Morayshire Railway
The Morayshire Railway was the first railway to be built north of Aberdeen and was officially opened on the 10 August 1852.
Elgin to Lossiemouth
Concept to development
The notion of constructing a railway from Elgin to Lossiemouth was first considered in 1841 by James Grant, an Elgin solicitor who also owned, along with his brother, the Glen Grant distillery at Rothes. He would later become Lord Provost of Elgin. A subsequent survey showed that the line was not only feasible but could be built relatively cheaply. However, little financial support for the project could be obtained. He was undeterred in his believe in an Elgin to Lossiemouth railway and addressed a meeting of the Elgin and Lossiemouth Harbour Company on the 3 February 1844. The Harbour Company felt there was little need for railways north of Dundee, let alone one between the two towns. In 1845, railway mania was sweeping through the entire country. At a meeting arranged by the supporters of an Inverness to Elgin railway on 19 February 1845 it was generally agreed that such a railway would be beneficial. Grant stood and addressed the meeting saying that, on principle, he had no objection but warned the people of Elgin that the port of Lossiemouth was important to Elgin and that they should be wary of companies who could interfere with the free trade that came through Lossiemouth. These warnings did not fall on deaf ears and Grant succeeded in resurrecting the scheme as the Morayshire Railway at a meeting held on 3 March 1845. At a subsequent meeting held on 11 April, it was also decided that the track would extend south to Craigellachie.
Measures were taken to seek parliamentary authority in 1846, but before the Bill was presented, the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR) had been put forward. The decision was taken that the two railways would connect at Elgin and the Morayshire Railway would connect its Speyside line to Craigellachie at Orton. The company's capital was agreed at £50,000. Parliamentary approval for this scheme were obtained on the 10th of July 1846 but financial panic gripped the United Kingdom in 1847 and the entire project was shelved for a further four years. An internal crisis developed within the company following a change of some of the directors. The Board declared that powers would be requested to abandon plans for the Craigellachie extension as there was no sign of the GNSR starting their scheme. Some Edinburgh based shareholders, with the financial upheaval of the previous few years, and fearing that the entire project was no longer viable, attempted to get the entire railway cancelled at a meeting held on 24 February 1851 using the Abandonment of Railways Act, 1850. This motion was carried by 1800 shares to 677. Provost Grant protested to the Railway Commissioners who on 21 March 1851 called on the board to provide a list of shareholders who had attended the abandonment EGM. The Commissioners found that the necessary votes needed for an abandonment were not obtained. However the Edinburgh shareholders withdrew their support placing the company in a critical position. The Railway Commissioners granted the abandonment of the Craigellachie section on 10 July. It was agreed the capital of the company was to be reduced to £29,700. However, it wasn’t until Elgin Town Council agreed to invest £1,000 in shares and Col Brander of Pitgaveny made a large addition to his already substantial holding that the contract for the Elgin to Lossiemouth section was let.
Construction
Hutchings & Co were awarded the contract and the first sod was cut at Bareflathills just outside Elgin near the River Lossie by the wife of James Grant at Elgin on Saturday, 30 November, 1851 to a cheering crowd of 3000 people and the firing of two cannons. Good progress was made with a bridge over the River Lossie being the main engineering feature to be built. The contractor switched to two 12 hour shifts and had a work force of around 300 navvies. It was reported at the Board meeting held on 2 April 1852, that the track was half finished. At the same meeting, the Board was advised that a strike had taken place following a serious disturbance. No actual description of the incident reached the local press but there were two stories in circulation. The first of these was that Irish navvies had come onto the job undercutting the locals’ wages. The other was that the contractor employed English labour and it was they that objected to the Irish. The outcome was that a riot of some sort took place. Four of the instigators were arrested and sentenced to various periods of hard labour. A fifth person was to be sent to the Court of Judiciary for trial after assaulting the Sheriff! The Morayshire Railway was ordered to pay for additional constables to police the workforce.
The opening
The opening date was decided and would be Tuesday 10 August 1852 but at the Board meeting on 31 July, it was reported that the locomotives had not arrived from Messrs Neilson & Co of Glasgow. The ship carrying the engines docked at Lossiemouth on 1 August. The two locomotives bought for the line were small 2-2-2 tank engines costing a total of £2622 7s. 8½d and were named by the company, Elgin and Lossiemouth. The Board of Trade Engineer inspected the line on 4 August and traveled in a locomotive a day later and declared himself well satisfied with the railway and rolling stock.
On the 10 August 1852, a general holiday was declared in Elgin and Lossiemouth and the directors of the company along with other local dignitaries walked at the head of a procession from town centre, at St Giles Church, to the station. There, amid the firing of cannon, they were given a rousing send off. Some people instead walked to Lossiemouth to see the train arrive. The board of the Elgin and Lossiemouth Harbour Company met the passengers and escorted them to the recently opened Steamboat and Railway Hotel where they were entertained. They then proceeded to a large marquee erected overlooking the station on top of the quarry cliffs. Many people made fine speeches before lunch was served. The celebrations included sports and games. The Board and prominent citizens met later that evening in the Assembly Rooms, on Elgin High Street for a gala dinner. Later the Chairman, Dr Manson, gave a toast to the success of the Morayshire Railway and then went on to give a history of the line and with all of the problems that had to be overcome. He finished by saying:
These difficulties do not end with the completion of the line. The engines were new, the carriages ungreased and in fact nothing was in a proper state to perform its functions. Yet, notwithstanding, all were satisfied in the way in which everything had been brought to completion and it was with pride they viewed the manner in which the whole community had turned out to do them honour.
Operation
The day following the opening of the line, a regular five return journeys per day, Monday to Friday, was instituted. Soon after, the frequency was reduced to four return journeys per day but then in 1857, it was increased to six return journeys reflecting the increased use of the harbour for exporting and importing materials. It took the trains 15 minutes to run the 5 ½ miles including the conditional stops at Linksfield Level Crossing and Greens of Drainie. These stops were abandoned in 1859.
A first and second class service was provided until 1855 then a first and third thereafter, the fares being 1½d and 1d per mile respectively. Apparently, there was little difference in the coach seating layouts, only in the quality of the seats. The first year saw the company run a decent profit and the investors were rewarded with a 5% dividend but future years were always a struggle. In 1858, activity on the line was greatly reduced during the four months that the harbour was closed for basin enlargement. This was so serious that it was mentioned and discussed at the annual general meeting in the following October. It was at this meeting that the "father" of the railway, James Grant was elected chairman.
The Craigellachie enlargement
By March 1858, the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway (IAJR) had reached Elgin and completed its junction with GNSR at Keith on 18 August. The Morayshire Railway completed the 3½ miles of track from Orton station to Rothes on 23 August 1858. This allowed the Morayshire Railway to resurrect its plans to build a railway between Rothes and Craigellachie and this section was completed on 23 December 1858. It terminated, however, on the west bank of the River Spey so as not to incurr the expense of a costly bridge. The Morayshire company would, under its agreement with the IAJR, work its own trains on the Elgin / Orton section but its trains would not be allowed to stop for passengers on this section of track. The light engines used by the Morayshire Railway were small and prone to breakdown and the steeper gradients experienced on this route proved that the Morayshire engines were unsuitable for purpose. Their use lasted only six weeks. IAJR blamed Morayshire Railway for causing delays in its own schedules and insisted on Morayshire coaches be attached to its own and taken to Orton. Relations between the two companies were deteriorating rapidly and a dispute over charging for line use ensued. Matters came to a head when IAJR seized Morayshire goods at the junctions.
The Morayshire Railway Company was now determined to free itself from any involvement with IAJR and to build a new line through the Glens of Rothes to meet its own Speyside line. It was given assent in 1861 and completed the work on 1 January 1862. Two more powerful locomotives, 2-4-0 tank engines, would operate this route as the line was steeply graded for the first 6 of its 9 miles. These were named Glen Grant and Lesmurdie.
It was possible that the IAJR was trying to make things so difficult for the Morayshire Railway that it would be in a position to take it over; indeed the Morayshire Railway directors thought so and brought the state of affairs to the Parliamentary solicitor. The effect of this wrangle was to make the Morayshire Railway open negotiations with the GNSR who agreed to take over the running of the network for 45 per cent of receipts. The Morayshire Railway received assent for the link to the Strathspey Railway at Craigellacie on 17 May 1861. This was accomplished by the construction of bridge across the Spey to a new station. The original station was now renamed Dandaleith and the new one assumed the Craigellachie name. By a series of small Speyside railways, nominally independent but certainly connected to the GNSR, it joined track with the Morayshire Railway at Craigellachie and finally got its independent route to Elgin. On 30 July 1866, GNSR was granted consent to consolidate its series of small Speyside companies and, with the good will that prevailed on both sides, to take the Morayshire Railway under its full ownership. However the financial situation within the Morayshire Railway was not good and prevented this amalgamation. In 1876, the GNSR obtained powers to meet the smaller companies debts and in 1880 negotiations between the two companies were resumed and the enabling act for the amalgamation was given assent on 11 August 1881. Thus ended the Morayshire Railway's 35 year existence.
Principal office bearers
| Chairmen | Secretaries | Engineers | General Managers | Locomotive Superintendents | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Forteath | 1846 - 1851 | James Grant | 1846 - 1851 | James Samuel | 1846 - 1853 | Charles Cranstoun | 1855 - 1857 | James Samuel | 1851 – 1853 |
| David Manson | 1851 – 1855 | Charles Cranstoun | 1855 – 1857 | Joseph Taylor | 1853 – 1857 | James Jenkins | 1857 – 1859 | Joseph Taylor | 1853 -1857 |
| James Grant | 1855 – 1872 | William Topp | 1857 – 1859 | Robert Blackwood | 1857 – 1858 | William Mills | 1859 – 1861 | Robert Blackwood | 1857 – 58 |
| Alexander Urquhart | 1872 – 1881 | William Mills | 1859 – 1861 | William Mills | 1858 – 1863 | Alexander Watt | 1861 – 1881 | George Golightly | 1858 – 1863 |
| Alexander Watt | 1861 - 1881 | ||||||||
Not unusal among the early railway companies was for one person to take on various roles within the company. In the Morayshire Railway, William Mills occupied the posts of Secretary, Engineer and General Manager simultaneously.
Timeline
- 16 July 1846 - Act receives Royal assent. Authorised from Lossiemouth to Elgin and from Orton to Craigellachie.
- 10 July 1850 - Authorisation of Orton to Craigellachie abandoned.
- 28 November 1851 - First Sod cut
- 10 August 1852 - Line opens from Elgin to Lossiemouth.
- 1858 - Orton to Craigellachie re-authorised.
- July 1858 - Pre-opening inspection of Orton to Rothes line (passed but the Elgin to Orton section of the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway fails).
- 23 August 1858 - Orton (on the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway) to Rothes opened.
- 23 December 1858 - Rothes to Craigellachie opened.
- December 1859 - Linksfield Level Crossing Halt and Greens of Drainie Halt closed.
- 3 July 1860 - Elgin to Rothes authorised (avoiding difficulties using the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railways Elgin to Orton section).
- 17 May 1861 - Extension from Craigellachie to join the Strathspey Railway authorised.
- 30 December 1861 - Elgin to Rothes opened to freight.
- 1 January 1862 - Elgin to Rothes opened to passengers (Intermediate station opened at Longmorn).
- 5 June 1863 - Conditional halt added at Coleburn between Elgin and Rothes.
- 1 July 1863 - Line opened from Craigellachie to Speyside Junction.
- 1864 - Craigellachie renamed Dandaleith and Strathspey Junction renamed Craigellachie.
- 31 July 1866 - Rothes to Orton closed.
- 1871 - Coleburn closed and Birchfield Platform (conditional halt) opened to replace it.
- 11 August 1881 - Morayshire Railway absorbed by Great North of Scotland Railway.
- 12 August 1885 - Lossie Junction (Morayshire Railway]) to Garmouth opened. Stations opened: Calcots, Urquhart and Garmouth.
- 1898 - Longmorn distillery branch opened.
- 1902 - Elgin station rebuilt.
- 1903 - Railcars used on Lossiemouth branch.
- 1907 - Rothes to Orton track lifted.
- 1 January 1923 - Great North of Scotland Railway amalgamates with other companies to form London and North Eastern Railway (LNER).
- June 1923 - LNER introduces sleeping car from London (King's Cross) to Lossiemouth.
- 31 December 1947 - Nationalisation of railway companies to form British Railways.
- 6 April 1964 - Lossiemouth to Elgin (Lossie Junction) closed to passengers.
- 28 March 1966 - Elgin East to Lossie Junction to Lossiemouth closed to freight.
- 6 May 1968 - Elgin to Buckie to Cairnie Junction closed to passengers.
- 6 May 1968 - Elgin to Craigellachie to Keith Junction closed to passengers.
- 4 November 1968 - Elgin East to Craigellachie closed to freight.
Gallery
References
- History of the Great North of Scotland Railway: Sir Malcolm Barclay-Harvey
- The Great North of Scotland Railway: H.A. Vallance