Cromdale railway station served the village of

Cromdale Cromdale ( gd, Cromdhail, from ''crom'' 'crooked' and ''dal'' 'valley, dale') is a village in Strathspey, in the Highland council area of Scotland, and one of the ancient parishes which formed the combined ecclesiastical (later civil) parish o ...

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

, in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

History

The station was opened by the

Strathspey Railway (GNoSR) The Strathspey Railway was a railway company in Scotland that ran from Dufftown (in Moray) to Boat of Garten (in Badenoch and Strathspey). It was proposed locally but supported by the larger Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR), which wante ...

on 1 July 1863.Quick (2022), page 148 It was absorbed by the

Great North of Scotland Railway The Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR) was one of the two smallest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping, operating in the north-east of the country. Formed in 1845, it carried its first passengers the fr ...

. Then station passed on to the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...

during the

Grouping Grouping may refer to: * Muenchian grouping * Principles of grouping * Railways Act 1921, also known as Grouping Act, a reorganisation of the British railway system * Grouping (firearms), the pattern of multiple shots from a sidearm See also ...

of 1923. Passing to the

Scottish Region of British Railways The Scottish Region (ScR) was one of the six regions created on British Railways (BR) and consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and ex-London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) lines in Scotland. It existed from the creation o ...

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

in 1948. The station was host to a

LNER LNER may refer to: * London and North Eastern Railway, a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1923 until 1947 * London North Eastern Railway, a train operating company in the United Kingdom since 2018 * Liquid neutral earthing resistor, a typ ...

camping coach Camping coaches were holiday accommodation offered by many railway companies in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland from the 1930s. The coaches were old passenger vehicles no longer suitable for use in trains, which were converted to ...

from 1935 to 1939 and possibly one for some of 1934. A camping coach was also positioned here by the Scottish Region from 1954 to 1955. The station is on the route of the

Speyside Way The Speyside Way (Doric: '; gd, Slighe Shrath Spe) is a long-distance path in the Scottish Highlands. The route begins in Buckie and ends at Newtonmore, away. There is an optional spur leading off the main route to Tomintoul, adding and of as ...

long-distance path and has been restored as a private dwelling with an external appearance close to that of the original Great North of Scotland design. A restored carriage body built at the Inverurie works in 1916 stands behind the platform. A private 1.5 mile railway line ran from the station yard to

Balmenach Distillery Balmenach distillery was established in 1824 by James McGregor, from a family of farmers and illicit distillers who resided in Tomintoul. History Situated in the district of Cromdale on the banks of the River Spey the distillery stands in bene ...

, opening in 1897 and closing in 1968. It also closed from 1941 to 1947 when the distillery re-opened following expansion. The

Barclay Barclay may refer to: People * Barclay (surname) * Clan Barclay Places * Barclay, Kansas * Barclay, Maryland, a town in Queen Anne's County * Barclay, Baltimore, Maryland, a neighborhood * Barclay, Nevada, a town in Lincoln County * Barclay, ...

'pug' locomotive 'Balmenach' which worked the line is now preserved at

Boat of Garten Boat of Garten ( gd, Coit a' Ghartain; originally: Garten) is a small village and post town in Badenoch and Strathspey, Highland, Scotland. In 1951, the population was less than 400; in 1971, it was almost 500; in 1981, it was almost 700, and the ...

on the Strathspey Railway. The station closed to passengers on 18 October 1965 but the line was still open to freight until 4 November 1968.Hurst (1992), page 57 (ref 2556)

References

Sources

* Atterbury, Paul (2009). ''All Change!'' Basingstoke : AA Publishing. . * * Jackson, Richard (2006). ''The Speyside Line''. Pub. privately. . * * *

External links

Balmenach Distillery

{{coord, 57.3388, -3.5448, type:railwaystation_region:GB, display=title Disused railway stations in Highland (council area) Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1863 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1965 Beeching closures in Scotland Former Great North of Scotland Railway stations

History

References

Sources

Further reading

External links