Alford Valley Railway facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Alford Valley Railway |
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Alford Railway Station
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| Locale | Howe of Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland |
| Terminus | Alford Railway Station |
| Commercial operations | |
| Built by | Duncan MacKenzie Haggis Railway Services |
| Original gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Preserved operations | |
| Preserved gauge | 2 ft (610 mm) |
| Commercial history | |
| 1859 | opened |
| Closed to passengers | 1950 |
| Closed | 1966 |
| Preservation history | |
| 1980 | Haughton Park to Murray Park opened |
| 1984 | Alford to Haughton Park opened |
The Alford Valley Railway is a special 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway in a place called the Howe of Alford, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It's located where an older, bigger railway used to end. This old railway connected Alford with the main train line at Kintore.
Contents
The First Alford Valley Railway
This section will tell you about the original railway line that was built a long time ago.
Building the Line
Work on the first Alford Valley Railway began in 1856. It opened just three years later, in 1859. This railway was a "branch line" of a bigger company called the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR).
The line started from Kintore railway station, which is northwest of Aberdeen. It had several stations along the way. These included Kemnay, Monymusk, Tillyfourie, Whitehouse, and Alford.
What the Railway Carried
The railway wasn't just for people. It also helped carry goods. It was very important for Kemnay Quarry and three other granite quarries nearby. Granite is a very hard stone used for building.
The highest point of the line was near Tillyfourie, at about 618 feet (188 m) high. To get there, workers had to cut through a mile-long section of very hard granite. This cutting was about 30 feet (9.1 m) deep!
Travel Time and Fares
A train journey on this line took just over an hour. The total distance was about 16-mile (26 km). Until 1883, there was a rule that said a third-class ticket on one train each day could not cost more than a penny per mile. This made travel affordable for many people.
Changes and Closure
Over the years, the railway changed owners. In 1923, the Great North of Scotland Railway became part of a larger company called the London and North Eastern Railway. Then, in 1948, it joined the Scottish Region of British Railways.
The line stopped carrying passengers on December 31, 1949. The very last passenger train was driven by Mr. James Tocher into Alford Station. The railway continued to carry goods for a few more years. The goods service finally closed exactly sixteen years later, on December 31, 1965. Mr. Robert Asher drove the last goods train. Mr. James Elder was the guard, and Mr. Walter Mearns was the fireman.
The Narrow Gauge Railway Today
This section talks about the smaller, narrow gauge railway that you can visit now.
How the New Railway Started
The idea for the current narrow gauge railway came about in 1979. It was built using parts and equipment saved from an old railway at the New Pitsligo peat moss. It first opened in 1980.
Initially, the railway ran for about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) (nearly 2 miles). It went from Haughton Park station through Murray Park Woods.
Changes to the Line
In 1984, another part of the line was opened. This new section ran from Alford station, right next to the Alford Golf Course, to Haughton Park. This part was about 1.35 kilometres (0.84 mi) (just under a mile) long and had a platform at Haughton Park. After this new section opened, the original Murray Woods line was closed.
The Station and Museum
The station building you see today is on the same spot where the original granite station used to be. The old station was taken down after British Rail closed the line. The platform where passengers wait is the very same one from the original railway.
Inside the station building, there is a small railway museum. It's a great place to learn about the history of trains in the area. The original shed for the locomotives (train engines) was to the east of the station, but it has also been taken down. However, to the west of the station, the old granite carriage shed from the first railway is now used by the Alford Valley Railway.
There are also other interesting places nearby. You can visit the Grampian Transport Museum and the Alford Heritage Museum.
Recent History
The railway closed down in 2017. But a new group of people, called the Alford Valley Community Railway, was formed. They worked hard to reopen the line.
After being closed for six years, the Alford Valley Community Railway was happily reopened to passengers in 2023!
