Drum railway station was opened in January 1854 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 exten ...

and served the rural area around

Drum Castle Drum Castle is a castle near Drumoak in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. For centuries it was the seat of the chief of Clan Irvine. The place-name Drum is derived from Gaelic ''druim'', 'ridge'. The site is located approximately northeast of Banchory a ...

estate. The

was taken over by the GNoSR and in 1894 nearby Culter became the terminus for the majority of Aberdeen suburban services with only a few trains continuing through Drum 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 bu ...

. Despite the 1937 closure of many other stations on the Aberdeen suburban service, Drum remained open until 1951 as an intermediate station on the

that ran from Aberdeen (Joint) to Ballater. Drum station was located in

Drumoak Drumoak (, gd, Druim M'Aodhaig, ) is a village situated between Peterculter and Banchory in North Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Drumoak is proximate to the River Dee, with Park Bridge, named for the local Park Estate, being a local crossin ...

Parish,

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 1854 and stood on the northern side of the line with a level crossing to the west. Doubling of the track took place by 1899 with various alterations made to the station. 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 line was closed to passengers on 28 February 1966. The line has been lifted and extensive 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 1854 station only had a short single platform on the later eastbound or northern side of the line with a basic station building. The later wooden station building with ticket office, staff accommodation, waiting area and toilets was of a typical GNoSR design as found at

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 ...

Torphins Torphins ( ; gd, Tòrr Fionn) is a village in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland which lies about west of Aberdeen. It is situated on the A980, about north-west of Banchory, and was once served by the Great North of Scotland Railway. W ...

Lumphanan Lumphanan ( ; gd, Lann Fhìonain) is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland located from Aberdeen and from Banchory. History Lumphanan is documented to be the site of the Battle of Lumphanan of 1057 AD, where Malcolm III of Scotland defeated ...

and elsewhere on the line. Track doubling by 1899 resulted in a second platform with a small wooden shelter, a pedestrian overbridge and a small signalbox on the eastbound platform at the eastern end. The level crossing was replaced with a road overbridge at this time. Aberdeenshire, 085.10, Surveyed: 1899, Published: 1900
/ref> A goods yard was built to the west on the eastbound side of the line, consisting of several sidings, a loading dock and a short siding running to the east. By 1964 the main line had been singled NO8099-NO8199 - AA - Surveyed/Revised: 1964, Published:1965
/ref> with the westbound track lifted, the pedestrian bridge removed, but the stationmaster's house is still shown. Only the eastbound platform was in use by this time. The goods yard track had been lifted.

Services

Suburban services, "subbies", began between Aberdeen and nearby 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. 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 s ...

, West Cults, Murtle,

and Culter. The line was however 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.Railway Magazine June 1958 p. 382

The site today

The station buildings have been demolished but one platform remains with the old westbound shelter in use as a summer house. The Deeside long-distance path does not run through station site. 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 betwe ...

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, ...

down the line towards Ballater.

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.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drum Railway Station Disused railway stations in Aberdeenshire Former Great North of Scotland Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1854 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1951 1951 disestablishments in Scotland