Banff

Location type

Station

Names and dates

Banff Harbour (1859-1928)
Banff (1928-1964)

Opened on the Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway.

Description

This was a two platform terminus station, with an island platform. One platform was covered by a station trainshed and the other was outside the trainshed, to the seaward side. The goods yard was also to the seaward side, approached from Tillynaught. The station building was two storey, having a timber roof trainshed with stone walls. (The trainshed was similar to those surviving on the former Highland Railway at Thurso and Wick.) The station was on the north side of Banff right next to the harbour.

A goods yard line continued into the harbour itself serving Banff Gas Works, a saw mill, slip and the existing north pier of the inner harbour. The Macduff Harbour Board had its own locomotive. The harbour line was later cut back to the station, a grounded coach remained by the slip. There was a locomotive shed on the south side of the terminus, at the station throat. It was approached from the east, the station, over a turntable. A rather interesting design had a carriage shed to the south, accessed from the same turntable but a 90 degrees to the shed.

There was a signal box, opened in 1900, on the north side of the line, just west of the station platform.

The signal box was replaced with a ground frame in 1960. The station closed to passengers in 1964. However the line remained open for goods until 1968, coinciding with the closure of the Moray Coast Railway (Great North of Scotland Railway).

After closure the station survived for a few years and was then cleared. After remaining clear for some time it has now been redeveloped.

There was a narrow gauge railway here after closure, now closed. It ran west from the station site to the holiday camp.

To the east, across the River Deveron, was another terminus, Macduff, of the Macduff Extension (Great North of Scotland Railway).

Local

National Cycle Route 1 passes close by the former station.

Banff Preservation & Heritage Society & the Museum of Banff

Tags

Station terminus

External links

Canmore site record
NLS Collection OS map of 1892-1914
NLS Collection OS map of 1944-67
NLS Map
NLS Map




Chronology Dates

26/06/1846Great North of Scotland Railway
Act receives Royal assent.The route was to be Aberdeen to Inverness with Grange to Banff and Portsoy, Orton to Garmouth, Alves to Burghead [1st] branches.
30/07/1859Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway
Line opened (including Portsoy Harbour); stations at Knock, Cornhill, Tillynaught, Ladysbridge, Banff and Portsoy [1st]. Conditional halts were at Barry [GNSR], Ordens and Millegan.
  /  /1910Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway
Banff Harbour branch dismantled.
06/07/1964Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway
Banff to Tillynaught closed to passengers.
06/05/1968Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway
Banff to Tillynaught closed to freight.
  /  /1980Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway
Banff buildings demolished.
  /  /1984Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway
West Buchan Railway opened on former trackbed at Banff.
  /  /1984Boddam Branch (Great North of Scotland Railway)
Port Erroll Narrow Gauge Railway track moved to the former Banff station site to become the West Buchan Railway.

News items

13/09/2023Banff holiday lodges proposal is approved by councillors [Grampian Online]
12/12/2020Confidence high that north-east rail extension remains on track for consideration [Press and Journal]