On arrival at Dufftown the driver checks out a problem with the DMU,, which he delt with quite quickly
KEITH TO DUFFTOWN RAILWAY
September 2008
Final Page of Four
On arrival at Dufftown the driver checks out a problem with the
DMU,, which he delt with quite quickly
The DMU driving cab. Quite different from a car or lorry. The
wheel is the unit's parking brake. The
red handle is the Emergency brake and the black handle just to the left the
normal working train brake.
It also incorporates the reversing lever. The handle to the far left of that is
the power controller and the
Deadman's Handle.They are officially called the Driver's Safety Device" (D.S.D.).
As if the train was not late enough on departing, it was stopped
just as sudenly by a member of the staff to relay a problem
up ahead, which the driver had to watch out for
and reduce speed to pass.
A passenger looks out wondering why the late train has been
stopped
after it's brief effort to pull away
The DMU finally gets the 'right awa' and starts to power up past
the sidings, which contain numerous artifact
As we pass the staff member who relayed the problem to the driver
has returned to his
work on renovation the goods wagon in the siding
Passing the J&B Distillery six-wheeled diesel mechanical shunter
The shunter is the main loco for working engineering trains on
the branchline
Some interesting artifact in various state of repair, or decay!
The signalbox was probably a small groundframe cabin that
worked on this or some other railway
The spare Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) that is often used to
increase the coaxches of ther working DMU for special
events when there are large groups of passengers or possible hired for a wedding
or anniversary event
The Macallan Diesel Mechanical shunter represents the sort of
small loco
that worked within whisky distillery's
The crossover in and out of the goods yard. This was originally
the old 'down' line
into the station when there were two working platforms. The unit is using the
old 'up' line. The single line too and from Keith starts from this crossover
Glen Fiddich Distillery
Ditto
North of Glen Fiddich heading towards Dummure
Running towards Drummure station
The cyclist has managed to return to Drummure station and catch
his train
A very empty Drummure station, with only the base of the old
station buildings to remind you that there was a lot more to it in the past.
There is a nice walk in and around the station area.
To the north of Drummure
Unusual to see so many Donkies in a field
The southern outskirts of Keith is just around this bend
A mile or so more and you will be in Keith
The DMU after arrival back at Keith Town station. Just a brief
time to capture a few pictures before the walk back
to Keith Junction station
The driver chats to a passenger as he changes ends for the next
trip back to Dufftown
The DMU makes a fine subject standing by the rebuilt station buildings. They
have ben designed exactly as the originals,
which were demolished after the line closure in 1966.
On the walk to Keith Junction station you [pass the remains of
the old through line and the Ex GNSR Goods Shed.
The shed was built of granite but the staff building is of wood.
The goods shed is till in excellent condition. There were two
tracks towards Keith Town station, which became singleline
just up ahead.
The through platform line (nearest) terminates at a stop block just out of site
From the same spot looking south across the goods yard with Keith
Junction signalbox on the left.
The high hills between Keith and Carnie (ex Junction to Elgin via Tillynaught)
is seen in the background.
Three rather interesting ex GNSR huts and cabins. The larger
cabin on the far left was a shunter's cabin. The center hut would
have been a store and the smaller hut for storing oil for point lubricating and
paraffin for signal and train tail lights.
It's always sad to see unused loading platforms, which tell of
the time when the railway was considerably more busy that today
The platform line on the left is that of the through line to
Dufftown and today is a deadend. However, it is hoped that the through
link will come about again before long. An intersting artifat is the sorry
looking loading gauge at the outlet of the old goods
sidings. These were used to stop wagons, and coaches that maybe out of
gauge, getting onto the main line. Such vehicles would
forwarded as 'Special workings' and given written permission to run, with any
restrictions indicated to the drivers and guards on
their train journals, so that they would know of the discrepency and to reduce
speed at whichever point of the journey this action
would be required for the out of guage vehicles to be pass safely. The
restriction may be width or height, where the vehicles may
wobble or bounce just enough to strike the underside of a bridge or tunnel or
scrape on platform edges and such at normal freight
train speeds. A fixed speed restriction past those affected areas would avoid
any problems.
Keith mainline station. The old buildings have all been
demolished and a new building takes their place. It is only staffed
during the peak hours
Looking south with the signalbox in the distance and the factory
built on top of the original locomotive depot on the far right
opposite.
The station platform is being extended to take the longer trains that are due to
appear on the Aberdeen-Inverness
services in the near futue
A closer view of the old ganger's hut, signalbox and ex loco
depot
Keith Junction Station looking towards Elgin and Inverness. This was where
the GNSR terminated and the Highland railway to
Inverness and
beyond began. The Dufftown - Craigellachie branch was behind the station
building.
The Inverness-Aberdeen train arrives at Keith
And so a very pleasant visit to the line which I worked over in the 60's came to an end. It was a very pleasant day but the timtables at each station don't match up very conveniently and you either find yourself with a hurried walk too or from the stations or have very long waits for either train. It doesn't exactly encourage people to leave their cars at home and take the train! The Keith-Dufftown timetable requires a little tweeking to at least give a fair chance of comfortable connection.