Perth And Dunkeld Railway
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The Perth and Dunkeld Railway was a Scottish railway company. It was built from a junction with the
Scottish Midland Junction Railway The Scottish Midland Junction Railway was authorised in 1845 to build a line from Perth to Forfar. Other companies obtained authorisation in the same year, and together they formed a route from central Scotland to Aberdeen. The opened its main ...
at Stanley, north of
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, to a terminus at Birnam, on the south bank of the
River Tay The River Tay (, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing' David Ross, ''Scottish Place-names'', p. 209. Birlinn Ltd., Edinburgh, 2001.) is the longest river in Sc ...
opposite
Dunkeld Dunkeld (, , from , "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to the geological Highland Boundar ...
. It was promoted by local landed proprietors, and opened in 1856. As a minor branch line inconveniently serving a modest town, its financial performance was poor. However, when a railway line from Inverness to Perth was promoted, the Dunkeld line was taken as part of the new route, which opened in 1863; the Perth and Dunkeld Railway Company ceased to exist, and the line was now part of the Inverness and Perth Junction Railway. The original line of the P&DR continues in use today, an intrinsic part of the
Highland Main Line The Highland Main Line is a railway line in Scotland. It is long and runs through the central Scottish Highlands, mainly following the route of the A9 road (Scotland), A9, and linking a series of small towns and villages with Perth, Scotland, ...
.


Independence at first

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
was connected to the railway network of Central Scotland in 1850.
Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...
too expected a southward connection, but the intervening terrain was unpromising, and two railway schemes proposed a connection instead to Aberdeen, a route that was unattractive to Inverness interests.H A Vallance et al, ''The Highland Railway'', David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1938, extended edition 1985, ISBN 0-946537-24-0, page 31 A line from Inverness along the coast and striking south from
Nairn Nairn (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Highland (council area), Highland Council council areas of Scotland, area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nair ...
was proposed, but did not find favour in Parliament. The lengthy deviation through Aberdeen was a continuing source of dissatisfaction. In 1845 the
Scottish Midland Junction Railway The Scottish Midland Junction Railway was authorised in 1845 to build a line from Perth to Forfar. Other companies obtained authorisation in the same year, and together they formed a route from central Scotland to Aberdeen. The opened its main ...
promoted a branch line from Inverness to Dunkeld. The Scottish Midland Junction Railway Branches Act 1846 ( 9 & 10 Vict. c. lxxv) was passed, but there were serious difficulties in agreeing the terms for acquisition of necessary land from Sir William Drummond Stewart. These difficulties proved so severe that construction was never started, and the project did not go forward.Vallance et al, page 24Keith Fenwick and Neil T Sinclair, ''The Perth and Dunkeld Railway'', Highland Railway Society, 2006, ISBN 0 9545485-2-3, pages 6 and 7 An independent company was promoted to build a similar line from a junction with the Scottish Midland Junction Railway at
Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...
to Dunkeld. Stanley was 7 miles north of Inverness and the length of the newly authorised line would be 8 miles. There were lengthy discussions among the titled and wealthy promoters as to the route to be adopted; in particular which side of the
River Tay The River Tay (, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing' David Ross, ''Scottish Place-names'', p. 209. Birlinn Ltd., Edinburgh, 2001.) is the longest river in Sc ...
to follow. The ( 17 & 18 Vict. c. cxlviii) was given the royal assent on 10 July 1854.John Thomas and David Turnock, ''A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: volume 15: North of Scotland'', David St John Thomas (publisher), Newton Abbot, 1989, ISBN 0946537 03 8, pages 112 – 115 Authorised capital was £80,000. However, despite the line's title, it was not to terminate at Dunkeld, but at Birnam, on the south side of the River Tay. There was a toll bridge to cross the river. The toll provided a useful income for the Duke of Atholl.David Ross, ''The Highland Railway'', Tempus Publishing, Stroud, 2005, ISBN 0 7524 3479 9, pages 27 and 28 In addition there was disagreement with the Scottish Midland Junction Railway over the station at Stanley, which they had opened in 1848. It was located near the village, but some distance from the proposed point of junction with the P&DR.It is implied in Fenwick and Sinclair, page16, that the difficulty may have been that the primitive system of train control on single lines at the time required a station master at an actual station to authorise a train to proceed. The P&DR built a small goods station at the junction, but in fact the SMJR moved its station to that point in 1856. This made the station inconvenient for the community at Stanley. Construction began in July 1854; the engineer was John Stewart of Edinburgh and the contractors were William Leslie of Aberdeen "on behalf of" himself, J. R. Davidson and W. Oughterson of London; their tender was £50,000.Fenwick and Sinclair, page 9 The construction was swiftly completed and Colonel Wynne of the
Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
carried out an inspection on 13 March 1856, and expressed himself satisfied.Fenwick and Sinclair, page 11 There was a ceremonial opening of the line on 5 April 1856; the ordinary train service of three trains daily between Perth and Birnam started on 7 April 1856. The trains were operated by the Scottish Midland Junction Railway (SMJR). The SMJR found the income from its operation (50% of net receipts) to be disappointing and inadequate, and it is suggested by Thomas that the SMJR failed to optimise profitable working of the line. The SMJR merged with the
Aberdeen Railway The Aberdeen Railway was a Scottish railway company which built a line from Aberdeen to Forfar and Arbroath, partly by leasing and upgrading an existing railway. The line opened in stages between 1847 and 1850, with branches to Brechin and M ...
in June 1856, the combined company being the
Scottish North Eastern Railway The Scottish North Eastern Railway (SNER) was a railway company in Scotland operating a main line from Perth, Scotland, Perth to Aberdeen, with branches to Kirriemuir, Brechin and Montrose, Angus, Montrose. It was created when the Aberdeen Railwa ...
. A private halt was constructed at Rohallion in 1859 for the benefit of the landowner, Sir William Drummond Stewart.Slightly differently expressed in Quick, based on an article by N Sinclair in Highland Railway Journal, no 60.Vallance et al, page 26


On the main line

Interests in Inverness continued to seek a direct railway to the south, and the obvious alignment would go through Perth. This crystallised on a project that came to be the
Inverness and Perth Junction Railway The Inverness and Perth Junction Railway (I&PJR) was a railway company that built a line providing a more direct route between Inverness and the south for passengers and goods. Up to the time of its opening, the only route was a circuitous way th ...
: it was planned to leave the Inverness – Aberdeen line at
Forres Forres (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the County of Moray, Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin, Moray, Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several ...
, 24 miles east of Inverness, and from there turn south. There was to be a summit at Dava, 1,052 ft above sea level, and the route continued by way of
Grantown-on-Spey Grantown-on-Spey () is a town in the Highland Council Area, Counties of Scotland, historically within the county of Moray. It is located on a low plateau at Freuchie beside the river Spey at the northern edge of the Cairngorms, Cairngorm mounta ...
and the west bank of the
River Spey The River Spey () is a river in the northeast of Scotland. At it is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom and the third longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is an important location for the traditions of salmon fishing an ...
to
Kingussie Kingussie ( ; ) is a small town in the Badenoch and Strathspey ward of the Highland council area of Scotland. Counties of Scotland, Historically in Inverness-shire, it lies beside the A9 road (Great Britain), A9 road, although the old route of ...
. There followed a long, steep climb up the northern slopes of the
Grampian Mountains The Grampian Mountains () is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. The Grampian range extends northeast to so ...
to the head of the Druimuachdar Pass, and a corresponding descent to
Blair Atholl Blair Atholl (from the Scottish Gaelic: ''Blàr Athall'', originally ''Blàr Ath Fhodla'') is a village in Perthshire, Scotland, built about the confluence of the Rivers Tilt and Garry in one of the few areas of flat land in the midst of the G ...
and the Pass of Killiecrankie. Crossing the
River Tay The River Tay (, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing' David Ross, ''Scottish Place-names'', p. 209. Birlinn Ltd., Edinburgh, 2001.) is the longest river in Sc ...
near Dalguise, the line reached Dunkeld, where it made an end-on junction with the Perth & Dunkeld Railway. The little Perth and Dunkeld line was therefore to become part of an important main line.Thomas and Turnock, pages 234 to 236 The Inverness and Perth Junction Railway was authorised by an act of Parliament on 22 July 1861.Ross, page 39 The first section of the new line was opened, from "Dunkeld" to
Pitlochry Pitlochry (; or ) is a town in the Perth and Kinross council area of Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. It is historically in the county of Perthshire, and has a population of 2,776, according to the 2011 census.Scotland's 2011 census. (n.p. ...
, on 1 June 1863, and the I&PJR company took over the working of the Perth and Dunkeld Railway. line was opened throughout on 9 September 1863. By the ( 26 & 27 Vict. c. lviii) of 8 June 1863 the Dunkeld company was absorbed by the I&PJR, with effect from 1 March 1864.Or the previous day, according to Vallance, pages 28 and 29, and also Fenwick and Sinclair, page 34Donald J Grant, ''Directory of the Railway Companies of Great Britain'', Matador, Kibworth Beauchamp, 2017, ISBN 978 1785893 537, pages 446 and 447Vallance et al, pages 28 and 29


Kingswood passing loop

A passing loop was commissioned at Kingswood between
Murthly Murthly (Scottish Gaelic ''Mòrthlaich'') is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies on the south bank of the River Tay, southeast of Dunkeld, and north of Perth, Scotland, Perth. Perth District Asylum, later known as Murthly Hospital ...
and Dunkeld in 1908.


Murthly Mental Hospital connection

The Perth District Asylum was located at Murthly, completed in 1864 at a cost of £30,000. It was later enlarged. A tramway connected the station with the asylum gasworks, for the bringing in of fuel and other stores. The tramway was later extended to run to the asylum main building in addition.Fenwick and Sinclair, page 18


Current operations

The line is in operation today as part of the
Highland Main Line The Highland Main Line is a railway line in Scotland. It is long and runs through the central Scottish Highlands, mainly following the route of the A9 road (Scotland), A9, and linking a series of small towns and villages with Perth, Scotland, ...
between Perth and Inverness. Only Dunkeld station remains open.


Locations

* ''Stanley Junction''; divergence from Strathmore route (to
Forfar Forfar (; , ) is the county town of Angus, Scotland, and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million-pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town had a population of 16,280. The town ...
and Aberdeen); * Murthly; opened 7 April 1856; closed 3 May 1965; * Rohallion; first shown in Bradshaw February 1860; Fridays only service; last in
Bradshaw's Guide ''Bradshaw's'' was a series of Rail transport, railway Public transport timetable, timetables and travel guide books published by W.J. Adams and later Henry Blacklock, both of London. They are named after founder George Bradshaw, who produced ...
October 1864; continued in use as Private station; * Dunkeld; opened 7 April 1856; various name changes; Dunkeld & Birnam; Birnam & Dunkeld; open now (2022) as Dunkeld & Birnam.Michael E Quick, ''Railway Passenger Stations in England, Scotland and Wales: A Chronology'', Railway and Canal Historical Society, 2019


Notes


References

{{Historical Scottish railway companies Highland Railway Early Scottish railway companies Railway companies established in 1854 Railway lines opened in 1856 Railway companies disestablished in 1864 Standard gauge railways in Scotland 1854 establishments in Scotland 1864 disestablishments in Scotland British companies established in 1854 British companies disestablished in 1864