Crieff and Methven Junction Railway

Introduction

This line is closed. It was a single track line which in 1866 extended the 1858 Perth and Almond Valley Junction Railway west to reach Crieff [1st]. Methven, the terminus of the extended line, was left on a short branch and a new exchange station opened Methven Junction where the lines met.

Another line had previously opened to Crieff [1st], the 1856 Crieff Junction Railway which approached from a station now known as Gleneagles. The companies shared the terminus until its replacement with Crieff [2nd] when the line was extended further west to Comrie in 1893 by the Crieff and Comrie Railway. All three lines in Crieff had their own locomotive sheds, east of the stations.

Perth to Crieff [2nd] (excluded) was one of many closures to passengers in Scotland in 1951, but the line remained for goods. In 1964 the Gleneagles to Crieff [2nd] and Comrie line closed to passengers and completely. Crieff [1st] was now the terminus of a goods line running from Perth. It survived until 1967.






Dates

  /  /1864Crieff and Methven Junction Railway
Act receives Royal assent. The Scottish North Eastern Railway is given running powers.
  /  /1865Crieff Junction Railway Crieff and Methven Junction Railway
Junction agreed between the existing Crieff Junction Railway and new Crieff and Methven Junction Railway. The lines were to run parallel for some distance before reaching Crieff East Signalbox.
21/05/1866Crieff and Methven Junction Railway
Opened. Stations Methven Junction, Balgowan, Madderty, Abercairney, Innerpeffray opened.
01/01/1869Crieff and Methven Junction RailwayCaledonian Railway
Crieff and Methven Junction Railway absorbed by Caledonian Railway.
21/04/1892Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Railway Crieff and Methven Junction Railway
Methven Junction signal box opened.
22/04/1892Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Railway
Crieff and Methven Junction Railway
Signal boxes opened at Almondbank, Madderty and Innerpeffray.
01/10/1951Crieff and Methven Junction Railway
Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Railway
Perth (Almond Valley Junction) (excluded) to Crieff [2nd] (excluded) closed to passengers. Stations Ruthven Road, Almondbank, Tibbermuir, Methven Junction, Balgowan, Madderty, Abercairney, Innerpeffray closed.
01/10/1951Crieff and Methven Junction Railway
Innerpeffray closed to goods.
25/01/1965Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Railway
Crieff and Methven Junction Railway
Almondbank and Madderty closed to goods. Methven Junction closed to parcels.
11/09/1967Crieff and Methven Junction Railway
Crieff [1st] to Perth Inveralmond Distillery (excluded) closed to freight. Crieff [1st] and Balgowan closed to goods.

Portions of line and locations

This line is divided into a number of portions.


Methven Junction to Crieff

This was a single track line with passing places at Methven Junction and Madderty.

This was a three platform station with up and down platforms on the Crieff [2nd] to Perth line and a single platform for the branch This was an exchange platform station. The lines meeting here were single track.
...

More details

See also
Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Railway


This was a one platform station on the single track line. There was a timber station building on the platform, on the south side of the line.
...

More details
The former crossing keepers cottage at Balgowan on the Perth - Crieff line, seen looking south in the summer of 2007. The route west from Methven ...
John Furnevel 12/07/2007
The crossing keeper's cottage at Balgowan viewed from the north in 1995. Although the station site, away to the left, is surrounded by new housing it ...
Ewan Crawford //1995
The old crossing keeper's cottage at Balgowan on 12 July 2007 looking north. Located midway along the former line between Crieff and Perth, Balgowan ...
John Furnevel 12/07/2007
3 of 3 images.


This was a two platform station with a passing loop. The main station building was on the westbound platform and a waiting room on the eastbound. A footbridge connecting the platforms just east of both buildings. The station's signal box (1892) was at the east end of the eastbound platform.
...

More details
Entrance to the 1866 station at Madderty, Perthshire, on a July day in 2007. The station closed to passengers in 1951, with the Perth - Crieff line ...
John Furnevel 12/07/2007
The former Madderty station between Perth and Crieff in July 2007 following conversion to private residential accommodation. View is south east from ...
John Furnevel 12/07/2007
54485 pausing westbound at Madderty with the 1960 RCTS/SLS Joint Scottish Tour. ...
WA Camwell (Copyright Stephenson Locomotive Society) 15/06/1960
NBR 256 Glen Douglas makes a photostop at the closed Madderty station on 23 April 1962. The locomotive was on its way from Methven Junction to ...
David Stewart 23/04/1962
4 of 5 images. more


This was a single platform station. The platform was to the north of the line and there was a large station house. Two goods loops were to the south of the running line, passing round a loading bank. There were two sidings, one approached from the west forming a bay in the loading bank, and a second to the south of the loops which was approached from the east.
...

More details
View east of Abercairny station in 1995. The goods yard was on the right side. ...
Ewan Crawford //1995
Abercairny platform and house. The line closed to passengers in 1951. The noted 'Abercairny Highlanders', a volunteer army which fought in the Boer ...
Brian Forbes 15/10/2006
54485 stops at Abercairny with the westbound 1960 RCTS/SLS Joint Scottish Tour heading for Comrie via Crieff. ...
WA Camwell (Copyright Stephenson Locomotive Society) 15/06/1960
3 of 3 images.


This was a single platform station with the platform on the north side of a goods loop. There were goods sidings on the south side, approached from the east.
...

More details
A westbound 54485 pauses at Innerpeffray, to the south east of Crieff, on the RCTS/SLS Joint Scottish Rail Tour on 15 June 1960. The special was on ...
WA Camwell (Copyright Stephenson Locomotive Society) 15/06/1960
1 of 1 images.




This chemical works was east of Crieff [2nd] on the line to Perth. It was to the immediate north of a loop siding on the north side of the line.
...

More details


This signal box controlled the junction between several lines. To the east were the lines from Gleneagles (opened 1856), Perth (opened 1866), the reversing spur for Crieff Goods (originally Crieff [1st] of 1856) and the reversing spur for Crieff Sheds and further goods sidings. To the west it controlled the approach to Crieff Goods and the line through Crieff [2nd] ...

More details

See also
Crieff and Comrie Railway
Crieff Junction Railway