Alford Valley Railway - Original Railway

Original Railway

The construction of the Alford Valley Railway started in 1856 and the line opened in 1859 as a Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR) branch line from Kintore railway station, northwest of Aberdeen, with stations at Kemnay, Monymusk, Tillyfourie, Whitehouse and Alford. The line also served Kemnay Quarry and three other granite quarries in the area. The summit of the line is just west of Tillyfourie at 618 feet (188 m) where a mile-long cutting 30 feet (9.1 m) deep required cutting through particularly hard granite. The train took just over an hour for the 16 mile journey and until 1883 by law the third class fare on one train a day could not be more that a penny per mile.

In 1923 GNSR was incorporated into the London and North Eastern Railway and, in 1948, became part of the Scottish Region of British Railways . The line closed to passengers in 1950 and to goods in 1966.

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