Strathspey Railway (preserved)

v t e Strathspey Railway
Legend
Inverness and Perth Junction Railway to Forres Grantown-on-Spey (West) ( proposed reopening ) Broomhill Strathspey Railway (GNoSR) to Dufftown Boat of Garten Aviemore (Speyside) Highland Main Line to Inverness Aviemore Highland Main Line to Stirling

The Strathspey Railway (SR) in

After Spey Lodge, the railway passes the site of the new Aviemore Hospital then crosses Dalfaber level crossing, an Automatic Barrier Crossing Locally monitored (ABCL). This level crossing was not originally part of the railway, but was installed after the development of the Dalfaber Estate in the 1980s, and was upgraded to a half-barrier crossing in March 2023.^[1][2] After crossing the road and passing the Cairngorm Brewery the line climbs through Granish Moor. This heather moor affords views of Cairngorm Mountain and the line runs parallel to the Speyside Way, a popular walking and cycling route. Once into the forest at the north end of the moor, the line descends past Boat of Garten golf course and into the village of Boat of Garten itself.

Boat of Garten

The extensive Boat of Garten station (57°14′53″N 3°45′09″W / 57.2480°N 3.7524°W / 57.2480; -3.7524 (Boat of Garten railway station)) features its original buildings, dating from 1904 by the architect William Roberts and is a category B listed building.^{[3][page needed]}.^[4] The modest station building houses a booking hall and ticket office/shop plus toilets and the waiting room which still has its open fire. A recent addition is a coffee shop in the old gas house on platform 1. It was originally a parallel junction between the Highland Railway's main line from Perth to Forres and the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR) branch to Craigellachie - this was the original Strathspey Railway, the company being a subsidiary of the GNSR. Today there are two passenger platforms and the yard stores the majority of the SR's out of use rolling stock.

Boat of Garten also has the railway's only water column where the locomotives stop to take water on their way north through the station. There are two signal boxes, Boat of Garten North and Boat of Garten South and signalling uses traditional British Railways mechanical semaphore signalling; it is the crossing point on the line when there are two trains running. The single track section from Boat of Garten South to Aviemore Speyside is controlled by

Most of what visitors to the railway see today is original from the days of British Railways. The main layout of the station has not been altered significantly, with the exception of the extensive yard behind the signal box. The turnout that formerly allowed access to the yard without having to access the headshunt was removed before the line closed and there are no plans to re-install it. A new storage shed was built over the first three tracks of the yard in 2018–2019 to provide additional covered accommodation.

Leaving Boat of Garten, trains cross the road on the new single-track box-girder bridge and pass the site of the original, long-demolished GNSR engine shed, where a

Broomhill

The line reaches its current terminus at

• 
  Broomhill looking towards Grantown on Spey.
• 
  The 'Glenbogle' station sign at Broomhill station
• 
  A view of the platform and station buildings looking towards Boat of Garten
• 
  The station approach from the Boat of Garten side
• 
  Platform and station infrastructure

Future extension

In July 2006, the Scottish Executive made a firm commitment to re-aligning the

The BBC reported that the £2.9m road scheme would involve the rail line going under the A95. The then Transport Minister, Tavish Scott, said the project would be ready for construction by 2008–9 and funding had been allocated for 2009–10. Former Strathspey MP, Danny Alexander, speculated that the proposed rail link between Aviemore and Grantown would be good for tourism.^[5]

By May 2007 the trackbed had been cleared north of the Broomhill loop as far as the bridge over the River Dulnain. New fencing, mileposts and drainage works were progressing and it was hoped for track laying to start later in 2008. Travelling by road along the A95 from Grantown towards Aviemore, new fencing marking the new track alignment could be seen.

In October 2008, it was announced that the steelwork of the former Merry Street Bridge in

However, Transport Scotland since notified the railway that the project has been reevaluated in late 2008 and was now estimated to cost £5.3 million, leading Transport Scotland to consider the extension project too expensive to pursue. The railway was faced with raising £1 million by 31 December 2009, to fund construction of a planned tunnel on the extension, but even if the funds were raised, construction was not guaranteed to occur.^[7] In June 2016, the entire project, including the re-aligned A95 and new bridge at Gaich, track and new station, was estimated at £13.5 million.

Management for building the extension is being undertaken by The Strathspey Railway Charitable Trust. All the various fundraising efforts are coordinated by the SRCT, including a charitable appeal. They also manage the negotiations with the various landowners and public bodies required to push the line through to Grantown-on-Spey.

Strathspey Railway Association

The role of the Strathspey Railway Association is to provide funding and volunteers to run the Strathspey Railway. It is the biggest shareholder of the Strathspey Railway Company (the organisation which holds the light rail orders and operates the railway). Members fund various projects on the railway through an annual subscription and donations. A quarterly publication, "The Strathspey Express", is published by the Association to give members regular updates from the railway as well as articles of general railway interest.

Most of the people who work on the railway are volunteers belonging to the Association. Spey Lodge is managed by a sub-group of the Association to provide accommodation for volunteers.

Locomotives and rolling stock

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Steam locomotives

• LMS 2-6-0
  Class 2MT no. 46512 "E. V. Cooper, Engineer". Built Swindon 1952. Owned by Highland Locomotive Company. Operational, ten-yearly overhaul completed in November 2021. Boiler ticket expires in 2031.^[8]
• LMS 2-6-0 Class 2MT no. 46464 (The Carmyllie Pilot). Built Crewe 1950. Owned by The Carmyllie Pilot Company Limited. Being rebuilt at Aviemore after returning in 2020. Boiler steam test completed in April 2022.^[9] Hauled the first steam passenger service on the SR on 22 July 1978 before leaving in 1989.
• 812 Class no. 828 (17566, BR 57566) built in 1899. Operational, boiler re-certified for another five years in autumn 2020.^[8] On hire to Spa Valley Railway. ^[9]
• Class 5MT
  no. 5025 (45025) built in 1934. Operational, launched into service in August 2021 following a major overhaul. Boiler ticket expires in 2031.
• BR Standard Class 9F no. 92219. Built Swindon 1960. Privately owned by Graham Harris. Stored, awaiting restoration.^[10]
• Wemyss Private Railway 0-6-0T no. 17 "Braeriach", built by Andrew Barclay & Son, Kilmarnock 1935 (works number 2017). Stored in Boat of Garten.^[8]
• WD 0-6-0ST Austerity no. 9. Built Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns 1943 (works number 7097). Undergoing overhaul at Aviemore.^[8]
• Andrew Barclay & Son, Kilmarnock 0-4-0ST (works no. 2020 of 1936) no. 2 "Balmenach". Stored at Aviemore out of use.[8]

Diesel locomotives

• BR 0-4-0 Class D2/10 North British shunter no. D2774. Operational, painted BR Green.
• BR 0-6-0 Class 08 no. 08490 (D3605). Operational, painted BR green.
• BR Bo-Bo Class 26 no. 26002 (D5302). Built in 1958. Stored, painted BR Green.^[11]
• BR Bo-Bo Class 26 no. 26025 (D5325). Built in 1959. Stored, painted BR Green.^[11]
• BR Bo-Bo Class 27 no. 27050 (D5394). Built in 1962. Operational,^[12] painted BR Green.
• BR A1A-A1A Class 31 no. 31327 (D5862). Operational,^[12] painted BR Green.
• BR Co-Co Class 37 no. 37674 (D6869). Operational,^[12] painted Railfreight Red Stripe.
• Andrew Barclay & Son, Kilmarnock 0-4-0 DH shunter. (Works no. 517 of 1966) "Power of Enterprise." Being restored in Aviemore loco shed.
• North British Locomotive Co 0-4-0 DH shunter. Works no. 27549 of 1956. Stored at Boat of Garten awaiting overhaul.
• Ruston & Hornsby 0-4-0 DM shunter. Works no 265618 of 1948. Queen Anne whisky livery. Operational.
• Ruston & Hornsby 0-4-0 DM shunter. Works no 260756 of 1950. Stored out of use at Aviemore.
• Thomas Hill Vanguard 4w chain drive DH shunter. Works no. 277V of 1977. Operational.^[12]

• BR Class 107 DMBS Sc51990. Stored at Boat of Garten out of use.
• BR Class 107 DMBS Sc52008. Stored at Boat of Garten out of use.
• BR Class 107 DMSL Sc52030. Awaiting restoration.
• BR Class 114 DTC E54047. Out of service.
• BR Class 117 DMBS Sc51367. Out of service; under repair.^[13] Currently painted in BR green livery with speed whiskers.
• BR Class 117 DMS Sc51402. Out of service; under repair.^[13] Currently painted in BR green livery with speed whiskers.
• BR Class 117 TCL Sc59511. Under active restoration at Boat of Garten to be painted in BR green livery. Current plan of the owning group is to reinstate the first class seating, but remove the second class sections and replace with a buffet area. When the restoration is complete it will be coupled between Sc51367 and Sc51402 to form a prototypical 3-car class 117 set.

Passenger coaching stock

Railway	Number	Type	Image	Notes
Great North of Scotland Railway	None	5-comp non-corridor third		Built at Inverurie. Body has been repainted red.[14]
Great North of Scotland Railway	None	5-comp non-corridor third		Built at Inverurie. Currently at Aviemore Speyside Station.[15]
Highland Railway	None	5-comp non-corridor third		Built at Lochgorm. Stored outside under black cover with protection at an exposed end.[16]
North British Railway	1748	Non-corridor lavatory Third		Built in 1905 at Cowlairs. Only of its type left.[clarification needed] Carriage is a full wooden body with original underframe and bogies.[17]
London, Midland & Scottish Railway	27234	Third Open		Built in 1945 at Wolverton. LMS livery, currently stored non-operational.[18]
London, Midland & Scottish Railway	27043	Brake Third Corridor		Built in 1951 at Derby. 'Porthole' design. Awaiting overhaul, stored.[19]
British Railways	1928	Mk1 Unclassed Restaurant Car		Built in 1959 by BRCW. Previously used on Flying Scotsman train. Built with Gresley Bogies.[20]
British Railways	1936	Mk1 Unclassed Restaurant Car		Built in 1959 by BRCW. Previously used on Flying Scotsman train. Built with Gresley Bogies. Under restoration.[21]
British Railways	4079	Mk1 Tourist Second Open		Built in 1955 at Swindon. Not operational. Stored.
British Railways	4331	Mk1 Tourist Second Open		Built in 1956 by BRCW. In BR Crimson and Cream livery. Operational[22]
British Railways	4477	Mk1 Second Open		Built in 1957 by BRCW.[23] In BR Crimson and Cream livery. Operational.
British Railways	4777	Mk1 Second Open		Built in 1957 by BRCW.[24]
London, Midland and Scottish Railway	M45021M	Bogie District Engineers Saloon		Built in 1944 by LMS at Wolverton, lot 1262. LMS livery. Operational.
British Railways	17101	Mk 2A Brake Corridor First		Built in 1968 at Derby. Operational.

Stations

• Aviemore railway station
• Aviemore Speyside railway station (closed)
• Boat of Garten railway station
• Broomhill railway station

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Strathspey Railway (preserved).

• Strathspey Railway website
• Strathspey Railway Charitable Trust website
• Caledonian Engine 828's restoration website
• LMS loco 5025's restoration website

57°15′36″N 3°44′18″W / 57.26000°N 3.73833°W / 57.26000; -3.73833