Dalmunzie (?) Grouse Railway

[Johnson044]

Hi folks - my sister sent me some images from slides that she'd found whilst moving house. I thought they might be of interest.

 

I think this might be the Dalmunzie Grouse Railway - in about 1977.

 

No locos or stock around from memory but I didn't walk the entire line and memories of the holiday in Aberdeenshire are patchy to say the least.

 

Looks to be about 3' or possibly 2'6" gauge, which I think the DR was.

[t-b-g]

What a fascinating little railway. I had never heard of it until your post.

 

I looked it up and if the internet is correct it didn't close until 1978.

 

If you search, there is some colour video of the line running on YouTube in a collection of Dalmunzie Cine Film.

[Johnson044]

Thanks t-b-g - I'll have a look.

 

In 1977 it was pretty moribund!

 

I remember being shown a small narrow gauge system around a remote sawmill in Aberdeenshire whilst on the same holiday but where that was completely eludes me.

[t-b-g]

1 hour ago, Johnson044 said:

Thanks t-b-g - I'll have a look.

 

In 1977 it was pretty moribund!

 

I remember being shown a small narrow gauge system around a remote sawmill in Aberdeenshire whilst on the same holiday but where that was completely eludes me.

 

 

There are various shots of the railway throughout the film.

[pH]

This was 2ft 6in gauge. The otherwise similar Duchal Moor railway on the Renfrewshire moors above Kilmacolm was 2ft gauge:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchal_Moor_Railway

[Dava]

To know more, there’s a good article by Mark Greenwood on both railways in NGIRM 109 (colour photos & map) and a Stenlake book by Rob Dingwall on Glenmunzie, still available. 
 

Dava

[Johnson044]

Thanks for the interest folks - and, t-b-g. It was indeed the Dalmunzie Railway and the date I now know was 2nd April 1977.

[ejstubbs]

The Dalmunzie Railway is shown on the current OS 1:50,000 map, including the zig-zag that was used to gain height before the crossing of the burn which is shown between the words "dismantled" and "railway":

 

 

For some reason the 1:25,000 map just shows it as a path.

 

I went up that glen one winter a few years ago with some pals to refresh our winter hillwalking skills (navigation, ice axe arrest, snow bollards, that sort of thing).  I can't remember exactly what state the railway was in, and I don't seem to have taken any photos of the outing, unfortunately.  My recollection is that there was a remnant of some kind of buffer stop at the eastern end of the upper zig-zag, so there was probably some evidence of rails in place as well.  ISTR that the line of the railway faded away as you got closer to the farm, and was basically no longer visible at the point where it crossed a field/paddock between the farm and the "big house".  However - again a vague recollection - I think there was a shed with some rather neglected-looking rolling stock round the back of the hotel.

 

It's possible to trace most of the route on Google Maps satellite view: start at the Dalmunzie Castle Hotel and work westwards.

 

EDIT: I had an inkling that this had been discussed here before, and found this in the "abandoned rails in the road..." thread:

 

which includes a link to a Railscot page about the railway complete with photos, and this Press and Journal article about it (which itself includes the video linked above, and a reference to Rod Dingwall's book about the line, which is still listed on Amazon).

Edited June 18, 2022 by ejstubbs