Friockheim Junction

Location type

Junction

Names and dates

Friockheim Junction (1848-1857)
Friockheim Junction (1863-1867)
Friockheim Junction (1878-1908)

Opened on the Aberdeen Railway.
Opened on the Arbroath and Forfar Railway.

Description

This junction had a very chequered history - opening and re-closing several times. This junction was between the 1848 Aberdeen Railway and the Forfar to Arbroath line (the 1839 Arbroath and Forfar Railway). The junction allowed trains to run from Dundee East and Arbroath to Aberdeen. Both lines meeting at the junction were double track. Catchpoints on the Forfar route protected the junction and line to Arbroath from runaways.

The route through Dundee was not continuous, there was no passenger connection between Dundee West and Dundee East meaning that the main route to the north was via Forfar [2nd] (initially it was very poor through Arbroath too). As a result fewer trains used this junction to go north and the majority of trains from Arbroath travelled to Forfar [2nd].

With the the opening of the Tay Bridge [1st] (1878-1879) the curve re-opened again to carry traffic to the north. It remained open after the bridge fell. A signal box opened on the west side of the junction in 1878.

The route north from Arbroath was effectively replaced on the opening of the North British, Arbroath and Montrose Railway between 1881 and 1883 which was built in connection with the opening of the Tay Bridge (and its replacement of 1887). This took away what little local traffic there was between Arbroath and Montrose. The opening of that line was also the death knell for the main line Forfar [2nd] route many years later as the gap in Dundee was finally closed with the opening of the Dundee's Tay Bridge [Station].

The junction and curve lasted until 1908. The box lasted until 1917.

Twenty years after closure of the junction the remaining line was singled (southbound line lifted in 1936) and then closed completely in 1965.

Friockheim station was on the route west to Forfar [2nd], the Friockheim Viaduct was on the line north to Glasterlaw Junction and to the south was Legaston Quarry, Border Quarry and Leysmill station.

The formation of the junction and the location of the box can still be discerned in the undergrowth. Infilling of the cutting in recent years has raised the ground level considerably but the site can still be found.

Tags

Junction

External links

NLS Collection OS map of 1892-1914
NLS Collection OS map of 1944-67
NLS Map
NLS Map
NLS Map


Nearby stations
Friockheim
Leysmill
Glasterlaw
Guthrie
Colliston
Carmyllie
Auldbar Road
Letham Grange
Denhead
Cauldcots
Farnell Road
Cuthlie
Inverkeilor
Arbirlot
Arbroath
Friockheim Viaduct
Legaston Quarry
Border Quarry
Leysmill Quarry
Glasterlaw Junction
Guthrie Junction
Guthrie Gate
Woodside Farm Bridge
Slade Quarry
Tourist/other
Border Signal Box
Guthrie Castle
Colliston Castle
Milldens Crossing
Letham Grange Hotel
Muirmills Level Crossing
Location names in dark blue are on the same original line.


Chronology Dates

01/02/1848Aberdeen Railway
Guthrie Junction and Friockheim Junction (merging at Glasterlaw Junction) to termini at Brechin and Montrose [CR] (dividing at Bridge of Dun) opened. Stations opened at Guthrie, Glasterlaw, Farnell Road, Bridge of Dun, Brechin, Montrose [CR]. Coaches connected with trains at Montrose [CR] allowing passengers to continue north.
  /  /1850Aberdeen Railway
Friockheim Junction (excluded) to Glasterlaw Junction (excluded) closed. Friockheim Viaduct out of use. Guthrie used as exchange.
01/04/1863Aberdeen Railway
Friockheim Junction to Glasterlaw Junction re-opened. Friockheim Viaduct brought back into use.
01/11/1867Aberdeen Railway
Friockheim Junction (excluded) to Glasterlaw Junction (excluded) closed again. Friockheim Viaduct out of use.
16/07/1878Aberdeen Railway
Friockheim Junction to Glasterlaw Junction re-opened. Friockheim Viaduct brought back into use.
01/02/1908Aberdeen Railway
Friockheim Junction (excluded) to Glasterlaw Junction (excluded) closed again.
  /  /1914Aberdeen Railway
Friockheim Viaduct out of use. Line lifted in 1917 for war effort and Friockheim Junction box closed.

Books


A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: The North of Scotland v. 15 (Regional railway history series)

Aberdeen 1900: Aberdeenshire Sheet 75.11 (Old O.S. Maps of Aberdeenshire)

Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire: 40 Coast and Country Walks

Aberdeen City Centre History Tour

Aberdeen City Centre Through Time

Aberdeen in Old Picture Postcards

Aberdeen in the Fifties and Sixties

Aberdeen Remembered: By Aberdeen City Libraries and Museums

Aberdeen, Inverurie and Pitmedden (OS Landranger Map)

Aberdeen: An Illustrated Architectural Guide (RIAS illustrated architectural guides to Scotland)

Aberdeenshire: South and Aberdeen (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Scotland)

Aberdeenshire's Lost Railways

Angus and Kincardineshire's Lost Railways

BR Steam in Colour: London to Aberdeen from the Bill Reed Collection

Bradshaw's Guide Scotland's Railways East Coast Berwick to Aberdeen & Beyond: Volume 6

Brechin 1901: Forfarshire Sheet 28.13 (Old O.S. Maps of Forfarshire)

British Railways Steam - King's Cross to Aberdeen: From the Bill Reed Collection

Bygone Montrose: With Inverkeilor, Lunan Bay, Rossie, Usan, Ferryden, Bridge of Dun, Hillside, Dubton and Craigo

Caledonian Routes 1: Aberdeen, Strathmore Line & Branches

Cock o' the North: Aberdeen to Kyle of Lochalsh - Study in Diesel Power Through Its Various Stages

Great North Memories: Aberdeen No. 2: Scenes of the North East's Own Railway

Hidden Aberdeen: History on Your Doorstep and Under Your Feet

Joint Station: Aberdeen Station, 1867-1992

Landranger (54) Dundee & Montrose, Forfar & Arbroath (OS Landranger Map)

Memories of Steam from Glasgow to Aberdeen

Memories of Steam from Glasgow to Aberdeen

Memories of Steam from Glasgow to Aberdeen

Montrose The Postcard Collection

Montrose Through Time
National Series of Waterway, Tramway and Railway Atlases: Aberdeen v. 1m
On Either Side, 1939: The Train between London King's Cross & Edinburgh Waverley, Fort William, Inverness & Aberdeen (Old House)

OS Explorer Map (389) Forfar, Brechin and Edzell (OS Explorer Paper Map) (OS Explorer Active Map)

Railways Of Scotland 4: Aberdeen And The Grampians DVD - Cinerail

Railways Of Scotland 7: Perth To Kinnaber Junction DVD - Cinerail

The Arbroath and Forfar Railway: The Dundee Direct Line and the Kirriemuir Branch (Oakwood Library of Railway History)

The Montrose & Bervie Railway: A Study of Transport in South-East Kincardineshire 1770-1966

The Railways of Aberdeen: 150 Years of History: One Hundred and Fifty Years of History
The Railways of Strathmore (Perth, Forfar and Brechin)The 'Subbies': The story of Aberdeen's suburban trains 1887-1987