The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Trespassers dicing with danger on Angus rail line
Plea for public to keep off the tracks
Bored lockdown youngsters are dicing with death on an Angus rail line run by a volunteer heritage group.
Brechin Caledonian Railway enthusiasts were stunned to see a group of children strolling along the tracks they operate from the town to Dun, near Montrose on Monday night.
The railway is closed due to coronavirus restrictions but trains are still running on the track for maintenance inspections.
Caley officials are now pleading with people not to risk their lives or break the law by straying on to the line.
It comes after the group landed almost a quarter of a million pounds to help see them through the Covid-19 crisis.
The railway normally welcomes thousands of visitors each year to regular steam and diesel runs as well as special themed days including Thomas the Tank and Friends.
Set up in 1979, the Caley Railway group runs on the four-mile branch line from Brechin to Dun on a stretch of railway dating back to 1848.
A group spokesman said: “While carrying out a routine line inspection, our volunteers came across a group of people walking along the railway line.
“Railway lines are not a safe place to walk. They are dangerous and by being on them, you are putting yourself at risk.
“While we may be closed to the public, trains are still operating in order to carry out essential works.
“Not only is it dangerous and irresponsible, it is also illegal and you could be fined. If you are out walking, please stick to authorised footpaths and stay off the railway.”
The attraction, a winner of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, is planning an August 2 reopening and has been boosted by the £115,500 windfall from the National Lottery Heritage Fund emergency Covid-19 scheme to help the sector survive. It also received a £96,000 grant from a Scottish Government resilience fund provided by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, and a further £10,000 from Angus Council as part of the government Covid-19 support grants.
The spokesman added: “The railway has had no passenger income since 2019 and safety critical maintenance activities have been seriously curtailed.
“Unfortunately, during this time we have been subject to thoughtless vandalism that has required the involvement of the police. We are only now slowly beginning to return to restricted routine maintenance activities with additional controls in place to protect our volunteers.”
The group said that without the lottery support it would have struggled to complete the extra pandemic-related work necessary to reopen.
Volunteers have, however, been busy with the repainting of a historical piece of rolling stock, the railway’s Mk 1 TSO coach 4495, with hours spent returning the livery to its former glory.