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Rails t o Grant ow n
The Grantown Extension
The creation of a heritage
railway between
Grantown and Aviemore
was very much a
community project in the
late 1960s, to boost local
tourism, and had the full
backing of all the
statutory bodies. The
history of the origin of
the modern Strathspey
Railway up to the present
Rails to Grantown (R2G)
initiative is detailed in a
major article ?The
Grantown Extension?by
Basil Dunlop in the
current edition (No 145)
of the Strathspey
Express, the journal of
the Strathspey Railway.
It is based on newspaper
reports, articles in
previous journals, and
personal involvement.
When the decision to
close the line from Forres
to Aviemore in 1965 was
taken, the Scottish
Transport Users?
Consultative Committee
recommended a
passenger service be
retained between
Strathspey?s two main
tourist centres. In 1967 a
report by a Council and
Government group
studying tourism
potential suggested
exploration of the
possibility of a passenger
service, apparently by
low cost railcar. The
Grantown Town Council
(GTC), together with
THE GRANTOWN TIMES - Grant own on Spey Vicinit y Newslet t er
Moray & Nairn Joint
County Council
(M&NCC) and assisted
by the Highlands &
Islands Development
Board (HIDB), took this
up, and investigated
the possibility of
operating the line from
Grantown to Aviemore
as a heritage railway to
boost tourism.
Believing there was
agreement no action
would be taken by
British Railways Board
(BRB) while
negotiations continued,
the Councils were
dismayed when BRB
uplifted the track
between Grantown and
Boat of Garten without
notice in the summer
of 1969. By the time a
group of enthusiasts
had, on behalf of the
Councils and HIDB,
formed the Strathspey
Railway Company
(SRC) registered in
1971, only the track
and facilities from Boat
of Garten to Aviemore
were extant, and they
were purchased with
the help of HIDB loans
and a Company shares
issue. The first SR
Newsletter (April 1972)
confirmed the aim of
the Company was to
restore rail services to
Grantown, and this has
remained railway
policy ever since.
Passenger services
between Boat of
Garten and Aviemore
commenced in 1978
after restoration of the
facilities and the
SUMMER 2017 EDITION
granting of a Light
Railway Order (LRO)
between Aviemore and
the River Dulnain. By
1980 virtually all of the
bare trackbed from
BoG to Grantown had
been purchased for
future extension. Any
annual trading surplus
was reinvested in
railway improvements
by the ?not for profit?
SRC, along with any
available Grant Aid
from HIDB and
Highland Regional
Council and in
extending North
towards Grantown.
Due to limited funding
and legal obstacles,
progress was slow.
However by 2002 track
had been laid by
volunteers and the
station rebuilt at
Broomhill so that
passenger services
could be provided over
a length of about 10
miles. In 2008 the track
was extended to the
limit of the LRO by the
River Dulnain, and in
2014 the bridge over
the river replaced.
Public meetings in
Grantown in 2009 and
2012 kept the
community informed
and confirmed public
support, along with
that of all the statutory
bodies and politicians.
Originally it was
intended to build the
Grantown terminus at
the location of the
former Grantown West
Station in what is now
the Industrial Estate.