Remember the days when trains were more than just another form of transport? When every journey was an adventure which began with watching the train pull in to the station pulled by an engine running only on boiling water? Even those too young to remember those days cannot fail to be impressed by the raw, naked power of these smoking beasts.

Trains of the Strathspey Steam Railway can be seen from the rear of the house and it is compulsory to sit at the patio table with your breakfast and enjoy the spectacle. Because of the close proximity to the station on one side and the level crossing on the other the trains are not up to full speed when they pass the house so the engines can be seen in their full glory. Waving back at the passengers is the natural thing to do. One change from the golden days of steam is the crew no longer fry bacon and eggs on the fireman's shovel, they go to the cafe at Broomhill station instead!

An evening meal on the train is an experience, not cheap but highly recommended. The train takes you from Aviemore to Broomhill and back to Aviemore stopping occasionally to allow time to eat the meal. A long stop for exploration and a leg stretch at Broomhill is now included. Catering and organisation of the onboard evening dinner has been taken over by the Cairngorm Hotel close to the railway station in Aviemore and tickets are obtainable from there.

Aviemore Station is one of the few listed buildings in Aviemore. Originally built in 1863 the present station was built in 1898 and was used in its entirety until the Beeching axe in the 60's when the line to Grantown-on-Spey and Forres was closed. This was the line on which the Strathspey Steam Railway now runs. Subsequent to the line closure the eastern side of the island platform, accessible from the main platform by a steel footbridge, was no longer required and fell into disrepair. In 1998 the Strathspey Steam Railway was allowed to use the east side of the island platform as a boarding point so restoration of the three old buildings on it (waiting rooms, staff offices, and toilets) had to be carried out. A fourth building was built comprising of a ticket hall, a booking office and a shop. It is difficult to distinguish the new building from the 1898 restored ones.

Srathspey Steam Railway was conceived in 1971 and the first train ran in 1978. In the early days the Railway was operating only between Aviemore and Boat of Garten and while Boat station was available for use there was no platform available at Aviemore. To overcome this lack it was necessary to build Aviemore (Speyside) station within the confines of the main station yard and 300 yards north of the main station buildings. The new station was built using material rescued from Dalnaspidal, a station situated on the Highland Main Line south of the Drumochter Pass that had been closed as part of the Beeching Axe. The railway used this platform until 1998 when it moved to Aviemore main station which it now shares with the Perth to Inverness main line trains. Aviemore (Speyside) station was closed and eventually demolished leaving only the platform as a visible reminder.

Boat of Garten was and still is the center of operations of the Strathspey Steam Railway as the trains are housed here, the first run of the day starts from here and the final journey on the evening is from Aviemore to Boat of Garten. Most of the station buildings and components here are originals from pre-closure days. Boat of Garten also has the line's only water filling facility and the only two operational signal boxes, one north and one south of the station. The signal boxes use traditional British Railways semaphore signals. For many years this was the extent of the preserved railway. On 31st May 2002 the extension to Broomhill Station, midway between Nethy Bridge and Dulnain Bridge, was opened.

Broomhill Station building had been demolished long ago so a replica was built on the original foundations. Broomhill was used to represent Glenbogle station in the BBC's Monarch of the Glen TV series and it still carries both Broomhill and Glenbogle station name signs. Work is underway on the proposed extension to Grantown-on-Spey which should increase the total length of track from its current ten miles to over thirteen miles and give a welcome boost to tourism. Grantown-on-Spey, which once boasted two separate stations owned and run by different operators will once again have a station to call it's own. It is expected that the run-round loop currently at Broomhill station to facilitate the engine changing ends will be removed when this extension is operational.

Historically, there was a line called the Strathspey Railway which opened in July 1863 and ran from Dufftown to Abernethy (Nethy Bridge) stopping short of  Broomhill by a mile or so and on the opposite side of the river Spey. The track the current Strathspey Steam Railway follows was part of the Inverness and Perth Junction Railway which came from the south (Dunkeld) to Aviemore then continued to Grantown-on-Spey and eventually Forres. It was built to link the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway at Forres with the Perth and Dunkeld Railway at Dunkeld and Birnam station. It was opened in three stages, the Forres to Aviemore section being opened in August 1863. At that time the line north of Aviemore to Inverness (which combined with the Dunkeld to Aviemore is now the through main line) did not exist until the 1890's when the Highland Railway built the Inverness and Aviemore Direct Railway as a direct route across Slochd to Inverness.

In 1866 the Strathspey Railway became part of the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) and the line was extended from Nethy Bridge across the Spey to join up with the Inverness and Perth Junction Railway, which in 1865 had amalgamated with the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway to form the Highland Railway. Unwilling to go to the expense of building a signal box here the line was laid parallel to the Highland Railway track for three miles south and the connection was completed just south of Boat of Garten where a signal box already existed.

As a consequence of the Railways Act 1921 the Highland Railway became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1923 while the Great North of Scotland Railway was allocated to the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) as its Northern Scottish area in the same year. All companies were amalgamated on 1st January 1948 through nationalisation.

Featured throughout the year at the Strathspey Steam Railway are Theme days and weekends ranging from Thomas the Tank to 40's  to Santa Specials. Full details can be found on their website.

Links to the Strathspey Steam Railway and Strathspey Railway Association websites are provided on the 'Links' page.

© 2009 Peter Skilbeck