Dundee and Forfar Direct Railway

Introduction

This line is closed. The line is also known as the Dundee and Forfar Direct Line and was opened by the Caledonian Railway in 1870.

A railway between Dundee East and Forfar [2nd], via Arbroath and Guthrie, already existed but the route was considerably longer than the new line. The route taken had a low population but passed through good farmed countryside. The chief engineering feature was the Dighty Water Viaduct, near Broughty Ferry, which still stands. Due to the constraints of the site at its southern end the line flew over the coastal main line before meeting it at a junction in the east of Broughty Ferry.

It was closed to passengers in 1955 and severed at Forfar in 1958 to become a long goods and minerals only branch from Broughty Ferry. The line closed in 1967.

Much of the route is ploughed out.






Locations along the line

These locations are along the line.

To the west were lines to (from north to south):
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See also
Dundee and Arbroath Railway
The Forfar direct line left the Dundee & Arbroath on the 'wrong', southern side and climbed before swinging over it at Barnhill [Angus]. This was ...
David Panton 13/11/2019
View west along the D&A towards Broughty Junction in 1996. The abutments supported the bridge that, until 1967, carried the Caledonian direct line to ...
Ewan Crawford //1996
2 of 2 images.


This was a single platform station, the first north from Broughty Ferry on the direct line to Forfar [2nd]. The station building was of the same style as Kingennie and Kirkbuddo.
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A view south from the road bridge beyond (one block north east) the north end of Barnhill station. Unfortunately the station site was obliterated ...
Ewan Crawford //1996
1 of 1 images.


This siding was on the line to Forfar [2nd] from Broughty Ferry (Balmossie station is on the coast line). It was just south west of Dighty Water Viaduct making a connection facing Broughty Ferry, the siding being on the south/east side of the line. Originally the siding split in two, but latterly was cut back a little and was a single siding. A road from the coast served the ...

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This is a disused single track seven arch viaduct in the north east of Broughty Ferry. A listed. It carried the direct line from Broughty Ferry to Forfar North Junction. (Also known as the Balmossie Viaduct.) The viaduct is 393 ft long overall and 78 ft high.
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This was a two platform station with a passing loop. The main station building was on the northbound platform. The station building was of the same style as Barnhill (Angus) and Kirkbuddo.
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Side view of the former station building at Kingennie in 1996. The platform was on the other side. This view is no longer possible as houses have been ...
Ewan Crawford //1996
1 of 1 images.


This was a timber halt built beside Gagie Goods Station.
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The site of Gagie Halt seen in 1996. There was a siding here as well as the timber platform. The view looks north. ...
Ewan Crawford //1996
1 of 1 images.


This quarry branch was served from a loop on the single track line. There were several sidings internal to the quarry.
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This was a single platform station, with the platform on the south side of the line. The station opened in 1872, two years after the line. The station building was of the same style as that at Kingsmuir - brick ends, timber glazed section in the middle and a single sloping back roof above.
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Monikie ...
Bruce Dunn //
Monikie ...
Bruce Dunn //
A 1996 view east over the remains of the single platform at Monikie. ...
Ewan Crawford //1996
Monikie ...
Bruce Dunn //
4 of 6 images. more


This was a two platform station with a passing loop on a single track railway. The station house was on the northbound platform and there was a waiting room on each platform. The station building was of the same style as Barnhill (Angus) and Kirkbuddo.
...

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View north from near Kirkbuddo showing the very straight alignment to Forfar. ...
Ewan Crawford 18/07/2023
View south to Kirkbuddo from what was the summit of the line. The large turbine, near Greenhillock, can be seen for many miles. ...
Ewan Crawford 18/07/2023
This telegraph pole was one of only two I found still standing between Kirkbuddo and Forfar. Telegraph poles were on the south / east side of the ...
Ewan Crawford 18/07/2023
View south towards the former Kirkbuddo station and, ultimately, Broughty Ferry. A day of regular light showers. Some blurring applied for privacy. ...
Ewan Crawford 18/07/2023
4 of 5 images. more


This was a single platform station to the north of a road overbridge and located in a deep cutting. The platform was on the east side of the line. The station building was of the same style as that at Monikie - brick ends, timber glazed section in the middle and a single sloping back roof above. The location of the station was not convenient for the village, being about a mile away to the ...

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View north over the site of Kingsmuir station. The station was in a cutting with the single line on the left and platform on the right hand side. The ...
Ewan Crawford 18/07/2023
View north from Kingsmuir (the village, not the station) to Forfar. The station itself was about half a mile south. The nearer portion of line is a ...
Ewan Crawford 18/07/2023
Looking north to Kingmuir Goods (clump of trees to right of former line), beyond which was the passenger station and the village itself. ...
Ewan Crawford 18/07/2023
A masonry bridge between Mossside and East Mains, south of Kingsmuir. View from the east side. ...
Ewan Crawford 18/07/2023
4 of 9 images. more


At Forfar North Junction the routes west to Forfar [1st] (Playfield) and Perth diverged and the routes east to Aberdeen and Broughty Ferry diverged. The Arbroath and Forfar Railway (arriving here in 1839), Scottish Midland Junction Railway (1848) and Dundee and Forfar Direct Railway (1870) met here.
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See also
Arbroath and Forfar Railway
Scottish Midland Junction Railway
View north above the Forfar-Broughty Ferry line looking to Forfar North Junction. The Arbroath and Forfar Railway is on the right. ...
Ewan Crawford 18/07/2023
View looking south on the line approaching Forfar from Broughty Ferry showing the base of a signal, just under a mile south of the junction. ...
Ewan Crawford 18/07/2023
View south of the line about a mile south of Forfar North Junction. A quarry encroaches on the tracked (note private quarry road passing under the ...
Ewan Crawford 18/07/2023
This long bridge crossed over the Strathmore Main Line east of Forfar station. The view looks east, away from the station, towards Forfar North ...
Ewan Crawford //1996
4 of 14 images. more