Brechin railway station

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Coordinates: 56°43′53″N 2°39′09″W / 56.731298°N 2.652414°W / 56.731298; -2.652414
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Brechin
Station on heritage railway
General information
LocationBrechin, Angus
Scotland
Coordinates56°43′53″N 2°39′09″W / 56.731298°N 2.652414°W / 56.731298; -2.652414
Grid referenceNO601601
Managed byCaledonian Railway (Brechin)
Platforms2
History
Original companyAberdeen Railway
Pre-groupingCaledonian Railway
Post-groupingLMS
Key dates
1 February 1848Opened by the Aberdeen Railway
4 August 1952Closed to passengers
1981Closed to all traffic
1993Re-opened by Caledonian Railway (Brechin)
Listed Building – Category B
Designated18 August 1986
Reference no.LB22536[1]

Brechin is a station in Angus, on the Caledonian Railway line.

History[edit]

The station opened for business on 1 February 1848. Initially four trains per day ran between Brechin and Montrose. The fare between Brechin and Montrose was 1s.4d First Class, 1s. Second Class and 8d Third Class.[2]

The station buildings were constructed between 1847 and 1848. By 1872 there were complaints about the state of the station and the lack of comfortable accommodation for passengers.[3] However, nothing was done until the Caledonian Railway purchased the Forfar and Brechin Railway in 1893. The new owners then planned a major extension, largely prompted by the imminent arrival of the Brechin and Edzell District Railway. They began negotiation with Brechin Town Council for the purchase of land and widening of streets.[4] The changes started in 1895 with the expansion of the goods department on land purchased by the company from the Town Council in Strachan's Park.[5] They station passenger accommodation was then extended between 1897 and 1898 to designs by Thomas Barr, District Engineer of Perth.[1]

During the extension works there was a serious accident at the station on 27 August 1895.[6] A passenger service from Forfar due in at 9.00am failed to stop at the platform and crashed through the terminus and ended up on the roadway leading to the goods station. A number of passengers on the train sustained severe shock, but fortunately there were no injuries.[7] A Board of Trade enquiry was held on 10 September 1895 by Colonel George William Addison R.E. [8]

Shortly after the station was extended there was a serious accident on 2 November 1898. The driver of a goods train from Forfar consisting of engine no. 521, a six-wheeled locomotive with a 6 wheeled tender, 30 loaded cattle trucks and a brake van lost control of his train when descending the incline towards the station. It struck the buffer stops at the end of the line and demolished them, crossed the platform behind the stops and went through the stone wall of the station building and came to rest in the booking hall. Several columns were destroyed and a section of the platform canopy collapsed. The driver and fireman managed to jump clear before the engine left the rails and were not badly injured. Eleven cattle trucks were wrecked at 88 head of cattle were killed or injured. The blame was placed on the driver, John Habenton, for not exercising control over his train.[9]

The station closed to passenger traffic on 4 August 1952. The last train on the branch line was the 6.13 pm train from Montrose which was made up of three first-class coaches.[10] Passenger services on the Forfar-Brechin and Brechin-Bridge of Dun-Montrose line were withdrawn to save £11,000 per annum (equivalent to £340,000 in 2021).[11]

Modern day[edit]

In 2023, a footbridge manufactured in 1877 and formerly located near the former Strathbungo railway station in Glasgow will be reconstructed at the station.[12]

Stationmasters[edit]

  • James Petrie ca. 1851 ca. 1867
  • Richard Hermon ca. 1874 - 1879[13] (afterwards station master at Montrose)
  • Robert Elliott 1879 - 1920[14]
  • David Smythe 1920 - 1924 (afterwards station master at Forfar)
  • Alexander Farquharson 1924[15] - 1934 (formerly station master at Dunning)
  • David Lithgow 1934[16] - 1943 (afterwards station master at Dumbarton)
  • David M. Tyndall 1943 - 1949[17] (afterwards station master at Lockerbie)
  • George A. Cumming 1949 - 1950[18] (afterwards station master at Aviemore)
  • Robert Turnbull 1950 - 1953[19] (formerly station master at Kyle of Lochalsh)
  • James H. Brown 1953[20] - 1961 (formerly station master at Aboyne)
Preceding station Heritage Railways  Heritage railways Following station
Terminus   Caledonian Railway (Brechin)   Bridge of Dun
  Historical railways  
Terminus   Caledonian Railway
Aberdeen Railway
   Bridge of Dun
Terminus   Caledonian Railway
Forfar and Brechin Railway
   Careston
Terminus   Caledonian Railway
Brechin and Edzell District Railway
   Stracathro
  • The station front in 1974
    The station front in 1974
  • View trackside
    View trackside

References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brechin railway station.
  1. ^ a b "RAILWAY STATION, INCLUDING FORMER GOODS DEPOT, PARK ROAD". Historic Scotland. Archived from the original on 30 July 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Opening of the Aberdeen Railway". Stonehaven Journal. Scotland. 1 February 1848. Retrieved 17 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "State of Brechin Railway Station". Brechin Advertiser. Scotland. 16 January 1872. Retrieved 17 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Extension of Brechin Railway Station". Dundee Courier. Scotland. 14 June 1894. Retrieved 17 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Brechin. Extension of Railway Station". Dundee Courier. Scotland. 1 May 1895. Retrieved 17 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Accident at Brechin on 27 August 1895". Railways Archive. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Train Dashes into a Wall". Dundee Courier. Scotland. 28 August 1895. Retrieved 17 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "The Railway Accident at Brechin. Board of Trade Enquiry". Dundee Courier. Scotland. 11 September 1895. Retrieved 17 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "Accident Returns: Extract for the Accident at Brechin on 2 November 1898". Railways Archive. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Brechin Line Closed". Arbroath Guide. Scotland. 9 August 1952. Retrieved 17 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  12. ^ Smith, Roger (9 February 2023). "Network Rail finds new home for historic Glasgow footbridge". RailAdvent. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Presentations to Mr Richard Hermon, Station-Master". Brechin Advetiser. Scotland. 6 May 1879. Retrieved 19 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. ^ "Death of Breching Ex-Stationmaster". Dundee Courier. Scotland. 10 September 1928. Retrieved 19 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. ^ "Dunning Stationmaster for Brechin". Dundee Courier. Scotland. 2 July 1924. Retrieved 6 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. ^ "Brechin's New Station Agent". Dundee Courier. Scotland. 18 August 1934. Retrieved 6 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. ^ "Mr.D.M. Tyndall". Dundee Courier. Scotland. 30 March 1949. Retrieved 6 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  18. ^ "Back to Aviemore". Dundee Evening Telegraph. Scotland. 30 May 1950. Retrieved 13 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  19. ^ "Stationmaster at Brechin Retires". Dundee Courier. Scotland. 4 November 1953. Retrieved 19 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  20. ^ "New Stationmaster". Brechin Advertiser. Scotland. 20 October 1953. Retrieved 19 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.

Sources[edit]

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