Cornhill railway station

Cornhill
Location
Place	Banff, Aberdeenshire
Area	Aberdeenshire
Coordinates	57°37′05″N 2°42′14″W / 57.617934°N 2.703886°WCoordinates: 57°37′05″N 2°42′14″W / 57.617934°N 2.703886°W
Grid reference	NJ 5805 5888
Operations
Original company	Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway
Pre-grouping	Great North of Scotland Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
Platforms	1
History
30 July 1859[1]	Opened
6 May 1968[1]	Closed to passengers and freight
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
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Cornhill railway station was an intermediate stop situated^[1] on the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) line from Cairnie Junction to Tillynaught. There was only a single platform at Cornhill that served the nearby village that lies in Fordyce Parish, of what was once Banffshire, 8½ miles from Banff itself. The line ran to Tillynaught where it split to reach Banff by a branch line or Elgin by the Moray Coast line.

Cornhill was opened in 1859 by the Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway,^[1] and in 1867 was absorbed by the GNoSR who took over the line and operated it until grouping in 1923. Passing into British Railways ownership in 1948, the line was, like the rest of the ex-GNoSR lines along the Moray coast, considered for closure as part of the Beeching report and closure notices were issued in 1963.^[2] Passenger and freight services were withdrawn in May 1968.

Station infrastructure

The surviving station building was constructed circa 1886 and was built of wood. Two sidings, a crane and a coal loading dock are shown in 1902. An auction mart is shown next to the station that was still present in 1988.^[3][4]

In 2011 much of this station remained, the station building, single platform, goods shed, loading bank and the station master's house.^[5][6] The station site was in use as a coal yard.^[7]

Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Railway
Locale Scotland Dates of operation 1859 – 1968 Successor Great North of Scotland Railway Track gauge 4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Length 19 ^1⁄2 miles (31.4 km)
Legend
Banff Golf Club House Bridgefoot Ladysbridge Ordens Portsoy Harbour Portsoy 1st station Goods only after 1884 Portsoy 2nd station and line to Tochieneal opened in 1884, through to Elgin in 1886 Tillynaught Cornhill Glenbarry Knock Millegin To Keith Grange Curve giving access from Aberdeen opened in 1886 Cairnie Junction (after 1897) Rothiemay Huntly to Aberdeen

References

Notes

1. Butt (1995), p. 69.
2. Maxtone (2005), p. 80.
3. Banffshire 009.12 (includes: Fordyce; Ordiquhill) Publication date: 1904. Revised: ca. 1902
4. Scotlands Places - Cornhill
5. Maxtone (2005), p. 53.
6. Banffshire, Sheet IX (includes: Deskford; Fordyce; Grange; Ordiquhill). Survey date: 1866. Publication date: 1871.
7. RailScot - Banff Portsoy and Strathisla Railway

Sources

• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1.
• Maxtone, G.R. (2005). The railways of the Banff & Moray coast. Keith & Dufftown Railway Association. ISBN 0-9547346-1-0.
• Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway and Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978 0 901461 57 5. OCLC 612226077.

See also

• List of Great North of Scotland Railway stations

External links

• Cornhill station in 1988
• RailScot - Banff Portsoy and Strathisla Railway
• The Banff Branch