Coltfield Platform railway station stood on the Burghead and Hopeman Branch of the

Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway The Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway (I&AJR) was a railway company in Scotland, created to connect other railways and complete the route between Inverness and Aberdeen. The Inverness and Nairn Railway had opened to the public on 7 Novembe ...

and later the

Highland Railway The Highland Railway (HR) was one of the two smallest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping, operating north of Perth railway station, Scotland, Perth railway station in Scotland and serving the farthest north o ...

that once served the rural area of Coltfield and Wards in the Scottish district of

Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...

(formerly

Elginshire The County of Moray, ( ) or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county in Scotland. The county town was Elgin. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 most of the historic ...

). It was opened as Wards railway station in 1862 and was renamed as Coltfield railway station in 1865 before finally becoming Coltfield Platform in 1880. The station lay 2 mi 20 chains (3.6 km) from Alves railway station.

History

The

opened the branch from Alves Junction in 1862. Services ran to Keith or to Inverness by changing at

Alves Alves is a surname that appears to originate both from Portugal and Scotland (in Scotland where a variation of the name can appear as ''Alvis''). It is debatable whether the surname appeared first in one country or the other, since it is more prev ...

. In 1865 the line was taken over by the

and in 1923 became part of the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...

. The last passenger train however ran on 12 September 1931. The branch line continued in use for grain deliveries until 1998 and was only formally closed as late as 2017 and the track lifted.

Infrastructure

The simple short platform on the single track line had no passing loop, sidings, signal box or signals, but had a small shelter and it was reached by a path that ran from steps that led down from the overbridge near Easter Coltfield. Standing on the eastern side of the line it was opened to serve the gravel pit and works at Easter Coltfield, the hamlets of Wards and Coltfield as well as the local farms, etc and remained open until 14 September 1931; freight facilities were not provided. Nothing now remains of the station and the line has been lifted, however the overbridge still survives. A short cutting lay to the south. Elginshire, 006.12, Surveyed: 1904, Published: 1905
/ref>

References

{{reflist Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1862 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1931 Disused railway stations in Moray Former Highland Railway stations