Portknockie railway station

Portknockie railway station was a railway station that served the small fishing village of Portknockie, close to Cullen in Moray. The railway station was opened by the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) on its Moray Firth coast line in 1886, served by Aberdeen to Elgin trains.

Portknockie
LocationPortknockie, Moray
Scotland
Coordinates57.701925°N 2.864259°W / 57.701925; -2.864259
Grid referenceNJ 48589 68341
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Pre-groupingGreat North of Scotland Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
1 May 1886Great North of Scotland station opened[1]
6 May 1968[1]Closed

In 1923, the GNoSR became part of the London and North Eastern Railway and at nationalisation in 1948 became part of British Railways. The line was recommended for closure by Dr Beeching's report "The Reshaping of British Railways" and closed on 6 May 1968.

History

Background

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.[2] 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.

Great North of Scotland Railway

The GNoSR station opened as 'Portknockie' on 1 May 1886[1] with the central section of the coast line, served by through Aberdeen to Elgin trains.[3] In 1923, the Great North of Scotland Railway was absorbed by the London and North Eastern Railway. This was nationalised in 1948, and services were provided by British Railways. The station and line was recommended for closure by Dr Beeching's in his report "The Reshaping of British Railways"[4] and closed on 6 May 1968.[5][6]

Services

The GNoSR station was served by through trains running between Aberdeen and Elgin.[3] There were no Sunday services.[7]

The station infrastructure

Portknockie station had a single platform with the typical wooden station building,[8] a passing loop and two platforms that were offset, connected by a pedestrian overbridge.[8] The 1902 OS map shows a signal box on the end of the Findochty platform and another on the Cullen end of the other platform, a weighing machine in the goods yard, a single siding and a loading dock in line with the village side platform and a station agent's or stationmaster's cottage near the entrance to the station.[9] In 1930 one signal box had been removed.[10]

The line was predominantly single track apart from a double track section between Buckie and Portessie.[6] Track lifting took place shortly after closure in 1968.[6]

Station remnants

The station was demolished and houses now occupy the site.[11]

Moray Coast Ride

Much of the trackbed of the old railway now forms the Sustrans Moray Cycle Route.[11][12]

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Findochty   Great North of Scotland   Cullen

References

Footnotes
  1. Butt 1995, p. 189.
  2. Barclay-Harvey 1950, pp. 92–93.
  3. Vallance 1991, p. 95.
  4. Beeching 1963a, p. 125
    Beeching 1963b, map 9
  5. Butt 1995, p. 47.
  6. Maxtone 2005, p. 3.
  7. "Passenger Timetable: Scottish Region". British Railways. May 1948. Table 150. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  8. Maxtone 2005, p. 37.
  9. Banffshire, Sheet 002.04. Publication date: 1904. Revised: ca. 1902
  10. Banffshire, Sheet 002.04. Publication date: 1930. Revised: ca. 1903
  11. RailScot
  12. Moray Coast Ride

Sources
  • 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)
  • 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)
  • 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)
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