GNSR - The Railway

Growth

Prosperity gradually returned.  The arrival of a new Chairman, William Ferguson, and a new Manager, William

Green 4-4-0s running all the trains, a main line and several straggling branch lines, the rich agricultural land of the north east of Scotland, a cold wind from the North Sea; these are the images which some people conjure up when the Great North of Scotland Railway is mentioned. To others, it is just that small line which ran north from Aberdeen and did not even get to its intended destination of Inverness. All these images have some truth in them, but to many the Great North was a fascinating line which is well worth a second glance. Railway Mania The Company was set up in the railway mania of 1845/46 to build a line from Aberdeen to Inverness. The original plans envisaged a double track line which would have cost £1.5 million – quite a tidy sum in those days and way beyond the means of the people of the area to raise. Several branches were planned at the same time to bring the advantages of railway transport to the whole area. What happened in fact was that the GNS eventually built its line as far as Keith and the rest of the route to Inverness was built by a separate company, later part of the Highland Railway, promoted by the people of Inverness and the surrounding area who would have nothing to do with the Aberdeen folk who promoted the GNSR. Branch Lines Once the main line was open, interest turned to building branches to bring the advantages of rail travel to the other parts o f the north east. Separate companies were set up to build these lines. The GNSR hoped that the capital needed to build these lines would be raised in the areas to be served, but it undertook to operate them on favourable terms. By 1866, branches had been built to Fraserburgh and Peterhead, Alford, Macduff, Banff and Portsoy and Dufftown. From Dufftown, a line had also been built down Speyside linking with the Morayshire Railway at Craigellachie and eventually with the Highland Railway at Boat of Garten. Morayshire Railway The Morayshire Railway was the first line in the north east, originally running just the short distance from Elgin to Lossiemouth. It later extended south to serve the Rothes area. When the Speyside line was opened in 1863, the Great North took over the working of this line. Deeside Railway Another early company operating in the area was the Deeside Railway, which opened to Banchory in 1853 and was later extended on to Aboyne and then Ballater. It had originally been intended to go all the way to Braemar, but the development of Balmoral as the summer home of Queen Victoria kept the terminus at Ballater. Amalgamation In 1866, a major amalgamation scheme was effected, whereby all the branch line companies, with the exception of the Morayshire and Deeside Railways, disappeared. Many of these branch line companies were financially in difficulty. The amalgamation coincided with a major financial crisis in the banking industry; the resulting high interest rates almost bankrupted the GNS itself, but it survived. Creditors were gradually paid off, but the railway had no money for new investment for several years. Growth Prosperity gradually returned. The arrival of a new Chairman, William Ferguson, and a new Manager, William Moffatt, brought renewed vigour to the company in the 1880s. Sections of the main line were doubled, new locomotives and rolling stock were built and the Coast line from Portsoy to Elgin was built. This gave the company a second route to Elgin, in addition to the one via Craigellachie. Trains from Aberdeen often carried three separate portions for Elgin, via Craigellachie, the Coast line and the Highland line from Keith. Further developments in the 1890s finally saw train speeds on the main line increase, with the introduction of express trains for the through traffic to Inverness. The Westinghouse brake and interlocked signalling were gradually introduced after much pressure from the Board of Trade. Apparatus for automatically changing single line tablets was introduced by James Manson, then the locomotive engineer. Bogie coaches were introduced, although 4 and 6 wheeled stock remained in general use until the 1920s. Inverurie Works The Company undertook all its maintenance and some construction at Kittybrewster, but the site here became more and more congested, so in the early 1900s a new works was constructed at Inverurie, complete with staff housing. Locomotives and rolling stock were then constructed there until the grouping. This works survived until 1969 and was well known for its high standard of construction and repairs. Hotels The Company eventually owned three hotels, two in Aberdeen and one on the coast with a golf course at Cruden Bay. Buses The GNS was one of the earliest users of buses as feeder services to the railway lines. Traffic in the summer months was increased by the number of tourists in the area and several tours were run specially for them. Reputation The early management of the company achieved a very poor reputation and almost bankrupted the company in 1866, but gradually it recovered to be one of the more efficient lines. It had to be, due to the low level of traffic: there was little industry and the farming communities spent as little as possible on transport. But it was also an innovator, inventing the first automatic tablet changing apparatus for instance. Most of the lines were single with frequent passing places, but some quite creditable speeds were recorded. Management was ever conscious of costs and kept them under control. From the 1880s onwards, the company produced a respectable although not sparkling dividend for its shareholders. Grouping and after In 1923, the Great North became the Northern Scottish Area of the L&NER. Fairly soon, most management functions were moved south to Edinburgh, but there was little investment so the atmosphere of the old company lingered. Even in BR days, strong GNS traditions survived. Gradually road competition took its toll. Two of the branches lost their passenger services in the 1930s and a further in 1950. Post-Beeching The Beeching Report led to the closure of all the remaining GNSR branches. The GNSR main line remains in use, from Aberdeen to Keith, although the Highland route was preferred to the (longer) GNSR route between Keith and Elgin - and thence onwards to Inverness. The main line is as busy as it ever has been. The timetable was completely reorganised in the 1960s to offer only through trains between Aberdeen and Inverness and this service has increased over the ensuring years as demand has been spurred by oil prosperity and congestion on the parallel roads. Recently, the section between Kittybrewster and Inverurie has been re-doubled and a replacement station is being constructed at Kintore. There is even talk of re-opening a suburban service between Aberdeen and Inverurie. The 21st Century Several abandoned parts of the former GNSR network have been rescued and put to productive railway use. These include:- • Royal Deeside Railway (and Royal Deeside Railway Preservation Society) • Keith & Dufftown Railway • Maud Railway Museum • Ferryhill Trust • Grantown East station building Not much else remains of the Great North. One of the last 4-4-0s, Gordon Highlander, was preserved by British Railways in the late 1950s. It worked specials until 1965 and has since been in the Glasgow Museum of Transport. In addition to former GNSR rolling stock at the Royal Deeside Railway and Ferryhill Trust, one saloon coach and a wagon are preserved at the Scottish Railway Museum at Bo’ness. A few other coaches survive, but the most interesting collection is to be found in the farmyards of Aberdeenshire. Inverurie Works sold off many coach and wagon bodies from the 1920s to the 1960s and a few survive, including several built over 100 years ago. Further information about GNSR and other railways in the Aberdeen area may be found in this article on the Doric Columns website.