Moray Coast Railway (Great North of Scotland Railway)

Introduction

This railway is closed. The railway provided a service from Portsoy on the Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway to Lossie Junction on the Morayshire Railway near Elgin. The Highland Railway built a branch from Keith which joined the Moray Coast Railway at Portessie for Buckie. The line was well served with passing loops at many of the stations.

Why built

The line very much served the farming and fishing communities and harbours of the coast but also carried whisky traffic.






Dates

01/04/1884Moray Coast Railway (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Portsoy [2nd] to Tochieneal opened. Stations opened: Portsoy [2nd], Glassaugh and Tochieneal.
01/04/1884Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway
A new Portsoy [2nd] station opened on the Moray Coast Railway (Great North of Scotland Railway) and old one, Portsoy [1st], closed.
12/08/1885Moray Coast Railway (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Lossie Junction (Morayshire Railway) to Garmouth opened. Stations opened: Calcots, Urquhart and Garmouth.
01/05/1886Moray Coast Railway (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Tochieneal to Garmouth opened. Stations opened: Cullen, Portknockie, Findochty, Portessie [GNSR], Buckie [GNSR], Nether Buckie, Portgordon and Fochabers [GNSR].
01/05/1886Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway Moray Coast Railway (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Cairnie Junction to Grange North Junction curve opened.
01/05/1886Buckie and Portessie Branch (Highland Railway)
Combined Portessie [GNSR] and Portessie [HR] station and junction opened with the opening of the Moray Coast Railway (Great North of Scotland Railway).
  /  /1887Moray Coast Railway (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Nether Buckie renamed Buckpool.
19/07/1887Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway Moray Coast Railway (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Cairnie Junction to Grange North Junction curve authorised retrospectively.
17/01/1898Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway Moray Coast Railway (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Cairnie Junction to Grange North Junction doubled.
20/04/1964Moray Coast Railway (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Lossie Junction (excluded) to Buckie [GNSR] (excluded) closed to freight. (Eastern portion remains open to freight and through route still in passenger use.)
06/05/1968Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway Moray Coast Railway (Great North of Scotland Railway) Morayshire Railway
Elgin East to Buckie [GNSR] to Cairnie Junction closed to passengers.
06/05/1968Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway Moray Coast Railway (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Buckie [GNSR] to Cairnie Junction closed to all traffic. Grange North Junction to Cairnie Junction remained double until the end.

Portions of line and locations

This line is divided into a number of portions.


Portsoy to Lossiemouth

Single track passenger and goods line from Portsoy Harbour Junction to Lossie Junction.



This was a two platform station. The main station building was on the eastbound platform. The station replaced the Portsoy [1st] terminus when the line was extended west to form the Moray Coast Railway.
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Platform side view of the former Portsoy station, closed in 1968 and seen here on 15th June 2019. This opened in 1884 replacing that at the end of the ...
David Bosher 15/06/2019
Portsoy station, platform side, closed with the Moray Coast line on 6th May 1968 and another great loss to the railway network of Scotland, seen here ...
David Bosher 15/06/2019
The second (1884) station at Portsoy looking south west on 23 May 2012. Closed to all rail traffic in 1968, the emblem of the Scouting movement ...
John Furnevel 23/05/2012
The former Portsoy Station in August 2010, now used by the Scouts. The old building is looking a bit run down and in need of refurbishment. A branch ...
John Gray 22/08/2010
4 of 8 images. more


This was a two platform station with a loop on a single track line. The main station building was on the eastbound platform.
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The site of Glassaugh station looking east in 1999, with the eastbound platform still intact and the westbound reduced to a mound. ...
Ewan Crawford //1999
All that remains of Glassaugh Station on the Moray Coast Route. It was a two platform station with a goods yard and a small bay platform. The ...
John Gray 22/10/2009
2 of 2 images.


This was a two platform station with a passing loop on a single track line. The main station building was on the westbound platform. There was a goods yard to the south of the station approached from the east. This had several sidings, a loading bank and goods shed.
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The goods platform at Tochieneal Station a mile and a quarter from Cullen. Although not far from Cullen it was larger with a more extensive goods ...
John Gray 22/10/2009
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This was a single platform station, the platform being on a long gentle curve. The station building was similar to that which survives at Portsoy [2nd]. The goods yard was approached from the south, the lines running north from the point of junction.
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Photograph taken from an Elgin-Aberdeen train, on the spectacular approach to Cullen, in 1965. The locomotive is an NBL Type 2. For those with an ...
Brian Haslehust 18/08/1965
Cullen station, photographed in 1965 from an Elgin - Aberdeen service running via the coast line. A North British Loco Type 2 is at the head of the ...
Brian Haslehust 18/08/1965
Cullen viewed from the goods yard with the passenger station's curving single platform off to the right. View looks south. ...
Alan Norris //1972
Cullen in 1973 when the station building still stood. Passenger station to right and goods yard to left. The view looks south and the viaduct is out ...
Alan Norris //1973
4 of 7 images. more


This disused single track viaduct is immediately west of the former Cullen station. To the west are Cullen Castle Street Viaduct, Cullen North Deskford Street Bridge and Cullen Burn Viaduct.
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The most easterly of several disused railway viaducts on the former Moray coast line, foolishly closed in 1968, across the picturesque seaside town of ...
David Bosher 15/06/2019
Cullen Seafield Street Viaduct, seen over rooftops in the town of Cullen in July 2019.
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Iain Teaz 16/07/2019
Immediately west of Cullen Station was this four arch viaduct which crosses the main road, the only way to get all the arches in the picture was to ...
John Gray 22/10/2009
The old viaduct in Cullen, which crosses the main street in the town. See image 38970 for the view in the opposite direction. ...
Mark Bartlett 03/07/2012
4 of 6 images. more


This single track four arch viaduct is west of Cullen Seafield Street Viaduct and east of Cullen North Deskford Street Bridge and Cullen Burn Viaduct, in that order. The easternmost arch is filled in. ...

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The Great North of Scotland Railway was denied easy access to Cullen as The Earl of Seafield, being a director of the Highland Railway, refused to ...
John Gray 22/10/2009
A disused Moray Coast bridge and one of the town's viaducts that form part of the impressive railway backdrop to the coastline at Cullen. ...
Mark Bartlett 03/07/2012
View looking south over Cullen harbour, former line of railway and its viaducts behind town. ...
Ewan Crawford //
3 of 3 images.


This disused single track bridge is east of Cullen Burn Viaduct and west of Cullen Castle Street Viaduct and Cullen Seafield Street Viaduct. ...

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Or Seatown Viaduct. This is a disused single track stone viaduct to the west of Cullen station and Cullen Seafield Street Viaduct.
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The old Moray coast line at Cullen, opened in 1886 and closed in 1968, on 15th June 2019. What a magnificent ride by train this route must have been. ...
David Bosher 15/06/2019
The Great North of Scotland Railway operated the Moray Coast Line between Elgin and Portsoy and onwards to Aberdeen. The line closed in 1968 but the ...
John Gray 10/07/2022
The surviving and rather impressive Cullen Burn Viaduct, which once routed the Moray
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Iain Teaz 16/07/2019
The impressive viaduct at the west end of Cullen looking towards Portknockie. The eight arch viaduct crosses the main A98, a slip road to the beach ...
John Gray 22/10/2009
4 of 14 images. more


This was a two platform station, with a passing loop, on a single track line. The platforms were slightly staggered. the main station building was on the eastbound (town side) station.
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Start of the section of Moray cycle track heading east along the former trackbed towards Cullen, seen from the A942 on the south edge of Portknockie ...
David Pesterfield 26/06/2010
Portknockie station in 1972, four years after closure of the line. For those who are local the Thames Trader furniture van is Anderson & England, an ...
Ian Millar //1972
2 of 2 images.


This was a single platform station just to the south of Findochty and its Broad Haven. The platform was on the north side of the single track.
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A somewhat battered family photograph showing Findochty station. The view looks west. The site has been obliterated and is now houses. ...
Ewan Crawford Collection //
1 of 1 images.


This was a double track junction to the east of the Portessie [GNSR] and Portessie [HR] station where the lines from their Buckie [GNSR] and Buckie [HR], respectively, met.
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See also
Buckie and Portessie Branch (Highland Railway)


This was a three platform station which was built at the expense of the Great North of Scotland Railway. Two platforms, owned by the GNoSR were at the east end of a loop which ran west to Buckie [GNSR].
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Photographed at the former Portessie station with sounds of the sea in the background? Would be nice but unfortunately the station is gone without ...
David Panton 09/03/2021
Looking east at Portessie in 1997. From left to right - GNSR eastbound, GNSR westbound, HR platform (mostly concealed by undergrowth). The station ...
Ewan Crawford //1997
The mid afternoon Elgin-Cairnie Junction DMU waits to cross an Aberdeen-Elgin DMU at Portessie on 2nd May 1968. ...
David Spaven 02/05/1968
3 of 3 images.


This was a two platform station. The main station building, stone built, was on the eastbound platform. The presented a single storey to the platforms and two stories to the north side. There was a Great North of Scotland Railway style timber building on the westbound platform.
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The bridge that carried the Moray Coast line over the Burn of Buckie, located between Buckpool and Buckie stations looking east to Buckie in August ...
Brian Taylor 25/08/2012
Looking east over the former Buckie station. ...
Ewan Crawford //
View east at the site once occupied by Buckie Station, looking over the former goods yard in August 2010. The location is now used as a storage area ...
John Gray 22/08/2010
Closure notice at Buckie, photographed on 2nd May 1968 - signalling the end was nigh in just a few days for both passenger and freight trains on the ...
David Spaven 02/05/1968
4 of 11 images. more


This was a single platform station, the platform on the north side of the line. It gave the appearance of a two platform station as there was a loading bank on the south side, served by a siding from the west which was later looped. The loading bank's southern face and a goods shed were served by sidings from the west end of the station.
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Dismantled bridge on former Moray coast line at Buckpool, just west of Buckie, on 15th June 2019. The line here opened on 1st May 1886 along with ...
David Bosher 15/06/2019
The footbridge at Buckpool in 1997, looking east along the former Moray Coast line towards Buckie. ...
Ewan Crawford //1997
The old footbridge over the trackbed just east of the Buckpool station site. Still in use and load/deflecton tested by the photographer in August 2012 ...
Brian Taylor 26/08/2012
In need of refurbishment, the half footbridge east of the site of Buckpool station (of which nothing remains) on the Moray Coast line, seen here on 22 ...
John Gray 22/08/2010
4 of 5 images. more


This was a single platform station with the platform on the south side of the line. The building was a typical GNSR wooden design.
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View looking west across the former Portgordon station. ...
Ewan Crawford //
The site of Portgordon station, looking east towards Buckpool and Buckie, in August 2010. Half of the site is now occupied by the local bowling club. ...
John Williamson 05/08/2010
At the east end of Portgordon the Moray Coast railway and the road came together. This view looks west towards the village in July 2012 along the ...
Mark Bartlett 03/07/2012
A minor overbridge, in very good condition, just west of Portgordon, looking east towards Buckie in August 2012. This part of the old trackbed between ...
Brian Taylor 26/08/2012
4 of 5 images. more


This was a two platform station. The main station building, on the eastbound platform, survives and has been restored.
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View looking east at the former Spey Bay station. ...
Ewan Crawford //
Spey Bay looking east. ...
Ian Dinmore //
Since my last visit a few years ago, the former Spey Bay Station has been refurbished and looks like new in December 2013. The grounds have been ...
John Gray 04/12/2013
Spey Bay survives under private ownership, but could do with a lick of paint! ...
John Williamson 15/02/2009
4 of 7 images. more


This single track viaduct is out of use, now used as a footpath. The bridge crossed the River Spey close to its mouth between the former Garmouth and Spey Bay stations. Also known as the Garmouth Viaduct or Spey Viaduct. The viaduct has three sections: a central 350ft bowstring approached on either side by three 100ft plain truss girders. The overall length is 947.5 ft.
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Spey Viaduct looking west 2 - Oct 2005. ...
John Furnevel /10/2005
Built by the Great North of Scotland Railway,Spey Bay Viaduct was completed in 1886 as part of the Moray Coast line.The viaduct is 950 ft. long with ...
John Gray 02/05/2018
Built by the Great North of Scotland Railway,Spey Bay Viaduct was completed in 1886 as part of the Moray Coast line.The viaduct is 950 ft. long with ...
John Gray 02/05/2018
Spey Bay Viaduct looking east towards Portgordon, 14/10/05. ...
John Gray 14/10/2005
4 of 10 images. more


This was a two platform station with a passing loop on a single track line. The main station building was on the eastbound platform, the town side platform.
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View looking west at Garmouth station. ...
Ewan Crawford //
Originally thought to have been Port Gordon, a number of people have kindly pointed out my error. With a little assistance from a video of the Moray ...
John McIntyre 01/04/1973
2 of 2 images.


This was a single platform station with a goods yard on its south side, approached from the west.
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Looking west at the former Urquhart station. ...
Ewan Crawford //
1 of 1 images.


This was a two platform station with a passing loop on a single line. The main station building was on the eastbound platform.
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View looking north at Calcots station, broadside to the platform. ...
Ewan Crawford //
1 of 1 images.


This junction was just north of Elgin. This is where the Moray Coast Railway (Great North of Scotland Railway) met the older Morayshire Railway at a junction giving access to Elgin [East].
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See also
Morayshire Railway
View looks east towards Buckie over Lossie Junction. ...
Ewan Crawford //
1 of 1 images.





Cairnie to Grange Curve

This short double track passenger and goods curve ran from Cairnie Junction to Grange North Junction. It allowed trains from Aberdeen and the east to take the coast line to approach Elgin [East].

This was an exchange station. The main line remains open here but is now a single track with little hint of the former station. A platelayers hut remains, this was south of the station on the west side of the line. The track is the former westbound line, the eastbound being lifted. The kink of the line round the station has been straightened.
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See also
Great North of Scotland Railway
An NBL Type 2 arrives at Cairnie Junction from the coast line with an Elgin-Aberdeen train in 1965. A quick glance at the semaphores might not have ...
Brian Haslehust 10/08/1965
A Cravens DMU after arrival at Cairnie Junction with a service from Elgin via Craigellachie in 1964. The destination blind has already been changed ...
Brian Haslehust 31/08/1964
On the face of it, a quiet summer afternoon at Cairnie Junction in 1964. Not so, however. The Cravens DMU arrived a few minutes earlier from Elgin via ...
Brian Haslehust 31/08/1964
An Elgin-Aberdeen train via the coast route, arriving at Cairnie Junction in 1964, behind an NBL Type 2. The train is about to cross to the main ...
Brian Haslehust 31/08/1964
4 of 11 images. more


This was one of the junctions of the triangular junction former between the Great North of Scotland Railway and the Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway, the other junctions being Grange Junction (to the west) and Grange South Junction (later Cairnie Junction) to the south. Grange North was actually in the east but was clearly named for the distinction from the south junction.
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See also
Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway
Looking south at the former Grange North Junction. ...
Ewan Crawford //
1 of 1 images.