Strathspey Railway

A Strathspey Railway train pulls into Boat of Garten

The Strathspey Railway is a heritage railway in Scotland . The railway, which has existed since 1978, is located in the Highlands and runs between Aviemore and Broomhill on a 16-kilometer route.

history

As part of the Beeching Ax , British Railways shut down extensive branch lines and low-demand main lines in the 1960s. On October 11, 1965, the former main line of the former Highland Railway between Aviemore and Forres also lost its passenger traffic after long-distance traffic on the Highland Main Line between Inverness and the Central Belt had been shifted to the new route via Carrbridge, which is still used today, in 1898 . On the same day, British Rail also ended passenger traffic on the route through the Spey valley to Craigellachie, which branched off in Boat of Garten . By 1968 the routes also lost their freight traffic and were completely discontinued.

Railway fans founded the Strathspey Railway Company in 1971 and the Strathspey Railway Association the following year as a supporting association. British Rail acquired the route from Aviemore to Grantown-on-Spey in 1972 with the aim of establishing a museum. After several years of work, the Strathspey Railway was able to start museum railway operations in 1978 on the section between Aviemore and Boat of Garten. A separate station had to be built in Aviemore beforehand, as British Rail refused to share the station there.

Network Rail agreed to share the Aviemore train station in 1998. Since then, the museum trains have been departing from platform 3 there, which enables a direct transfer from the ScotRail trains stopping in Aviemore . Four years later, the Strathspey Railway opened an extension from the Boat of Garten to Broomhill on the old route in the direction of Grantown. The railway company continues to pursue the goal of extending the route to Grantown-on-Spey, the corresponding planning is also supported by the Cairngorms National Park . In 2014, a major milestone was reached with the installation of a used steel bridge on the still-preserved abutments of the bridge over the Dulnain near Dulnain Bridge, which was removed after the line was closed in 1968 . However, the prerequisite for further construction is that Transport Scotland build a bridge over the railway line near Grantown for the A95 trunk road , which currently crosses the former route at ground level.

Timetable

The Strathspey Railway's operating season runs almost all year round, with trains only running from November to March on selected days and a little more often in the run-up to Christmas. From April to October the trains run several days a week, in July and August daily. Apart from special occasions, there are usually three pairs of trains per day on the timetable. In addition, special trips with dining cars or whiskey tastings are offered.

vehicles

Locomotive 828 of the former Caledonian Railway, here in Boat of Garten, is the Strathspey Railway's oldest steam locomotive

Train with LMS class 2MT Ivatt locomotive near Broomhill Station

The operating center of the Strathspey Railway is the Boat of Garten, but the railway also uses the old locomotive shed of the former British Railways depot in Aviemore. The local train station has only been used for internal purposes since 1998, with trains starting and ending at the Highland Main Line station. Strathspey owns various steam and diesel locomotives as well as diesel railcars. In addition, rental vehicles from private owners and other companies are used.

In addition to the locomotives and railcars, the Strathspey Railway has an extensive fleet of cars. In addition, the stations and signal boxes are maintained with old security technology and kept ready for use. As far as possible, the stations have been preserved in their original state.

Steam locomotives

• Train Locomotive the LMS class 2MT Ivatt with the wheel arrangement 1 'C, no. 46512, 1952 in Swindon built.
• Train Locomotive of LMS Class 5 "Black Five" , no. 5025, BB 2 'C, built in 1934
• Tank locomotive no. 17 "Braeriach" the former Wemyss Private Railway , BB C, 1935 at Andrew Barclay & Co. in Kilmarnock built
• Tender locomotive of the CR class 812 ( Caledonian Railway ), No. 828, wheel arrangement C, year of construction 1899

Diesel traction vehicles (without shunting locomotives)

• Two BR class 26 diesel locomotives , No. 26002 and 26025
• Class 27 diesel locomotive , No. 27050
• BR class 31 diesel locomotive , no.31327
• Class 117 railcar , DMBS Sc51367 / DMS Sc51402
• Class 107 railcars , DMBS Sc51990 / DMBS Sc52008

Web links

Commons : Strathspey Railway  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Side of the Strathspey Railway (English)
• History of the Strathspey Railway (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Strathspey & Badenoch Herald: Strathspey steam railway plans on track for green light , July 31, 2014 , accessed on May 14, 2015
2. ↑ Railscot: River Dulnain Bridged , accessed on May 14, 2015
3. ↑ BBC news: Go-ahead for Highland road move , July 7, 2006 , accessed May 14, 2015
4. ^ Strathspey Railway: Winter Sees The Strathspey Railway Continue its Progression to Reach Grantown-on-Spey. December 8, 2014 , accessed May 14, 2015