Lease breakthrough for Alford Valley revival
MOVES to reopen Scotland’s 2ft gauge Alford Valley Railway have been boosted by support from Aberdeenshire Council.
The Alford Valley Community Railway has been working to reopen the line since its closure in 2017 due concerns over the condition of the track.
At a committee meeting on January 25, the council unanimously approved a lease of the Alford railway station building, engine shed and surrounding grounds to the group for the next 20 years, at a cost of £1 per year.
The original standard gauge Alford Valley Railway opened in 1859. It closed to passengers on December 31, 1949, and to freight on December 31, 1965.
The narrow gauge railway was built by local enthusiast James Gordon from salvaged equipment from the New Pitsligo peat moss railway and opened in 1980. It originally ran for 1.9 miles from Haughton Park station through Murray Park Woods, but in 1984 another line was run from Alford station, alongside Alford Golf Course to Haughton Park. The Murray Woods line was then closed.
The current station building is on the site of the granite structure which was demolished after BR closed the line, but the passenger platform is the original.
A small railway museum is housed in the building. Nearby are Grampian Transport Museum and Alford Heritage Museum.
The AVCR has held discussions with the golf club and Grampian Transport Museum, as sections of the line run over their respective grounds.
AVCR vice chairman Lewis Buchan said the committee “is very happy that the lease has been approved. This is a massive goal reached in our project and we can’t wait to get started on the next stages of the project to enable us to bring the railway back for everyone to be able to enjoy.”
It is planned to carry out the refurbishment of the heritage line in phases, beginning with the station, followed by the engine shed and turntable, and then the Haughton Park station and car park in phase three, before attention is focused on the track itself.