I have updated my Fotopic site with the railway photos taken during my stay in and around Aberdeen during September. Nothing very special this year as I really didn't do any deliberate train hunting but got a few shots here and their, mostly during a day visit to Inverurie. On the Saturday the line was closed from Inverurie to Elgin with bus replacement and then by train again from Elgin to Inverness.
I decided to stick to Inverurie as I hadn't stopped in the town for quite some years, just passed through by train or bus. It's really quite a pleasant little town with plenty of shops, cafes and restaurants. It is also quite a historical place.
The line closure really made Inverurie quite busy when buses arrived from Elgin for the train connections and the trains were quite full.
I enjoyed a stoll around the town and also took the River Don footpath for some of it's way. There is a long bridge over the river just south of the station. It was originally double track but has been single tracked since the middle 60's. The track used is the old Down line and the bridge is in good condition on that side but on the trackless Up side it looks pretty worn down, with gaps between the spans and rsuting everywhere. If you didn't know that the down side was in use you could easily think that the bridge had been long abandoned. However as the line between Inverurie and Aberdeen is earmarked for redoubling in the near future I am sure the bridge will eventually look pretty grand once again.
I also had a look at the site of the old Locomotive Depot & Works. I have fond memories of working on the shed and going off and on it with locomotives. My very first job at the depot in 1964 was to lite the fire of the steam loco required for a goods usually with an 08 Shunter. More than often the trip to the granite quarry sidings at Monymusk had a Class 20 on it.
While much has gone it was nicew to see that the works buildings are being retianed in the new scheme being build plus a few other ouitside workshop buildings. The depot had a very distinctive roof design.
Inverurie is mostly semaphore signaling. The signalbox remains at the same spot, where the single line too and from Old Meldrum ran in front of it. There was a bay platform on the north side of the station for these services. It was part of the Up 'island' platform and you can still make out the platform edging.
Inveurie station is in excellent condition and is a joy to visit.
Waterloo Goods yard in Aberdeen has been relaid with the new track set in concrete to allow both trains and Lorries to use the sidings. A new service is in the pipeline and along with the present Clay sidings the branch is becoming a lot busier than for many years. As well as most of the branch having been cleared and reballasted it was nice to see the track looking nice and shiny from regular use.
My Fotopic web site is at: http://billreid678.fotopic.net/
I decided to stick to Inverurie as I hadn't stopped in the town for quite some years, just passed through by train or bus. It's really quite a pleasant little town with plenty of shops, cafes and restaurants. It is also quite a historical place.
The line closure really made Inverurie quite busy when buses arrived from Elgin for the train connections and the trains were quite full.
I enjoyed a stoll around the town and also took the River Don footpath for some of it's way. There is a long bridge over the river just south of the station. It was originally double track but has been single tracked since the middle 60's. The track used is the old Down line and the bridge is in good condition on that side but on the trackless Up side it looks pretty worn down, with gaps between the spans and rsuting everywhere. If you didn't know that the down side was in use you could easily think that the bridge had been long abandoned. However as the line between Inverurie and Aberdeen is earmarked for redoubling in the near future I am sure the bridge will eventually look pretty grand once again.
I also had a look at the site of the old Locomotive Depot & Works. I have fond memories of working on the shed and going off and on it with locomotives. My very first job at the depot in 1964 was to lite the fire of the steam loco required for a goods usually with an 08 Shunter. More than often the trip to the granite quarry sidings at Monymusk had a Class 20 on it.
While much has gone it was nicew to see that the works buildings are being retianed in the new scheme being build plus a few other ouitside workshop buildings. The depot had a very distinctive roof design.
Inverurie is mostly semaphore signaling. The signalbox remains at the same spot, where the single line too and from Old Meldrum ran in front of it. There was a bay platform on the north side of the station for these services. It was part of the Up 'island' platform and you can still make out the platform edging.
Inveurie station is in excellent condition and is a joy to visit.
Waterloo Goods yard in Aberdeen has been relaid with the new track set in concrete to allow both trains and Lorries to use the sidings. A new service is in the pipeline and along with the present Clay sidings the branch is becoming a lot busier than for many years. As well as most of the branch having been cleared and reballasted it was nice to see the track looking nice and shiny from regular use.
My Fotopic web site is at: http://billreid678.fotopic.net/