Culter railway station was opened on 8 September 1853 by the

Deeside Railway The Deeside Railway was a passenger and goods railway between Aberdeen and Ballater in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Opening in 1853 to Banchory, an extension reached Aboyne in 1859. A separate company, the Aboyne & Braemar Railway, built an extens ...

and served the town of

Peterculter Peterculter ( sco, Petercouter), also known as Culter (Scots: ''Couter''), is a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, about inland from Aberdeen city centre. Peterculter is on the northern banks of the River Dee, near the confluences with Crynoch ...

that is locally known as Culter. The

was taken over by the GNoSR and in 1894 Culter was the terminus for the Aberdeen suburban service although a few trains continued to

Banchory Banchory (, sco, Banchry, gd, Beannchar) is a burgh or town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is about west of Aberdeen, near where the Feugh River meets the River Dee. Prehistory and archaeology In 2009, a farmer discovered a short cist ...

. Despite the 1937 closure of many other stations on the Aberdeen suburban service, Culter remained open until 1966 as an intermediate station on the

that ran from Aberdeen (Joint) to

Ballater Ballater (, gd, Bealadair) is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the River Dee, immediately east of the Cairngorm Mountains. Situated at an elevation of , Ballater is a centre for hikers and known for its spring water, once said to cure ...

. Culter is located in the parish of

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

, Scotland.

History

The first single platformed station was opened in 1853 and stood to the west of the replacement provided at the track doubling of 1892. The goods yard lay to the east and was approached from that end and remained after the new station that was opened close to the ruins of St Peter's Chapel. A short line ran to the Culter Paper Mill and the town developed around this site. The line west towards

Park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

from the new station site was not doubled until 1899. The Deeside branch at first was operated by the

. The line became part of the GNoSR and at grouping merged with 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 ...

. It stood 7.5 miles (12 km) from Aberdeen Joint and 43.25 miles (69.5 km) from

. It was closed to passengers on 28 February 1966. The line has been lifted and sections form part of the

Deeside Way The Deeside Way is a rail trail that follows, in part, the bed of the former Deeside Railway in Aberdeenshire. Forming part of the National Cycle Network (National Route 195) the trail leads from Aberdeen to Ballater. The route The pathway r ...

long-distance footpath.

Infrastructure

The 1853 station only had a short single platform on the later eastbound or northern side. By 1892 the line had been doubled and a goods yard built on the eastern side with two sidings, approached from the east. A complex and extensive network of lines lay within the paper works buildings. The goods yard had several sidings, a crane and weighing machine. The line west towards

from the new station site was not completely doubled until after 1899. A pedestrian footbridge was present, a signal box on the western end of the eastbound platform, typical GNoSR wooden station buildings and a shelter on the westbound platform together with a water tank tower. Crossover points lay towards the east end of the platforms and a single siding lay parallel to the line on the southern side. Kincardineshire, 006.11, Surveyed: 1899, Published: 1900
/ref> By 1963 the main line had been singledNJ8400-NJ8500 – AA – Surveyed/Revised: 1963, Published:1965
/ref> with the westbound track lifted, the pedestrian bridge removed, but the signalbox retained. Only the eastbound platform was in use by this time. The goods yard was still present as was the double track section through the station and the paper works lines. The freight line that led to Culter Paper Mills remained in use until 2 January 1967.

Services

Suburban services, "subbies", began between Aberdeen and Culter in 1894, calling at all eight intermediate stations in a seven-mile stretch of line in around 20 minutes with a total of around 30 trains every day. Culter was served in 1914 by thirty-five trains eastbound and thirty-six westbound, all within a seventeen-hour working day. The "subbies" service was withdrawn from 5 April 1937 due to competition from bus services.The Silver city Vault. Aberdeen Local History Studies
/ref> The Aberdeen suburban railway stations were Holburn Street, Ruthrieston, Pitfodels,

Cults In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

, West Cults, Murtle,

Milltimber Milltimber is a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen city centre. From 1854 to 1937 the area was served by Milltimber railway station on the Aberdeen suburban railway. Along with the nearby settlements of Cults and Bieldside, ...

and Culter. The line was chosen to trial the battery multiple unit and once introduced on 21 April 1958 the train service was doubled to six trains a day and in addition a Sunday service was reinstated.

The site today

The station buildings have been demolished but one platform remains in good condition and the bridge abutments with the trackbed in use as part of the

.Canmore Peterculter railway station
/ref> The

Royal Deeside Railway The Royal Deeside Railway is a Scottish heritage railway located at Milton of Crathes railway station on a part of the original Deeside Railway. Original Railway Originally constructed between 1853 and 1866, the Deeside Railway ran between ...

is located at

Milton of Crathes Milton of Crathes is a complex of restored 17th-century stone buildings,United Kingdom Ordnance Survey Map Landranger 45, Stonehaven and Banchory, 1:50,000 scale, 2004 associated with, and previously an outlier of, Crathes Castle in Aberdeenshire, ...

some distance down the line towards

References

Sources

* * Maxtone, Graham and Cooper, Mike (2018). ''Then and Now on the Great North. V.1.'' GNoSR Association. .

External links

Film of the station and the Deeside line.Dismantling the Deeside Line.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Culter Railway Station Disused railway stations in Aberdeenshire Beeching closures in Scotland Former Great North of Scotland Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1853 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1966 1966 disestablishments in Scotland