We were extremely honoured to have received this award in recognition of the 40 years of dedicated hard work our team have put into running and restoring the railway.īeing an entirely volunteer run organisation, the railway would not be where it is today without our volunteers. The Queen's Award is an incredibly prestigious award and is the highest accolade any volunteer organisation can receive, being the volunteer equivalent to an MBE. ![]() In the summer of 2019, the railway and its volunteers won the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. With thousands of visitors a year, the Caledonian Railway has become one of the most visited attractions in the area. After being active for almost 40 years, the Caledonian Railway company in association with the Brechin Railway Preservation Society has gone from strength to strength, restoring and maintaining the line's infrastructure along with the rolling stock and locomotives required to successfully operate the services.Įven after 170 years, the railway line is still going strong thanks to a dedicated team of volunteers. They were eventually successful and the line along with its two stations were preserved, with the first heritage passenger services being operated within the station limits not long after the departure of BR.Īfter obtaining a light railway order in 1993, the railway was granted permission to run passenger services along the entire length of the line to Bridge of Dun. In 1979, a group of railway enthusiasts set up the Caledonian Railway (Brechin) Ltd in conjunction with the Brechin Railway Preservation Society in a bid to save the branch line. Unfortunately, due to increased competition from motor vehicles and declining passenger numbers, the line closed to passenger services in 1952 but remained open to freight traffic until 1981. On the 1st January 1948, the LMS was nationalised by the Transport Act of 1947 and became part of British Railways (BR).īritish Railways (British Rail from 1965) continued to operate trains along the four-mile branch line for many years. The LMS operated the branch line from 1923 to 31st December 1947. Subsequently, the Caledonian Railway was absorbed into the London, Midland, and Scottish (LMS) Railway in 1923. This act condensed the vast number of individual railway companies operating in the country into four large ones in an attempt to curve spiralling operating costs. After alterations were made, the line was reopened to goods trains on 7th January 1895, with passenger services commencing on the 1st June the same year.Īfter the first world war, the Railways Act of 1921 was passed. Subsequently, Brechin station was expanded in 1885 to accommodate more passenger and freight trains.ĭue to financial issues in the late 1880’s and early 1890’s, the Aberdeen Railway company sold the Brechin branch line to the Caledonian Railway company on the 31st July 1894. Traffic along the line was expected to increase towards the end of the 19th century. However, due to the orientation and location of Brechin station, this plan was soon abandoned. ![]() During the 1880’s, a proposal to upgrade the branch line to a mainline route between Forfar and Brechin was proposed. ![]() On 1st February 1848, the Aberdeen Railway Company opened the branch line between Brechin and Bridge of Dun which connected to the new mainline between Friockheim and Dubton. Due to the geography of Brechin and the River South Esk, building a canal was not feasible and so a railway line was constructed. ![]() Two methods of transport were suggested for the job canals and railways. To allow the town to continue growing, a method of moving large quantities of materials in and out of the town was required. Our Historyĭuring the 19th century, the small town of Brechin began to grow and become known for its produce, namely textiles and whisky. We run steam and diesel hauled trains along the 4 mile branch line between the town of Brechin to the countryside stop of Bridge of Dun, which dates back to 1848. We are an entirely volunteer run charity (SC012714) that restores, maintains and operates a heritage railway based in the heart of Angus in Scotland.
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