Cruden Bay (Viaduct & Station Sites)
(Updated September 2014)
Cruden
Bay station was built mainly to serve the GNSR Hotel and Golf
Course, hence the electric tramway between the station and hotel.
For general use the station was a little far from the center
of
the village down a steep road. However, there are a number of small
hamlets around that would have benefited from the railway. The
tramway was the furthest north electric passenger service in
the
U.K. The station was situated in a valley and along with the tramway
the three-arch viaduct added to the pictorial interest. The station
area has been returned to nature with little but the cutting
at
the west end, the three arches of the viaduct remains plus the
station house to indicate that a railway station and tram terminal
ever stood at this spot. Between the cutting and the main road
stood
a large brick works that was linked to the railway.
Following
in from my walk from Hatton in 2002 and climbing up the embankment
from the demolished bridge on the western side of the Nethermill
Road, the embankment enters the cutting that
opens
up into the station site.
The
station site is down station road with the valley on the right
leading to the viaduct and the cutting.
The
Brickworks is marked, close to the demolished bridge on the
Peterhead/Fraserburgh road. the tramway
from
the station to the Hotel is also indicated. The tram ran over mostly
fields but today the whole area is
a
housing estate as far back as the north end of Station Road. The AD
1004 battle site is where the area
gets it's
name from. Cruden is a corruption of the Gaidhlig for " Slaughter of
the Danes". King Canute lost
the battle
and went home to think again then decided to leave Scotland alone
for a bit and attacked
England instead.
The proper name of the original village is Port Errol. Cruden Bay
was what the GNSR
called their station
and the new dwellings built around the railway and Hotel took that
name.
Cruden Bay Station Site from Google Earth V1.
The following photos are reversed from the shooting
order to follow through from the Hatton to Cruden Bay pages
Cruden Station NLS Maps
The following photos are reversed from the shooting order to follow through from the Hatton to Cruden Bay pages
Entering the cutting on the approach to Cruden Bay
station. The view is blocked by the garden fence on the left. The
chimney and roof of the station house is seen in the background.
Railway fencing
remains top right. Right: A little further into the cutting towards the
station, looking back towards Hatton and the gap where the railway
crossed the road
Still looking towards Hatton at the mouth of the
station approach. The fence on the right beaks the clear view
through the cutting, where the railway crossed another road and
onto Hatton.
At this point the tracks fanned out behind me into the
station and goods yard. Right: Reverse view from the above. Again the fence and
dumped equipment spoil the clear view. As described above,
the tracks fanned out from the single line. The station
lines to the left while the goods lines curved to the right.
Railway fencing can be seen top right. The station house gives
layout scale
This must have been the
northern entrance to the station, from the Nethermill road. The
house that partially blocks the cutting is to the left. Note
those iron gates! I would think that they are originals.
The two concrete posts each side of the smaller gate is
interesting in that they have been deliberately designed to look
ornamental. Right: Standing
virtually center of the station platform trackbed.
The Up platform to the left and the Down platform to the
right of me, with the two tracks running towards the cutting where
the goods lines went off to the left hand side of the field.
With so much
demolished it is very difficult to imagine the scene.
From the leading points on coming out of the cutting,
two goods lines ran straight ahead, with the shorter track going
off to the right up to the short loading platform. The longer line
ran straight ahead up
the Goods Shed, which lay close to where the sandy heap is
dumped. The single line split into two, one track stopping outside
and the other inside the shed. Just ahead of the goods line points
another set
of points curved sharp left and then split into the up & down
platform tracks, which were out of the picture on the far
left. The tramway came in from the far right inside
the railway land following Station
Road then just before the station entrance, up by the large trees,
turned on a tight curve and eventually stopping at the buffers
immediately to the far left.
Right: From the far western corner just clear of the
cutting. A wideangle view of the goods yard. Another iron gate that
suggests that it is an origianal. Possibly the goods yard had been
protected by this
gate! However, there had to be a post on the left side of it too,
similar to the one on the right, which looks more like a
tree runk than a gatepost!.The tramway came down the hill, inside railway poroperty.
The red-roofed building, which is a police station
stands on the actual trackbed. The tram line hugged the inside edge
of the field all the way to the far left as far as the main gate
then on it's long curve
and stopping just behind where I am standing.
23rd Sept 2014 Walk
Original GNSR
fencing by the southern entrance.
Left: From the short
cutting the station throught opens up where the points to the
goods yard turned off to the left.
Right: The southern entrance to the station coming in from Golf
Road.
Left: From the
south station entrance, looking north over the station site,
towards the viaduct. Who could imagine a station ever having stood
here.
Right: From the south side of the station entrance, looking
southwards over the goods yard toward Golf Road. The track ran
left to right atwhat was a local crossing.
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Left: Approximately where the Goods platform stood.
Looking towards the cutting coming in from Hatton. The goods shed
was to my right of the heap of soil with the two goods lines
running up to
the mainline points by the cutting. The tram line and terminal
ahead a little and to the right and terminating alongside the Up
platform, which ran the length of the area.
Above right & Below: A "Now & Then" photo. The
scene is from the western corner of the station layout by the
embankment, looking towards
the Station House with the backfilled cutting just beyond the
viaduct to the far left. The empty field makes it very difficult to imagine
what the
scene was like in the railway days. The montage below is almost
impossible to believe and proves just how almost complete the
railway
demolition has been. It's almost as if someone was determined
that the railway would never return again!
Img_0182b.jpg
(Nov. 2017). Another
interesting find, on the Internet. Here we see the whole of the
station, the Goods Shed and the tramway. It's nice to see how
the station and the tramway were laid out and looks very neat. The
photos below left and above left, says it all! The Up station
buildings were
badly damaged in a fire in the 30's and had to be totally
demolished. (Author Unknown).
(June 2019). Another excellent find, this time on Facebook. Cruden
Bay station from the Ellon end looking along the platform tracks
towards Boddam.
It also includes the station name board on the Down platform. Very
neat track work. (Author Unknown).
The closest to the photo above. From around the same spot looking
what would have been between the two platforms towards Boddam. This
is a much wider angle
view and so taking in more area between the north side of the
station (left) site and to the south taking in the station house
(right). (17th Sept. 2008).
Left: The
main station entrance on Golf
Road.
Right: The station site is up for sale and a housing
estate built on it. Surely a mistake should the station
ever be considerted for reopening in the future!
Left:
The main entrance from within the station
site.
Right: Looking towards Hatton, along the center of the two
platforms.
Left: The western stub of the track bed as it
crossed over Golf Road and to the viaduct.
Right: The tracked crossed Golf Road on a bridge and over an
embankment to the viaduct to the far right.
The embankment remains where the road bridge stood on Gulf Road.
The north end viaduct
as seen from the bottom end of Golf Road, where the road
crossed the Cruden River.
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Another visit to the top side of the viaduct on the 23rd Sept. 2014.
The police Station stands on the tram
track bed. A wire tensioning post is the only remains of the line at
this spot.
Where the tramway crossed the main road
and into the Hotel site.
From 26th Sept 2014
The north end viaduct as seen from the bottom end
of Golf Road, where the road crossed the Cruden River.
Left:
The river Cruden running northwards and curving around to run
below the viaduct and into the sea by the beach.
Right: The south side of the river bridge, with the house
built out onto the railway cutting at the south end of the
station site, top left.
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Another visit to the top side of the viaduct on the 23rd Sept. 2014.
To reach the viaduct there is a foot path, which
today starts from the new road that is now part of the new
housing estate. (Morrison Place). The path starts from the river
bridge and takes you around the higher estate of
Braehead. The path is good until you ahve to get to the
top of the viaduct remains, which can be very boggie, with high
grass and reeds. You need to take care, both getting there and
once on embankment at the top
of the viaduct. There is no fencing at the viaduct edge so
care must be taken when at the edge.
The
viaduct remains from the footpath.
On
the track bed on the north side of the viaduct. The cutting
has been back-filled. However, you can see the two concrete
blocks that mark each side of
the farm access bridge that crossed over the railway. The Down
starter signal stood at the opening of the cutting on the left
of the track bed. The signal
wire had ran all the way from the signal box at the station.
A cropped
section from above right. Interesting metal poles, which would
appear to be remains of the farm access bridge that crossed
the mouth of the cutting.
The north
side concrete block of the overbridge with a wire tension post
still standing.
The east and west decorative pink granite edges of
th viaduct. Both show considerable corrosion, albeit the stones
themselves appear to be quite complete.
The two
granite pillars are still in excellent condition in spite of
the years of weathering. Lined up to show the direct line to
the embakment on the west side of Guf Road and where the line
ranto the station site.
A
wideangle, horizontal view of the viaduct peirs.
The
granite stone sets of the sides of the viaduct.
Left:
The river Cruden curving off westwards towards
Nethermill.
Right: The two pillars and north embuttment of the Viaduct.
The
viaduct pillars as seen from the main road. The road alongside the
new houses at the top of the hill (Braehead) is
called 'Station Road' which is completely
misleading if you are looking for the old station site, which
is to the far left of the viaduct across the valley. Since
taking this photo back in 2002, the view
above can no longer be seen as housing being built here blanks the
view. 1999.
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Cruden Bay Station & Tram pictures
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