Calcots railway station

Calcots railway station was a railway station in the parish of St Andrews-Lhanbryd, Moray. The railway station was opened by the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) on its Moray Firth coast line in 1884,[2] served by Aberdeen to Elgin trains. It served a rural area rather than a discrete settlement and closed to regular passenger traffic on 6 May 1968 on the same date as the line itself.[3][4]

Calcots
General information
LocationCalcots, Moray
Scotland
Coordinates57.661783°N 3.249201°W / 57.661783; -3.249201
Grid referenceNJ 2558 6421
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Pre-groupingGreat North of Scotland Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
12 August 1884station opened[1]
6 May 1968Closed[2]

In 1923 the GNoSR became part of the London and North Eastern Railway and at nationalisation in 1948 became part of British Railways. The line was recommended for closure in Dr Beeching's report "The Reshaping of British Railways" and closed to all traffic on 6 May 1968.

History

Background

In 1881 the Great North of Scotland Railway put a bill to parliament to extend its Portsoy line along the Moray Firth as far as Buckie.[5] In 1882 the Great North of Scotland applied for permission to build a 25+1⁄4-mile (40.6 km) line from Portsoy following the coast to Buckie and then running on to Elgin.

Great North of Scotland Railway

The GNoSR station opened as Calcots on 12 August 1884,[2] served by through Aberdeen to Elgin trains.[6] In 1923 the Great North of Scotland Railway was absorbed by the London and North Eastern Railway. This company was nationalised in 1948 and services were then provided by British Railways until closure. As stated, the station and line were recommended for closure by Dr Beeching's in his report "The Reshaping of British Railways"[7] and closed in 1968.[8][9]

Services

This GNoSR station was served by through trains between Aberdeen to Elgin.[6] There were no Sunday services.[10]

The station infrastructure

Calcots station had two platforms with the typical wooden station buildings found at many of the stations on the line.[11] [12] The goods yard had more sidings than most of the stations on the line, reflecting the actual or expected agricultural traffic, with a goods shed and several points that allowed for interchange between the goods shed and the loading docks, etc.[13] The station had a neat and compact appearance with a typical footbridge, two signal boxes and several flower beds with what may be an enclosed fruit garden.[14]

The station was host to a LNER camping coach from 1935 to 1936 and possibly one for some of 1934.[15]

The Moray Coast line was predominantly single track apart from a double track section between Buckie and Portessie.[9] Track lifting took place shortly after closure in 1968.[9] The station was demolished and only a part of one of the platforms survived in 2005.[14]

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Elgin   Great North of Scotland   Urquhart

References

Footnotes
  1. Butt 1995, p. 97.
  2. Butt 1995, p. 51.
  3. Butt 1995, p. 238.
  4. RCAHMS Site Record
  5. Barclay-Harvey 1950, pp. 92–93.
  6. Vallance 1991, p. 95.
  7. Beeching 1963a, p. 125
    Beeching 1963b, map 9
  8. Butt 1995, p. 101.
  9. Maxtone 2005, p. 3.
  10. "Passenger Timetable: Scottish Region". British Railways. May 1948. Table 150. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  11. Maxtone 2005, p. 13.
  12. Maxtone 2005, p. 14.
  13. Elginshire, Sheet 008.09. Publication date: 1905. Revised: ca. 1904
  14. Maxtone 2005, p. 12.
  15. McRae 1997, p. 11.

Sources
  • Beeching, Richard (1963). The Reshaping of British Railways (PDF). HMSO.
  • Beeching, Richard (1963). The Reshaping of British Railways (maps) (PDF). HMSO.
  • Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1.
  • Barclay-Harvey, Malcolm (1950). A History of the Great North of Scotland Railway. Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-2592-9.
  • Maxtone, G.R. (2005). The Railways of the Banff & Moray Coast. Keith & Dufftown Railway Association. ISBN 0-9547346-1-0.
  • McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.
  • Vallance, H. A. (27 June 1991). Great North of Scotland Railway. The History of the Railways of the Scottish Highlands Vol. 3. David St John Thomas. ISBN 978-0-946537-60-0.
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