King Edward railway station was a railway station at

King Edward King Edward may refer to: Monarchs of England and the United Kingdom * Edward the Elder (–924) * Edward the Martyr (–978) * Edward the Confessor (–1066) * Edward I of England (1239–1307) * Edward II of England (1284–1327) * Edward III o ...

, King Edward 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 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 ...

on the rural branchline to Macduff. It was opened in 1860 to passengers by the

Banff, Macduff and Turriff Junction Railway The Banff, Macduff and Turriff Junction Railway was a railway company that connected the Aberdeenshire town of Turriff with the main line of the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) at Inveramsay. It had earlier been intended to reach Macduf ...

and was closed to regular passenger traffic in 1951. King Edward was from the junction at Inveramsay and above sea level.McLeish, p.20

History

The name "King Edward" originated from the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

. The first element "King" or "kin" comes from "Ceann" meaning a headland and "Edward" may refer to "cathair-thalmhainn" that is a "Yarrow" plant in English. Another interpretation is "Head of the Valley".McLeish, p.23 The hamlet where the station was located is now known as "Balchers". The station served the needs of the local farms in

Buchan Buchan is an area of north-east Scotland, historically one of the original provinces of the Kingdom of Alba. It is now one of the six committee areas and administrative areas of Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland. These areas were created by th ...

midway between

Turriff Turriff () is a town and civil parish in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It lies on the River Deveron, about above sea level, and has a population of 5,708. In everyday speech it is often referred to by its Scots name ''Turra'', which is derived fr ...

and Banff, as well as the King Edward School that stood nearby as did the church and church hall. Passenger services were withdrawn after 30 September 1951. A rail tour visited on 13 June 1960.

Infrastructure

The main station buildings stood on the northern side of the single track line. At first the station only had a single platform, however a passing loop and a second platform were added in 1895. King Edward's signalbox stood on the northern platform on the Plaidy end and was opened on 29 April 1895 and closed on 6 January 1936 when it was replaced by a ground frame. A station house and cottage stood near the church hall. The station had a pedestrian overbridge and a wooden shelter stood on the southern platform. A road overbridge stood over the line to Plaidy. The goods yard was to the south and was approached from that side; it did not have a crane, but a weighing machine was provided. Two sidings were present with a loading dock. By 1954 the loop, footbridge and second platform had been removed, however the goods sidings were still in use.McLeish, p.33

The site today

The station building survives as do some of the railway associated cottages.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * McLeish, Duncan (2014). ''Rails to Banff, Macduff and Oldmeldrum.'' Pub. GNoSRA. . Disused railway stations in Aberdeenshire Former Great North of Scotland Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1860 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1951 1861 establishments in Scotland 1951 disestablishments in Scotland {{Aberdeenshire-railstation-stub