BRECHIN: THE NEW‘CALEY’
espite sharing its illustrious name with the mighty Scottish pre-Grouping company, today’s Caledonian Railway is overlooked by most enthusiasts.Yet it is steeped in as much history as any of our top ‘premier league’ preserved railways; one of Scotland’s oldest branch lines, its impressive stations forming part of the stage for two of the closing acts before the curtain fell on Scottish Region steam.
In other words, there was a time when it was a magnet for enthusiasts. Could it ever be again? The 40th anniversary of its last BR train, and its takeover by the preservationists, seemed an appropriate moment to find out.
Racing ground
It may be a branch line, but the CR has close links with – and could one day even reopen part of – one of the most famous main lines in Scotland, and indeed the whole country.
Its current eastern terminus, Bridge of Dun, is where it joined the Strathmore route from Perth to Aberdeen via Forfar – the scene of the ‘Races to the North’ in 1895.
As the West and East Coast Main Lines vied for the fastest time from London to Aberdeen, Bridge of Dun was the penultimate station before the effective finishing line at Kinnaber Junction. With the rival Caledonian Railway and North British Railway thence sharing the same metals for the last leg of the journey to the Granite City, whichever train got there first was the winner.
Seventy years later, the Strathmore line once again became a famous racetrack, with the spectacular farewell of the Gresley A4 Pacifics on the three-hour expresses from Glasgow to Aberdeen – while the Brechin branch itself would have its turn in the enthusiast limelight shortly afterwards.
Brechin station is a far grander structure than the words ‘branch line’ might suggest, but it
