Morayshire Railway

Introduction

This railway is closed. The railway provided a service from Lossiemouth to Elgin [GNSR] and from Elgin [GNSR] to Craigellachie [2nd] where connection was made with the Strathspey Railway. A connection existed between Rothes and Orton on the Highland Railway. At Lossie Junction the Morayshire Railway was joined by the Moray Coast Railway (Great North of Scotland Railway).






Dates

16/07/1846Morayshire Railway
Act receives Royal assent. Authorised from Lossiemouth to Elgin [GNSR] and from Orton to Craigellachie.
10/07/1850Morayshire Railway
Authorisation of Orton to Craigellachie abandoned.
28/11/1851Morayshire Railway
First Sod cut.
10/08/1852Morayshire Railway
Line opens from Elgin [GNSR] to Lossiemouth.
  /  /1858Morayshire Railway
Orton to Craigellachie re-authorised.
  /07/1858Morayshire Railway
Pre-opening inspection of Orton to Rothes line (passed but frustratingly the Elgin to Orton section of the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway fails).
23/08/1858Morayshire Railway
Orton (on the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway) to Rothes opened.
23/12/1858Morayshire Railway
Rothes to Craigellachie opened.
  /12/1859Morayshire Railway
Linksfield Level Crossing Halt and Greens of Drainie Halt closed.
03/07/1860Morayshire Railway
Elgin East to Rothes via Longmorn authorised (avoiding difficulties using the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway's Elgin to Orton section).
17/05/1861Morayshire Railway
Extension from Craigellachie [1st] to join the Strathspey Railway authorised.
30/12/1861Morayshire Railway
Elgin [GNSR] to Rothes opened to freight.
01/01/1862Morayshire Railway
Elgin [GNSR] to Rothes opened to passengers (Intermediate station opened at Longmorn).
05/06/1863Morayshire Railway
Conditional halt added at Coleburn between Elgin [GNSR] and Rothes.
01/07/1863Morayshire Railway
Line opened from Craigellachie to Speyside Junction.
  /  /1864Morayshire RailwayStrathspey Railway
Craigellachie [1st] renamed Dandaleith and Strathspey Junction renamed Craigellachie.
31/07/1866Morayshire Railway
Rothes to Orton closed. Line left in place.
  /  /1871Morayshire Railway
Coleburn closed and Birchfield Platform (conditional halt) opened to replace it.
11/08/1881Morayshire RailwayGreat North of Scotland Railway
Morayshire Railway absorbed by Great North of Scotland Railway. (Alternative date: 1880).
12/08/1885Moray Coast Railway (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Lossie Junction (Morayshire Railway) to Garmouth opened. Stations opened: Calcots, Urquhart and Garmouth.
  /  /1898Morayshire Railway
Longmorn distillery branch opened.
  /  /1902Great North of Scotland Railway Morayshire Railway
Elgin [GNSR] station rebuilt.
  /  /1903Great North of Scotland Railway Alford Valley Railway Inverury and Old Meldrum Junction Railway Morayshire Railway St Combs Light Railway (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Railcars used on the Alford, Old Meldrum, Lossiemouth and St Combs lines. Bodies for these experimental railcars were built at the Inverurie Works, the steam engines were by Andrew Barclay, Sons & Co and the boilers by Cochran's Boiler Works.
  /  /1907Morayshire Railway
Rothes to Orton track lifted.
06/04/1964Morayshire Railway
Lossiemouth to Elgin East (Lossie Junction) closed to passengers.
28/03/1966Morayshire Railway
Elgin East to Lossie Junction to Lossiemouth closed to freight.
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.
06/05/1968Keith and Dufftown RailwayMorayshire RailwayStrathspey Railway
Elgin East to Craigellachie to Keith Junction closed to passengers.
04/11/1968Morayshire RailwayStrathspey Railway
Elgin East (excluded) to Craigellachie (excluded) closed to freight.
  /  /1979Morayshire Railway
Longmorn distillery branch closed having been used as a line simply between distilleries for a number of years.

Portions of line and locations

This line is divided into a number of portions.


Elgin to Lossiemouth

This closed station still exists, the substantial building now in use as business premises. To the south of the building the railway still runs, providing access to the terminus's goods yard.
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These stained glass windows are in the old booking hall at Elgin East, now used as commercial office space but retaining superb features from railway ...
Crinan Dunbar 06/09/2021
The disused Elgin East station, complete with John Menzies newspaper stall, opened 1852, closed 1968, on 15th June 2019. The main building is now in ...
David Bosher 15/06/2019
Exterior of the disused Elgin East station, opened in 1852, closed in 1968, on 15th June 2019. The main building is now in use as offices. ...
David Bosher 15/06/2019
25247 on freight duty at Elgin in 1982. This Type 2 was the last locomotive to be constructed at Darlington Works, emerging in 1964. It was withdrawn ...
Crinan Dunbar //1982
4 of 68 images. more


This coal yard consisted of a pair of sidings served from the west. The sidings followed the west to north curve of Maisondieu Road, running from east of Elgin East station and approached via reversal in the goods yard. The sidings are lifted.
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Moray Resource Centre - built on old goods yard at Elgin. The view looks east on 8th October 2017 with the truncated line on the right. ...
Crinan Dunbar 08/10/2017
Moray Resource Centre - built on the old good yard at Elgin. When I was a lad a lot of old grain trucks were stored here for at least 5 years. ...
Crinan Dunbar 08/10/2017
Moray Resource Centre - built on part of the old goods yard at Elgin. When I was a lad a lot of old grain trucks were stored here for at least 5 ...
Crinan Dunbar 08/10/2017
3 of 3 images.


The original Morayshire Railway shed of 1852 was just east of Elgin East and south of the line (but north of the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway. This was a two road shed.
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A former loco shed viewed across Elgin East goods yard in 1977. This shed was superseded by a four road shed further east, which also still stands. ...
Bill Roberton //1977
The original GNSR shed at Elgin, looking north in 1998. This was replaced by a larger shed further east, now a council depot. ...
Ewan Crawford //1998
2 of 2 images.


This four road shed replaced Elgin Shed [1st]. It was probably opened in 1902, the great reconstruction of Elgin [GNSR] station. This rebuilding made access to the original shed awkward and, with steady increase in traffic, inadequate with its two roads.
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G.E.R. B.12. 4.6.0 61526. Elgin Sheds. ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 04/07/1950
2 of 2 images.


This junction was east of Elgin [GNSR] station. The junction was formed in 1862 when the course of the original portion of the Morayshire Railway from Elgin to Lossiemouth of 1852 was met by its later route via Longmorn to Rothes of 1862.
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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
Moray Coast Railway (Great North of Scotland Railway)
View looks east towards Buckie over Lossie Junction. ...
Ewan Crawford //
1 of 1 images.


This was a halt at the Linksfield Level Crossing, just north of Lossie Junction near Elgin [East]. There was a short platform on the west side of the line, just south of the level crossing itself.
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This was a small halt at Wester Greens. There was a very short platform on the east side of the line where the line crossed a drainage ditch.
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A distant view of the trackbed of the long closed Lossiemouth branch, running straight across the flat landscape. The town itself can be seen on the ...
Mark Bartlett 02/07/2011
The formation of the Lossiemouth branch line as seen looking south east from the top floor of Spynie Palace, a Historic Scotland ruin on the outskirts ...
Mark Bartlett 02/07/2011
2 of 2 images.


This halt was just south of Lossiemouth. It served a Second World War rifle range. Largely used by the Territorial Army.
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View looking west towards the site of Rifle Range Halt. ...
Ewan Crawford //
1 of 1 images.


This was a single platform station with a large goods yard. The yard was located to the east of the passenger station and extended to the quaysides of the inner harbour.
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1963 view of an NBL Type 2 arriving at Lossiemouth with a branch service from Elgin. ...
Brian Haslehust 17/08/1963
The former Lossiemouth station seen in January 1979. This is the ticket office, waiting rooms etc building, with the office/hotel building just off to ...
Peter Todd /01/1979
Lossiemouth station's Steamboat and Railway Hotel. This was located on the platform alongside and immediately south of the station building (on the ...
Peter Todd /01/1979
62267, a LNER D40, on the harbour wall at Lossiemouth, Morayshire. Date unknown, certainly early 50's. Thought to be a Neville Stead photograph. ...
Peter Todd Collection //
4 of 8 images. more





Orton to Craigellachie

This was the junction between the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway and the extension of the Morayshire Railway south to Craigellachie [1st]. Both lines were single track and opened in 1858. The junction was south of Orton station and west of the [Boat o' Brig Viaduct] on the main line east to Aberdeen.
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See also
Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway
Opened in 1858, Closed in 1866 and lifted in 1907, this is the trackbed of the Orton to Rothes line. Once the direct Elgin to Rothes line opened in ...
Caleb Abbott 02/10/2018
A DMU westbound past the site of Orton station on a March afternoon in 1979. The River Spey bridge stands in the background, with the trackbed of the ...
Peter Todd 30/03/1979
An Inverness bound train approaches Orton from the east. With the slight uphill trains really move quickly here, one moment it was on the viaduct then ...
Ewan Crawford 30/09/2009
3 of 3 images.






This was a small station to the west of the Pool of Sourden and just west of Bridge Sourden. An early closure it existed for 18 years. The 1862 opening of the line between Elgin East and Rothes led to its closure in 1866 and eventually led to the closure of the line in 1880. The track remained in place for some time afterwards.
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Sourden station on the original route of the Morayshire Railway was a short lived station, lasting from 1858 to 1866, when the new line via Longmorn ...
Ewan Crawford 06/10/2018
1 of 1 images.


This was a station with staggered platforms and a fine building on the northbound platform, at the south end.
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View of Rothes station from the north, taken from a DMU bound for Craigellachie and Cairnie Junction, on 12th August 1965. ...
Brian Haslehust 12/08/1965
Nothing remains of Rothes station. This was the view north at the station with the unique station building and platforms off to the right and goods ...
Ewan Crawford //1997
2 of 2 images.


This was a single platform station with a large timber building. It was, briefly, the terminus of the line until it was extended south over the River Spey by the Craigellachie Bridge to Strathspey Junction. The station was to be renamed Dandaleith in 1864, with Strathspey Junction becoming Craigellachie [2nd].
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View north at Dandaleith. The station has been obliterated by a road re-alignment and was located above the retaining wall shown here. Dandaleith was ...
Ewan Crawford 02/02/1997
1 of 1 images.


This was a single track viaduct of four spans to the north of Craigellachie [2nd] station and just south of Dandaleith station. The Morayshire Railway was to open to Dandaleith (then called Craigellachie) while this viaduct was completed, then extended to Craigellachie [2nd], then called Strathspey Junction.
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North of Craigellachie station the line crossed the Spey to reach Dandaleith. The bridge was removed after closure. The closed trackbed can be seen to ...
Ewan Crawford 01/02/1997
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This was a three platform station and junction. There were two platforms on the route between Elgin East and Keith via Dufftown and one platform on the Strathspey route to Boat of Garten. To the north on the Elgin route the line almost immediately crossed the Craigellachie Bridge to reach Dandaleith.
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See also
Strathspey Railway
The trackbed and platform that once served the Strathspey route through Craigellachie. Photograph taken in 2012, looking west below the bridge that ...
John Furnevel 20/05/2012
A Cravens DMU calling at Craigellachie with an Elgin to Cairnie Junction service in 1965. The bridge over the Spey is visible in the background. The ...
Brian Haslehust 12/08/1965
The Scottish Region's 'Grand Tour No 1' is at Ferndearn Pool, just south of Craigellachie, on 25 March 1967. It is on the Speyside 'Whisky Line', ...
Colin Kirkwood 25/03/1967
A BR Sulzer Type 2, on an Elgin-Aviemore service, pictured halfway through shunting operations at Craigellachie in August 1965. The single coach train ...
Brian Haslehust 12/08/1965
4 of 23 images. more





Elgin to Rothes

This junction was east of Elgin [GNSR] station. The junction was formed in 1862 when the course of the original portion of the Morayshire Railway from Elgin to Lossiemouth of 1852 was met by its later route via Longmorn to Rothes of 1862.
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This was a two platform station with a passing loop. The main station building was on the northbound platform with a smaller building on the southbound. Both were in timber.
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See also
Glenlossie Railway
Longmorn station, which closed in 1968, pictured in 1978. It continues to survive to the present time 54773.
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Bill Roberton //1978
A Park Royal railbus waits in the northbound platform at Longmorn on 10th August 1965. The view is taken from the front of an incoming southbound ...
Brian Haslehust 10/08/1965
Building on goods platform at Longmorn, 14/10/05. ...
John Gray 14/10/2005
Former Goods platform at Longmorn looking south. Longmorn is three miles south of Elgin. Distillery in background, 14/10/05. ...
John Gray 14/10/2005
4 of 16 images. more


This platform served Coleburn Distillery. To the south was a passing loop with a signal box and sidings for the distillery. The sidings were on the west side of the line and served from the south (the north end of the loop). A siding ran from the south end of the loop to a gravel pit on the west side of the line.
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View north at Coleburn. The distillery sidings were to the left. ...
Ewan Crawford //1999
1 of 1 images.




A halt, also known as Birchfield Siding. The platform was on the west side of the single line. It was a little north of the house and level crossing at Birchfield.
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View north at Birchfield Platform in 1999. Ahead was the route to Elgin East and behind the camera the line continued to Rothes. ...
Ewan Crawford //1999
1 of 1 images.


This was a station with staggered platforms and a fine building on the northbound platform, at the south end.
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View of Rothes station from the north, taken from a DMU bound for Craigellachie and Cairnie Junction, on 12th August 1965. ...
Brian Haslehust 12/08/1965
Nothing remains of Rothes station. This was the view north at the station with the unique station building and platforms off to the right and goods ...
Ewan Crawford //1997
2 of 2 images.





Elgin Connection

This closed station still exists, the substantial building now in use as business premises. To the south of the building the railway still runs, providing access to the terminus's goods yard.
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These stained glass windows are in the old booking hall at Elgin East, now used as commercial office space but retaining superb features from railway ...
Crinan Dunbar 06/09/2021
The disused Elgin East station, complete with John Menzies newspaper stall, opened 1852, closed 1968, on 15th June 2019. The main building is now in ...
David Bosher 15/06/2019
Exterior of the disused Elgin East station, opened in 1852, closed in 1968, on 15th June 2019. The main building is now in use as offices. ...
David Bosher 15/06/2019
25247 on freight duty at Elgin in 1982. This Type 2 was the last locomotive to be constructed at Darlington Works, emerging in 1964. It was withdrawn ...
Crinan Dunbar //1982
4 of 68 images. more


The closed Elgin Centre signalbox in 1977. The box closed in 1973. This listed building still stands. ...
Bill Roberton //1977
A split view of New Elgin Road crossing the junction between the Highland and GNSR lines east of Elgin station. ...
Crinan Dunbar 14/10/2017
156496 passes the connection to the former GNSR station and yard as it leaves Elgin with a service for Aberdeen in 1991.
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Bill Roberton //1991
Works proceeds apace at Elgin - the locomotives have gone because the goods yard is now cut off while the points are replaced. ...
Crinan Dunbar 11/10/2017
4 of 26 images. more