Morayshire Railway
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The Morayshire Railway was the first railway to be built north of Aberdeen, in Scotland, and was officially opened on the 10 August 1852.
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[edit] Elgin to Lossiemouth
[edit] Concept to development
The notion of constructing a railway from Elgin to Lossiemouth was first considered in 1841 by James Grant, an Elgin solicitor who also owned, along with his brother, the Glen Grant distillery at Rothes. He would later become Provost of Elgin. A subsequent survey showed that the line was not only feasible but could be built relatively cheaply. However, little financial support for the project could be obtained. He was undeterred in his believe in an Elgin to Lossiemouth railway and addressed a meeting of the Elgin and Lossiemouth Harbour Company on the 3 February 1844. The Harbour Company felt there was little need for railways north of Dundee, let alone one between the two towns.
In 1845, railway mania was sweeping through the entire country. At a meeting arranged by the supporters of an Inverness to Elgin railway on 19 February 1845 it was generally agreed that such a railway would be beneficial. Grant stood and addressed the meeting saying that, on principle, he had no objection but warned the people of Elgin that the port of Lossiemouth was important to Elgin and that they should be wary of companies who could interfere with the free trade that came through Lossiemouth. These warnings did not fall on deaf ears and Grant succeeded in resurrecting the scheme as the Morayshire Railway at a meeting held on 3 March 1845. At a subsequent meeting held on 11 April, it was also decided that the track would extend south to Craigellachie.
Measures were taken to seek parliamentary authority in 1846, but before the Bill was presented, the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR) had been put forward. The decision was taken that the two railways would connect at Elgin and the Morayshire Railway would connect its Speyside line to Craigellachie at Orton. The company's capital was agreed at £75,000.[1] Parliamentary approval for this scheme were obtained on the 10th of July 1846 but financial panic gripped the United Kingdom in 1847 and the entire project was shelved for a further four years. An internal crisis developed within the company following a change of some of the directors. The Board declared that powers would be requested to abandon plans for the Craigellachie extension as there was no sign of the GNSR starting their scheme. Some Edinburgh based shareholders, with the financial upheaval of the previous few years, and fearing that the entire project was no longer viable, attempted to get the entire railway cancelled at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on 24 February 1851 using the Abandonment of Railways Act, 1850. This motion was carried by 1800 shares to 677. Provost Grant, suspecting that due processes had not been observed, protested to the Railway Commissioners who on 21 March 1851 called for a list of shareholders who had attended the abandonment EGM. The Commissioners found that the necessary shares owned by those attending were insufficient for an abandonment. However the Edinburgh shareholders withdrew their support placing the company in a critical position. The Railway Commissioners granted the abandonment of the Craigellachie section on 10 July. It was also agreed the capital of the company was to be reduced to £29,700[2]. However, it wasn’t until Elgin Town Council agreed to invest £1,000[3] in shares and Col Brander of Pitgaveny made a large addition to his already substantial holding that the contract for the Elgin to Lossiemouth section was let.
[edit] Construction
Hutchings & Co were awarded the contract and the first sod was cut at Bareflathills just outside Elgin near the River Lossie by the wife of James Grant on Saturday, 30 November, 1851 to a cheering crowd of 3000 people and the firing of two cannons. This point was chosen because it possessed the three most difficult engineering features to be overcome, ie, the bridge over the River Lossie, the road bridge over the track and the very deep cutting. The contractor switched to two 12 hour shifts and had a work force of around 300 navvies. It was reported at the Board meeting held on 2 April 1852, that the track was half finished. At the same meeting, the Board was advised that a strike within the workforce had provoked a serious disturbance. No actual description of the incident reached the local press but there were two stories in circulation. The first of these was that Irish navvies had come onto the job undercutting the locals’ wages. The other was that the contractor, who was from England, employed English labour and it was they that objected to the Irish. The outcome was that a riot of some sort took place. Four of the instigators were arrested and sentenced to various periods of hard labour. A fifth person was to be sent to the Court of Judiciary for trial after assaulting the Sheriff and the Morayshire Railway was ordered to pay for additional constables to police the workforce.
[edit] The opening
The opening date was decided and would be Tuesday 10 August 1852 but at the Board meeting on 31 July, it was reported that the locomotives had not arrived from Messrs Neilson & Co of Glasgow. The ship carrying the engines docked at Lossiemouth on 1 August. The two locomotives bought for the line were small 2-2-2 tank engines costing a total of £2622 7s. 8½d ,[4] and were named by the company, Elgin and Lossiemouth. The Board of Trade Engineer inspected the line on 4 August and traveled in a locomotive a day later and declared himself well satisfied with the railway and rolling stock.
On the 10 August 1852, a general holiday was declared in Elgin and Lossiemouth and the directors of the company along with other local dignitaries walked at the head of a procession from town centre, at St Giles Church, to the station. There, amid the firing of cannon, they were given a rousing send off. Some people instead walked to Lossiemouth to see the train arrive. The board of the Elgin and Lossiemouth Harbour Company met the passengers and escorted them to the recently opened Steamboat and Railway Hotel where they were entertained. They then proceeded to a large marquee erected overlooking the station on top of the quarry cliffs. Many people made fine speeches before lunch was served. The celebrations included sports and games. The Board and prominent citizens met later that evening in the Assembly Rooms, on Elgin's High Street for a gala dinner. Later the Chairman, Dr Manson, gave a toast to the success of the Morayshire Railway and then went on to give a history of the line and with all of the problems that had to be overcome. He finished by saying:
These difficulties do not end with the completion of the line. The engines were new, the carriages ungreased and in fact nothing was in a proper state to perform its functions. Yet, notwithstanding, all were satisfied in the way in which everything had been brought to completion and it was with pride they viewed the manner in which the whole community had turned out to do them honour.
[edit] Operation
The day following the opening of the line, a regular five return journeys per day, Monday to Saturday, was instituted. Soon after, the frequency was reduced to four return journeys per day but then in 1857, it was increased to six return journeys reflecting the increased use of the harbour for exporting and importing materials. It took the trains 15 minutes to run the 5½ miles including the conditional stops at Linksfield Level Crossing and Greens of Drainie. These stops were abandoned in 1859.
A first and second class service was provided until 1855 then a first and third thereafter, the fares being 1½d and 1d per mile respectively. Apparently, there was little difference in the coach seating layouts, only in the quality of the seats. The first year saw the company run a decent profit and the investors were rewarded with a 5% dividend but future years were always a struggle. In 1858, activity on the line was greatly reduced during the four months that the harbour was closed for basin enlargement. This was so serious that it was mentioned and discussed at the annual general meeting in the following October. It was at this meeting that the "father" of the railway, James Grant was elected chairman.
[edit] The Craigellachie enlargement
[edit] Construction and obstruction
By March 1858, the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway (IAJR) had reached Elgin and completed its junction with GNSR at Keith on 18 August. The Morayshire Railway completed the 3½ miles of track from Orton station to Rothes on 23 August 1858. This allowed the Morayshire Railway to resurrect its plans to build a railway between Rothes and Craigellachie and this section was completed on 23 December 1858. It terminated, however, on the west bank of the River Spey so as not to incurr the expense of a costly bridge. The Morayshire company would, under its agreement with the IAJR, work its own trains on the Elgin / Orton section but its trains would not be allowed to stop for passengers on this section of track. The light engines used by the Morayshire Railway were small and prone to breakdown and the steeper gradients experienced on this route proved that the Morayshire engines were unsuitable for purpose. Their use lasted only six weeks. IAJR blamed Morayshire Railway for causing delays in its own schedules and insisted on Morayshire coaches be attached to its own and taken to Orton. Relations between the two companies were deteriorating rapidly and a dispute over charging for line use ensued. Matters came to a head when IAJR held Morayshire Railway goods until the IAJR goods were ready to be forwarded either to or from Orton. This caused difficulties with onward transmission of goods from and to the Lossiemouth Harbour. Seemingly deliberate schemes were being devised to obstruct the Morayshire coaches from entering onto the IAJR line. However, the line from Rothes to Dandaleith was opened on 23 December 1858. The two companies sought to be more co-operative and the Morayshire Railway announced to its long suffering passengers that agreement had been reached and that delays should no longer happen.
Meanwhile, the Morayshire had borrowed to its limit, its shares were not attracting buyers and debt levels were large and growing. Problems with IAJR re-surfaced and traffic on the Morayshire line was being severely disrupted. The IAJC continued to make life difficult for the Morayshire by submitting a bill for £900 as its share in the construction of Orton station. The Morayshire Railway Company was now determined to free itself from any involvement with IAJR and to build a new direct line from Elgin through the Glens of Rothes to meet its own Speyside line. With the levels of debt carried by company, the brothers James and John Grant loaned the Morayshire £4500[5]. Royal Assent was given in 1861 and the work was completed on 1 January 1862. Two more powerful locomotives, 2-4-0 tank engines, would operate this route as the line was steeply graded for the first 6 of its 9 miles. These were named Glen Grant and Lesmurdie.
It was possible that the IAJR was trying to make things so difficult for the Morayshire Railway that it would be in a position to take it over; indeed the Morayshire Railway directors thought so and brought the state of affairs to the Parliamentary solicitor. The effect of this wrangle was to make the Morayshire Railway open negotiations with the GNSR who bought £10,000[6] of shares to help with the construction of the direct line to Rothes. The IAJR viewed the involvement of the GNSR in the Morayshire as a threat to themselves and, in a tit for tat fashion, started work on the Burghead branch to take business from Lossiemouth harbour and thus, goods traffic from the Morayshire. In October 1860 the IAJR made what appeared as a last ditch effort to keep the GSNR out of Elgin by proposing to the Morayshire Board an amalgamation of their two companies. This certainly interested the Morayshire and the proposal, in principle, was to be put to the shareholders at a meeting 31 October. The Morayshire knowing the past record of dealings with the IAJR, persuaded the shareholders that independence from them was the best way forward. The GNSR then agreed to take over the running of the network for 45 per cent of receipts as soon as the Morayshire constructed a bridge across the Spey connecting with the GNSR's Dufftown line. The Morayshire Railway received assent for the link to the Strathspey Railway at Craigellacie on 17 May 1861. The direct link between Elgin and Rothes opened to passengers on 1 January 1862 (freight traffic had opened a day earlier). The bridge over the River Spey was completed on 1 June 1863 and joined the GNSR controlled track at Craigellachie on 1 July. The original station was now renamed Dandaleith and the new one assumed the Craigellachie name. On 2 July the GNSR, without consultation with the Morayshire, closed the Rothes to Orton line to passenger traffic; this annoyed the Morayshire intensely. By a series of small Speyside railways, nominally independent but certainly connected to the GNSR, it joined track with the Morayshire Railway at Craigellachie and finally got its independent route to Elgin. On 30 July 1866, GNSR was granted consent to consolidate its series of small Speyside companies and, with the good will that prevailed between the two companies at that time, to take the Morayshire Railway under its full ownership at some future date. However the financial situation within the Morayshire Railway was dire to say the least and the last thing that the GNSR wanted was to inherit the Morayshire's debt.
[edit] From debt to solvency
Relations between the Morayshire and GNSR began to sour in 1865 when the larger company wanted to take over its smaller partner (under very unfavourable terms) as a way of recovering the money it was owed. The debt that the Morayshire had was becoming intolerable and on 14 August 1865, the City of Glasgow Bank refused further help because the Morayshire already owed £38,172 16s 9d[7] to various lenders which included £15211[8] to the Commercial Bank and £12620[9] to the GNSR. Despite great efforts no solution to paying off the debt could be found. Meanwhile, the relationship between the GNSR and the Morayshire continued to worsen. In 1866, James Grant, the Morayshire Chairman made tentative enquiries with The Highland Railway (successor company to IAJR) regarding an amalgamation of their two companies. In early 1868 a statement regarding the terms of a possible amalgamation was produced. The GNSR, when made aware of the statement immediately set about safeguarding its investment todate in the Morayshire. The negotiations between the two big companies eventually led to the Highland withdrawing the amalgamation terms.
The Morayshire chairman, James Grant died on 22 May 1872 after a short illness. His loss was felt acutely by the Board but it was not long before it found its feet. Gradually over the next few years, thanks mainly to Alexander Watt, the Morayshire introduced cost cutting measures and revenue raising schemes. Rail travel for both goods and passengers was increasing at an enormous rate. The herring fishing at Lossiemouth coupled with such attractions as the public baths at Branderburgh continued to attract visitors in large numbers. The Morayshire paid back to most of its creditors, the outstanding debts. The GNSR acknowledged that the Morayshire was on a sound footing and so in 1880 negotiations between the GNSR and the Morayshire were resumed. The enabling act for the amalgamation was given Royal Assent on 11 August 1881. Thus ended the Morayshire Railway's 35 year existence.
[edit] Principal office bearers
| Chairmen | Secretaries | Engineers | General Managers | Locomotive Superintendents | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Forteath | 1846 - 1851 | James Grant | 1846 - 1851 | James Samuel | 1846 - 1853 | Charles Cranstoun | 1855 - 1857 | James Samuel | 1851 – 1853 |
| David Manson | 1851 – 1855 | Charles Cranstoun | 1855 – 1857 | Joseph Taylor | 1853 – 1857 | James Jenkins | 1857 – 1859 | Joseph Taylor | |
| James Grant | 1855 – 1872 | William Topp | 1857 – 1859 | Robert Blackwood | 1857 – 1858 | William Mills | 1859 – 1861 | Robert Blackwood | 1857 – 58 |
| Alexander Urquhart | 1872 – 1881 | William Mills | 1859 – 1861 | William Mills | 1858 – 1863 | Alexander Watt | 1861 – 1881 | George Golightly | 1858 – 1863 |
| Alexander Watt | 1861 - 1881 | ||||||||
Note: Not unusual among the early railway companies was for one person to take on various roles within the company. In the Morayshire Railway, this was done to excess as seen with William Mills who occupied the posts of Secretary, Engineer and General Manager simultaneously. However, the man who served as Secretary and General Manager for twenty years, Alexander Watt, deserves the greatest praise. It was due to him, in the main, that the company regained its solvency. Indeed the Board was so indebted to him that on 28 January 1881 they arranged for a payment of £600[10] to make up for "poor salary and lack of rise brought about through the hard financial pressure that the Morayshire found itself in". The GNSR noted his value and immediately employed him in a senior position.
[edit] Chronological events
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[edit] Notes
Valued to the year 2005
- ^ £75000 in 1841 was worth nearly £5,000,000
- ^ £29,700 in 1851 was worth about £2,300,000
- ^ £1000 in 1851 was worth about £78000
- ^ £2622 in 1852 was worth about £200,000
- ^ £4,500 in 1861 was worth about £280,000
- ^ £10,000 in 1861 was worth about £625,000
- ^ £38172 in 1865 was worth about £2,480,000
- ^ £15211 in 1865 was worth about £988,000
- ^ £12620 in 1865 was worth about £820,000
- ^ £600 in 1881 was worth about £40,300
Source for money calculations at - [1]
[edit] References
- The Travellers Joy: Ross, John
- History of the Great North of Scotland Railway: Barclay-Harvey, Sir Malcolm
- The Great North of Scotland Railway: Vallance, H.A.
[edit] Gallery
 The Rifle Range Halt looking towards Elgin |
 Greens of Draine Stop looking towards Lossiemouth |
 Elgin Goods Yard looking towards the Lossie/Craigellachie Junction |
 Elgin Station, built by GNSR in 1902 to replace the basic white sandstone Morayshire Railway buildings |
 The impressive booking hall with its dark oak features |
 Bareflathills cutting where the first sod was dug |
 The box girder bridge over the River Lossie at Bareflathills |
 The rail bridge in the foreground with the road bridge in the distance and the Bareflathills cutting beyond that |
