Denburn Valley Line (Great North of Scotland Railway)

Introduction

This short line, which is open today, linked the Aberdeen Railway (then part of the Scottish North Eastern Railway) to the Great North of Scotland Railway. It replaced an unsatisfactory horse drawn street tramway which ran by the docks from Aberdeen Guild Street to Aberdeen Waterloo (both of which were to close having been replaced by Aberdeen Joint). The tramway was in use from 1856 to 1867. Building of the line required the piping of the Den Burn (between [[Schoolhill and Aberdeen Joint) and much of the line ran in cuttings and tunnels. North of Aberdeen Joint it was double track throughout. Denburn South Junction to Aberdeen Joint was owned by the Scottish North Eastern Railway. Aberdeen Joint to Kittybrewster [2nd] was owned by the Great North of Scotland Railway.






Dates

23/06/1864Aberdeen Joint (Caledonian Railway)Denburn Valley Line (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Denburn Valley line to connect the Great North of Scotland Railway at Kittybrewster [2nd] to the Scottish North Eastern Railway (from 1866 Caledonian Railway) at Aberdeen Guild Street authorised. South of the new Aberdeen Joint will be SNER owned and north will be GNSR owned. The Deeside Railway is authorised to use the station, details to be agreed.
04/11/1867Aberdeen Joint (Caledonian Railway) Denburn Valley Line (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Kittybrewster [2nd] to Aberdeen Joint to Denburn Junction opened. Aberdeen Joint and Kittybrewster [2nd] were both new stations on the new Denburn line. Aberdeen Waterloo, Aberdeen Guild Street and Kittybrewster [1st] station were to close.
04/08/1868Aberdeen Joint (Caledonian Railway) Denburn Valley Line (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Agreement made between Caledonian Railway and Great North of Scotland Railway for use of Aberdeen Joint station.
  /  /1889Denburn Valley Line (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Schoolhill station and viaduct built.
  /  /1893Denburn Valley Line (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Schoolhill station opened.
  /  /1910Denburn Valley Line (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Station Hotel acquired by the Great North of Scotland Railway.
  /  /1913Denburn Valley Line (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Re-construction of Aberdeen Joint begins.
  /  /1916Denburn Valley Line (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Aberdeen Joint complete.
  /  /1937Deeside Railway Aberdeen Joint (Caledonian Railway) Denburn Valley Line (Great North of Scotland Railway) Great North of Scotland Railway
Local Aberdeen Suburban service withdrawn. Deeside - Millitimber, Murtle, Bieldside, West Cults, Pitfodels Halt, Ruthrieston, Holborn Street closed. Denburn - Schoolhill and Hutcheon Street closed. GNSR main line - Don Street, Woodside, Persley Halt, Bankhead, Stoneywood closed.
  /  /1952Denburn Valley Line (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Aberdeen Joint renamed Aberdeen.
  /  /1977Denburn Valley Line (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Schoolhill station demolished.
  /  /1978Denburn Valley Line (Great North of Scotland Railway)
New travel centre opened at Aberdeen station.

Portions of line and locations

This line is divided into a number of portions.


Aberdeen to Kittybrewster

This is a station with five public platforms. It opened as Aberdeen Joint - jointly owned by the Scottish North Eastern Railway to the south and the Great North of Scotland Railway to the north. The two lines met at Denburn Junction within the station. It replaced terminal stations at Aberdeen Guild Street and Aberdeen Waterloo respectively. A poor horse-drawn street tramway link ...

More details

See also
Aberdeen Joint (Caledonian Railway)
55009 'Alycidon' hums away at Aberdeen on 23rd June 1980. I had travelled up from Edinburgh on the 0855 departure and 55009 worked the 1240 service ...
Roger Geach 23/06/1980
70816, with cement tanks for Workington Dock, is held at a signal to allow two departures from Aberdeen to go ahead of it. The first was a HST for ...
Mark Bartlett 25/10/2023
26024 waits at Aberdeen, with a service for Inverness, on 23rd June 1981. ...
Roger Geach 23/06/1981
The YMCA 'Collecting Shell' looking good at Aberdeen station on 18th April 2023. ...
John Yellowlees 18/04/2023
4 of 275 images. more


This is a closed station north of Aberdeen. It was a station and the ticket platform for Aberdeen.
...

More details
The new pavilions are taking shape on the upper levels of the Union Terrace Gardens. The winter storms had evidently knocked over one mature tree. The ...
Charlie Niven 24/03/2022
A quick grab shot of 70813, between Hutcheon Street and Schoolhill tunnel, heading towards Aberdeen station on 28th May 2021.
...
Duncan Ross 28/05/2021
A train from Elgin photographed approaching its destination at Aberdeen on 19 April 1954. Black 5 4-6-0 no 45488 has just run through the platforms of ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 19/04/1954
One of Kittybrewster shed's smartly turned out B1s seen shortly after leaving Aberdeen for Inverness on 11 August 1954. 61349 is passing the platforms ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 11/08/1954
4 of 11 images. more


The line is presently single track. To the north, at Berryden Junction, it has been redoubled through to Inverurie (2019) and to the south, at Aberdeen, the line is double. The tunnel was built to accommodate a double track. It is 250 yards long.
...

More details


This was built as a double track tunnel between Hutcheon Street station and Schoolhill station. The tunnel is 280 yards long.
...

More details


This was a two platform station in a deep cutting to the north of Hutcheon Street. There was a short lived signal box. To the south the Hutcheon Street Tunnel took the line south towards Schoolhill and Aberdeen. North the line continued to Kittybrewster [2nd]. A surface level building remains on the west side of the cutting on Hutcheon Street.
...

More details
The rather neat little station building of Hutcheon Street (closed 1937) looks a little out of place among the ubiquitous granite of Aberdeen. Space ...
David Panton 02/10/2019
1 of 1 images.


Approaching from the south, 70816 is held at the signal waiting to go into Kittybrewster for the 'Run Around' then down to Waterloo. Taken from the ...
Duncan Ross 07/04/2021
Aberdeen Ferryhill's A2 Pacific 60525 'A H Peppercorn' brings West Coast Postal coaches up to Kittybrewster for turning, in preparation for the ...
Robin McGregor //1961
158721 enters the single line section through the closed Hutcheon Street Station, with Berryden Junction in the background, on 11th February 2020.
...
Bill Roberton 11/02/2020
The view south from Powis Terrace towards Aberdeen. This part is double track but it drops to single before reaching Aberdeen itself. ...
Duncan Ross /08/2018
4 of 7 images. more


This was the short lived Aberdeen terminus of the Great North of Scotland Railway. Kittybrewster was to the north of the city and was never intended to be the terminus. It closed with the opening of the Aberdeen Waterloo Extension (Great North of Scotland Railway). The location was close to today's road bridge. Nothing remains of this station. To the west of the station was a goods shed ...

More details

See also
Great North of Scotland Railway


This two platform through station was opened with the Denburn Valley Line (Great North of Scotland Railway). It replaced Kittybrewster [1st], which was to its immediate east and located on the Aberdeen Waterloo branch. The line was opened as a double track between Denburn Junction and Kittybrewster Junction in 1867.
...

More details

See also
Great North of Scotland Railway
GNSR 49 at Kittybrewster on SLS-RCTS-tour 61308 1847 to Inverness. ...
David Murray-Smith 13/06/1960
On 28th July 1964, preserved GNSR no. 49 'Gordon Highlander' passes Kittybrewster, on its way to the naming ceremony of its Deltic namesake D9016, due ...
Robin McGregor 28/07/1964
The view north from Powis Terrace showing the new layout for the Waterloo branch and the doubled track. ...
Duncan Ross /08/2018
158705 passes Kittybrewster Junction, with a local service from Inverurie to Arbroath, on 11th February 2020. The Waterloo branch and run-round loop ...
Bill Roberton 11/02/2020
4 of 17 images. more




This yard was located to the east of Kittybrewster [2nd] station. It was served from the north. A loop came off the main line to the south of the station and rejoined at Kittybrewster Junction north of the station. This crossed the Aberdeen Waterloo line to the south of the station.
...

More details

See also
Great North of Scotland Railway
GNSR D40 4-4-0 62275 Sir David Stewart about to pass what was then its home shed at Kittybrewster with a special train for Macduff on Saturday ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 07/07/1951
Kittybrewster, a general view from the south in 1957. This shows the marshalling sidings. Off to the left is the line down to Waterloo, the station ...
David Murray-Smith //1957
Shunting at Kittybrewster on 17 July 1950. The locomotive is ex-GNSR D41 4-4-0 no 62232. ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 17/07/1950
3 of 3 images.


This junction was located north of Aberdeen Kittybrewster, Kittybrewster [1st] and Kittybrewster [2nd] station. It was initially formed, in 1856, as a junction between the original main line of the Great North of Scotland Railway and the Aberdeen Waterloo Extension (Great North of Scotland Railway), 19 chains north of the original terminus Aberdeen Kittybrewster, which ...

More details

See also
Great North of Scotland Railway
Aberdeen Waterloo Extension (Great North of Scotland Railway)
A resplendent looking COLAS 70807 at Kittybrewster, captured with a wide angle setting on its way to Irvine, with 6B38 on 27th November 2020. The loco ...
Duncan Ross 27/11/2020
Freightliner 66 on a ballast train at Kittybrewster on 11th August 2019.
...
Duncan Ross 11/08/2019
The view south from St Machar Drive showing Kittybrewster Junction. ...
Duncan Ross /08/2018
There was no redoubling activity at Inverurie or Kintore on 11th August 2019, but plenty at Kittybrewster.
...
Duncan Ross 11/08/2019
4 of 13 images. more