Scottish (closed) railway rambles

[Pennine MC]

I'm not particularly one for walking old railway routes or seeking out the vaguest remains of old facilities, but when I know something's definitely there, I'll happily go and have a look at it. A few day's break north of the Border gave the opportunity to bounce around doing just that, in search of a few personal grails, places that I was familiar with through the works of the admirable Messrs Gammell and O'Hara and their ilk.

 

First on the list, and a short drive from where we stayed at Dundee, was Newtyle. Parts of the original line here were rope worked inclines, but were deviated with easier grades when locomotive haulage came in. The first sign we found was this overbridge on the road to Coupar Angus, which is/was on part of the deviation built to cut out the Hatton incline:

 

 

The station itself was found in the village, with some help from the nice Post Office lady. It dates back to the 1830s and apparently has a good claim to being the first passenger station in Scotland:

 

 

 

 

The brick portion is presumably later than the rest (this is the north west end, from which the station was accessed in its later use as a goods depot):

 

 

 

 

This shot looks out to the main part of the village; behind me, there is a driveway to modern private residences.

 

 

 

 

 

The last shot is taken looking 180deg from the one before, and the abandoned line over Hatton would have continued past where the Peugeot is parked.

 

Forfar provided little of note, particularly as the cafe in the local Tesco had shut and the drinks machine in the nearby garage had been decommissioned. Next up was Brechin, via Alyth and Kirriemuir. The Caledonian Railway wasn't open, it being a tad late in the season, but shots of the station frontage were on the agenda. Bucking the trend, I thought I'd show it with a bit of its surroundings, a rather nice square:

 

 

 

 

 

A ride was taken up to Bridge of Dun, which does indeed have a rather nice bridge. I thought this scene was kinda bizarre, a horse with its winter coat on amidst moribund Rats and a Mk2 aircon:

 

 

 

A homeward run to Dundee went via Montrose (under the viaduct that features in a few shots) and Lunan Bay, which was cccccold. The following day we headed via Perth to Crieff, Comrie and along Loch Earn. This (I'm pretty sure) is Glen Ogle viaduct on the Callander and Oban, alongside the A85:

 

 

 

Passing back through Killin (absolutely gorgeous ) and along the north side of Loch Tay to a quick call at the Aberfeldy distillery (but sadly short of time to do a tour), the last (but not least) place of note was Grandtully, an intermediate station on the branch from Ballinluig. So I can honestly say that I've driven on the Aberfeldy branch

 

 

 

The overbridge has to be the one that the classic shots are taken from, I missed a trick perhaps in not going back up there but my camera batteries were running down by then. Even from this lower angle though, to anybody who knows the shots, the stepped loading bank is a dead giveaway:

 

 

 

And homeward bound next day through the Borders, I just had to have this one:

 

 

[pudzyp]

Certainly is glen ogle . There's a great wee snack van that does a crackin venison burger at the picnic area there. I work for Stirling council and i'm often up there with work and Killin, can be even more breathtaking with rain and low cloud!

[Pennine MC]

Cheers Neil. Must say we had a couple of cracking days - not too chilly, and no rain to speak of. I expect the scenery loses its attraction a tad when you have to brave the elements to earn a crust