Full steam ahead at museum

Anorth-east tourist attraction is gearing up for a grand reopening this weekend to offer visitors a glimpse into the history of the region’s railways.

The Maud Railway Museum will once again open its doors for the summer season to excite people of all ages with a wide range of new displays and exhibits.

Volunteers have been hard at work for the last two years to spruce up the historic platform area for an improved visitors’ experience with new paving stones and signage.

As well as the popular traditional exhibits in the former booking hall, people will be treated with new photographic and audiovisual displays at the old refreshment rooms.

Other highlights this season feature a Meccano model of the Cruden bay tramcar built by Sandy Shirras of Alford and a model railway depicting Maud Station in its heyday.

But there will be loads more to explore with various new historic vehicles – including a Peterhead Prison railway carriage and a former Royal Navy explosives wagon.

These have been enhanced with a display of old platform trolleys and barrows once familiar at railway stations, as well as other artefacts from the region’s past.

And for a full day of entertainment, parents and youngsters will also be able to hop on a miniature railway wagon for a ride.

Volunteer guide Alistair Robertson hopes many will take the opportunity this summer to visit the museum and take in the fascinating stories of the north-east railways.

He said: “It’s great to have people come in again – for the stories they can share and the stories we can tell. That’s what we pride ourselves in – the interaction with our visitors.

“There is so much to see – including a special exhibition of unique photos of airships from the Second World War. Many people don’t even know that we had airships in the northeast, so there is a really educational side of it as well.

“One of the best things is probably the quite extensive model of the Maud station in its heyday, which will be operated with a computer controller to show trains coming in and out of the station to Aberdeen, Peterhead and Fraserburgh.

“And the miniature railway is a cracking bit of kit like – it actually does the proper railway sound as the carriage wheels go along the joints and the rails.

“We are just hoping to give people a personal and enlightening experience and help them reconnect with their heritage.”

Maud Railway Museum will be open every fortnight on Saturdays and Sundays from 10.30am to 4pm.

Pictures by Wullie Marr. HERITAGE: Volunteer guide Alistair Robertson and Jim Gibb with some of the new displays as Maud Railway Museum gets on track for a grand reopening.

Volunteer Simon Hailey and the new miniature train.