to a footbridge over the Hardgate by Stanley Howe NJ9304 : New bridge over Hardgate by Stanley Howe NJ9304 : Former Holborn Station by Stanley Howe NJ9304 : Heightened bridge over Hardgate by Stanley Howe
NJ9304 : Down-line of the old Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe NJ9304 : Wild Rose by old Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe NJ9304 : Robin on the up-line by Stanley Howe NJ9304 : Fingerpost on old Deeside Railway by Duthie Park by Stanley Howe

NJ9204 Ruthrieston:
NJ9204 : Ruthrieston station by Peter Ward

NJ9203 Dee Bridge

NJ9103 Garthdee
NJ9103 : Auchinyell Road, Garthdee by Richard Slessor NJ9103 : Company Crest of Original Deeside Railway Company by Stanley Howe NJ9103 : Old Deeside Line by Stanley Howe
NJ9103 : Down-line old Deeside railway by Stanley Howe NJ9103 : Up-line old Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe

NJ9003 Pitfodels:
NJ9003 : Old Deeside railway line walk, Pitfodels by Lizzie NJ9003 : Pitfodels Station. by Peter Ward NJ9003 : Bridge over the old Deeside Rlwy line on Pitfodels Station Rd. by Peter Ward
NJ9003 : Upline of old Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe NJ9003 : Down-line old Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe

NJ8903 Cults station:
NJ8903 : Cults station by Peter Ward

NJ8902 Cults:
NJ8902 : Bridge over old Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe NJ8902 : Up-line of old Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe NJ8902 : Down-line of old Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe NJ8902 : Milepost on cycle track at Cults by Stanley Howe

NJ8802 Bieldside station:
NJ8802 : Bieldside Station by Peter Ward

NJ8701 Murtle Station:
NJ8701 : Old Station, Murtle on disused Deeside Railway line by Rod Richmond

NJ8601 Tor na Dee

NJ8500 NJ8501 Milltimber:
NJ8501 : Old Deeside railway route by Stanley Howe NJ8501 : Access to old Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe NJ8501 : Moonrise on the Deeside Way, Milltimber by Alan Findlay NJ8501 : Former rail/road crossing by Stanley Howe
NJ8501 : Old Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe NJ8501 : Fields on south side of old Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe

NJ8400 Peterculter:
NJ8400 : Deeside Way by Alan Findlay NJ8400 : The old Culter Station on the Deeside Way by Oliver Dixon

NJ8300 Kennerty:
NJ8300 : Two bridges Peterculter by Alan Findlay NJ8300 : Deeside Way by Russell Lett

NO8399

NO8299 Coalford:
NO8299 : Deeside way by Russell Lett NO8299 : Embankment for the old Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe

NO8199 Bogton
NO8199 : Deeside way by Russell Lett NO8199 : Looking down-line on old Deeside Railway route by Stanley Howe NO8199 : Looking up-line on old Deeside Railway route by Stanley Howe

NO8099 Drumoak:
NO8099 : Bridge over old Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe NO8099 : Looking up-line from the bridge near Mains of Drum by Stanley Howe NO8099 : Looking down-line from the bridge near Mains of Drum by Stanley Howe

NO7999

NO7998 Park

NO7898 Park Home Farm:
NO7898 : The Deeside Way by Alan Findlay NO7898 : Old Deeside railway bridge by Stanley Howe NO7898 : Access to Home Farm, Park by Stanley Howe

NO7797 Park House
NO7797 : Deeside Way near Nether Park by Alan Findlay NO7797 : The Deeside Way near Park House by Alan Findlay

NO7697 West Park:
NO7697 : View along the old railway line by Lizzie NO7697 : Old Deeside Railway route by Stanley Howe

NO7597 Mills of Drum:
NO7696 : The Deeside Way by Alan Findlay NO7696 : Old Deeside Railway route by Stanley Howe NO7696 : Access to Mills of Drum by Stanley Howe NO7696 : Old Deeside Railway route by Stanley Howe NO7696 : Old Deeside Railway route by Stanley Howe NO7696 : Gatepost and stile at Mills of Drum by Stanley Howe

NO7596 Baldarrock:
NO7596 : Up-line near Upper Mills of Crathes by Stanley Howe NO7596 : Down-line near Upper Mills of Crathes by Stanley Howe

NO7496 Milton of Crathes:
NO7496 : Deeside Railway, Milton of Crathes by Colin Smith NO7496 : Royal Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe NO7496 : Old Deeside Railway route by Stanley Howe NO7496 : Old Deeside Railway route by Stanley Howe NO7496 : Former Crathes railway station signal-box by Stanley Howe NO7496 : Old Deeside Railway route by Stanley Howe NO7496 : Old Deeside Railway embankment by Stanley Howe

NO7396 Crathes Castle
NO7396 : Old Deeside Railway route by Stanley Howe NO7396 : Railway revival 1 by Stanley Howe NO7396 : Railway revival 2 by Stanley Howe

NO7296 Birkenbaud
NO7296 : Old Deeside Railway track by Stanley Howe NO7296 : North Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe

NO7196 Silverside

NO7195 Banchory
NO7195 : Down-line old Deeside railway route by Stanley Howe NO7195 : Up-line old Deeside Railway route by Stanley Howe

NO7095 Banchory:
NO7095 : Site of former Banchory railway station by Stanley Howe NO7095 : Old Deeside Railway track by Stanley Howe NO7095 : Up-line route of old Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe NO7095 : Down-line route of old Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe NO7095 : Bridge over old Deeside Railway at Glebe Park by Stanley Howe NO7095 : Down-line old Deeside Railway by Stanley Howe
KML
Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   Images used on this page, © Copyright Stanley Howe, Alan Findlay, Peter Ward, Richard Slessor, Russell Lett, Carol Walker, Lizzie, Colin Smith, Rod Richmond and Oliver Dixon; licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

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