Portessie railway station

The station was opened by the Highland Railway in 1884 to serve the village of Portessie and had a short life with services being suspended during World War I on 9 August 1915[6] and the rails south of Buckie removed as far as Aultmore, although it was the intention to reinstate the track and restart services when the war ended. The central section of the line was still without track in 1923,[7] when the Highland Railway was absorbed by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). After this amalgamation the track between Buckie and Aultmore was relaid, however services were not restarted and the track removed again[8] in around 1937.[9]

The separated stub from Buckie to Portessie survived until 1944 in isolation from the rest of the, by then, London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) system.

Work had begun on the Keith to Portessie line of the Highland Railway on 7 November 1882. Wartime economies led to closure of the line on 9 August 1915 and in 1917 the track between Aultmore (towards Keith) and Portessie was requisitioned by the Admiralty.[10] The north and south sections of line were re-opened by 1919, but the Aultomore to Buckie section (passing through Drybridge, Enzie and Rathven) was never re-opened and the track was again lifted circa 1937.[10]

The construction of the GNoSR Moray coast route had "effectively doomed the Highland route. Westbound journeys were shorter via the GNSR, and although the route to Aberdeen was longer, the Moray Coast Railway had services that were faster, more frequent and more convenient, with through trains running from Elgin, along the coast and to Aberdeen. As a rather straggly branch line, the Highland route struggled to compete, and the population between Buckie and Keith was too sparse to provide much additional traffic."[5]

Buckie and Portessie Branch (Highland Railway)
Overview Locale Scotland Dates of operation 1 August 1884–31 December 1922 Successor London Midland and Scottish Railway Technical Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Portessie Junction Moray Coast Railway Portessie Buckie Rathven Drybridge Platform Enzie Aultmore 1: Keith West Junction 2: Keith East Junction 1 2 Inverness & Aberdeen Junction Railway Keith Junction   Keith and Dufftown Railway

In 1881 the Great North of Scotland Railway put a bill to parliament to extend its Portsoy line along the Moray Firth as far as Buckie.[11] In 1882 the Great North of Scotland applied for permission to build a 25 ¹⁄₄-mile (40.6 km) line from Portsoy following the coast to Buckie and then running on to Elgin.

In 1923 the Great North of Scotland Railway was absorbed by the London and North Eastern Railway and this company was nationalised in 1948, and services provided by British Railways. The station and line was recommended for closure by Dr Beeching's in his report "The Reshaping of British Railways"[12] and closed on 6 May 1968.[13][14]

The station was host to a LNER camping coach in 1935 and 1936 and possibly one for some of 1934, there were two coaches here from 1937 to 1939.[15] A camping coach was also positioned here by the Scottish Region from 1952 to 1963.[16]

The GNoSR station was served by through trains running between Aberdeen and Elgin.[17] There were no Sunday services.[18]

The station had an island platform with a station building that it shared with the GNoSR.[19] The HR had a two bay engine shed, a water tower, a turntable and two exchange sidings. A signal box was originally located on the island platform and a run round or passing loop was present.[20][4] Following the cessation of passenger services the signal box was closed and one bay was removed from the engine shed. The two lines ran parallel for a short distance before entering the station.[21]

The station was designed by Murdoch Paterson who also designed the station itself.[22][23]

The GNoSR station had two platforms and as stated it shared an island platform with the Highland Railways branch to Keith. The station had a passing loop, a signal box, a wooden station building, a loading bank with two sidings and a London and North Eastern Railway style pedestrian overbridge.[20][24]

• Beeching, Richard (1963). The Reshaping of British Railways (PDF). HMSO.
• Beeching, Richard (1963). The Reshaping of British Railways (maps) (PDF). HMSO.
• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Barclay-Harvey, Malcolm (1950). A History of the Great North of Scotland Railway. Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-2592-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Historic Environment Scotland. "Drybridge, Old Highland Railway Bridge  (Category C Listed Building) (LB50114)". Retrieved 28 March 2019.
• McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.
• McRae, Andrew (1998). British Railways Camping Coach Holidays: A Tour of Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part Two). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-53-3.
• Maxtone, G.R. (2005). The Railways of the Banff & Moray Coast. Keith & Dufftown Railway Association. ISBN 0-9547346-1-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• RAILSCOT on Buckie and Portessie Branch
• Vallance, H.A.; Clinker, C.R. (1971). The Highland Railway. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-330-02720-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Vallance, H. A. (27 June 1991). Great North of Scotland Railway. The History of the Railways of the Scottish Highlands Vol. 3. David St John Thomas. ISBN 978-0-946537-60-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)