Strathspey Railway

Thanks - I've not been on the A21 in over 20 years, and never as far south as Robertsbridge, but I was just vaguely wondering about the implications of level crossings relative to traffic levels.

 

No idea about the A21, but from a local perspective the A95 is an arterial route, its vitally important. Level crossings and or traffic lights are an absolute non starter.

 

The A21 has identical legal status, is also an arterial route, and the only main road access from London to Hastings (both a tad larger than Aviemore and Keith!). That's why I'm curious about traffic volumes, for an objective comparison - I realise the politics will be different and don't wish to argue them.

I acknowledge that the question is hypothetical given that at the crossing point it is a fast road, compared with the Rother Valley close to a roundabout.

 

I can tell you from experience the A21 is a very busy road, especially in summer.

 

Which is what I remember from 20-25 years ago on weekend day trips to places like Rye

 

Does Strathspey really need to extend any further? I know Grantown is a WIBN project but in the forseeable future a longer railway is not necessarily a more cost effective one, indeed the opposite is likely to be the case. Better to concentrate on developing what you have at present and make that a more manageable and sustainable enterprise.

Peter

 

I think Grantown is the natural destination for the Strathspey, its a bit like the SVR terminating at Hampton Loade this year, perfectly feasible and gives a nice journey - but as nice as Hampton Loade is, the train doesn't really end up anywhere. Broomhill offers even less - its a good 30 minute walk to Nethy Bridge, its essentially a platform in the middle of nowhere.
Grantown on the other hand is a lovely town, far more traditional than Aviemore with a great range of independent shops, hotels and woodland walks. There is no doubt it would make the Strathspey if it could happen, as it would give it a really nice destination - after all isn't that the point of a railway?

 

Grantown is more than justified. The current line terminus is practially in the middle of nowhere, and offers virtually nothing compared to what is on offer in Grantown. Its a huge boost to the town and completes the railway.

The true WIBN is Craigellachie or Nairn over Dava. Grantown is a realistic and feasible end point for the railway. It also deserves a connection to the network. I cant be the fist person to wonder if the occasional railtour or special Scotrail service could be run from there. A rail connection makes a massive contribution to these places, and we are sorely lacking connections up here.

It can be done, but it is going to need some political support.

 

Back in 1980 (I think) we made the thought of going via Craigellachie a bit more difficult.
I was in a Royal Engineers unit that was sent to install a footbridge Suspension bridge on the formation near Aberlour.
I know that I was not very popular with some salmon fishermen as I drove my digger up and down the river collecting rocks for the anchorage.

 

The Strathspey railway will appear in tonight’s celebrity traitors episode, BBC 1 9pm. The final task has been billed as an explosive finale, which was filmed on the railway.

 

WIBN warning!: From Craigellachie it wouldn't be much further to join up with the Keith & Dufftown Railway!

 

Watched it and with my pedants hat on, I note the train departed Broomhill in the Grantown direction on a “twenty minute journey to the end of the line” and then the journey ended with the train arriving at Broomhill from the Aviemore direction.

 

I have never been there but guessed for my wife which line it was, solely due to the Black 5. Therefore to me in inaccuracy was totally lost, which means it would have been to most of the viewing audience.
Just proves I guess wrong loco, livery or colour station, or a B777 taking of and a B757 landing matters little if you are not into these things.

 

It was a long day; I was the driver. It always amazes me how much film these people take compared to what actually appears on screen. The carriages were stabled at Broomhill overnight; the locomotives being required to arrive at Broomhill by 10.30 in the morning, we got back on shed about 11pm. I think that they chose Broomhill as the contestants joining point as it is quiet and out of the way of prying eyes. We were filmed departing from the station, then hauled back to Aviemore by the class 31 diesel where it was detached. The task run then commenced which did finish at Dulnain Bridge, which is the end of the line.

 

I watched it and, not knowing the line at all, the one continuity thing I noticed was that in the initial shots of the train, and some of the arial shots, it was loco + 5 carriages; but the climax of the sequence saw the contestants emerge onto a flat wagon - which hadn't been attached in a lot of the establishing shots.

But it was basically good harmless fun; the editing gave a degree of rising tension even though I'm sure most people sub-consciously realise that filming a sequence of that complexity is more than a twenty minute job. Hopefully the Strathspey Railway will do well from it, both in the fee they received and any ongoing publicity value from being a location in a popular series.

Tom

 

Quite so. my wife hates it when I point out inaccuracies in programmes that contain railway or aviation scenes but woe betied anybody who gets things wrong regarding motorcycling or horse riding, her two passions.

 

Throughout all of the testing / trial runs, to the actual filming on the day, we never ran without the wagons attached. I have just had a close look at the footage, and the wagons are there in all shots, there is one clip where the end of the train is only just in shot, but the wagons are there. In the opening shots at Broomhill the wagons and the diesel can just be seen at the back, they were kept out of sight of the celebrities who had no knowledge of them being there.. After boarding at Broomhill and being dragged back to Aviemore, the task was carried out in just one run from start to finish.

 

Ah, fair enough. I thought they hadn't been there in some of the drone shots, but I was just watching live and not rewinding to analyse frame by frame, so I must have missed them!

Tom

 

I remember how pleased everyone was when that was put in - alas, apparently nothing significant was ever added on the other side.

Noel

 

As we understand it, and I am not part of the Rails to Grantown group, whom we very rarely hear from, the railway thought that it owned the track bed from the bridge to the Gaich road crossing. However, it seems that it is owned by the estate, who have been using the track bed as access for many years. If the railway were to place track on this section, the estate would require alternative access being provided plus rent being paid. There is also the problem of a railway hating farming family at the Gaich end of the track bed. Therefore, until the government decide to proceed with the road bridge at the Gaich, which isn’t looking likely in the near future, it isn’t worth it.