The Great North of Scotland Railway (1989 ed.)
The History of the Railways of the Scottish Highlands - Volume 3
One of the five fully-independent Scottish rail-ways of the pre-grouping era, the GNSR was the only one including the world 'Great' in its title, and paradoxically it was the smallest. It was a compact little system, largely made up of branches, extending northwards and westwards from its headquarters in Aberdeen through pre-dominantly agricultural countryside, fringed by fishing havens along the coast. Passengers and perishables were its chief sources of revenue. There was no heavy goods traffic, and it is not surprising that it never had any six-coupled tender engines. Another peculiarity was the absence of second class from the start. The best known branch was that to Ballater along which Queen Victoria was a regular traveller.
H. A. Valiance based his book upon original research, telling the story from the time of the Railway Mania until original publication in 1965. In particular he describes the financial problems in the early days (resulting in the western half of the main line from Aberdeen to Inverness be-coming part of the Highland Railway) followed by progressive policies once stabilisation was achieved. The GNSR ran a particularly smart suburban service around Aberdeen, increasingly enterprising expresses, and carried much fish.
When the LNER was formed in 1923, the former GNSR was for a time administered as a separate division, and much of the line's original character lasted well into BR days, only dieselisation and Dr Beeching eventually changing everything. Most of the system has indeed long disappeared, yet even where there are no trains, such as along the coast through Cullen, the interest continues, while more recently there has been a new growth of traffic on the Aberdeen-Inverness route, the sole survivor for regular traffic.
This edition not merely brings the story up to date but includes much more historical information, some of it in extended appendices which have taken many months of hard work to complete.
Hardback with dust jacket, 218 pages, black & white photographs
Condition: Very Good
ISBN: 9780946537426
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