| Formartine and Buchan Railway | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Locale | Scotland |
| History | |
| Opened | 23 July 1858 |
| Closed | 3 July 1966 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 57 mi (92 km) |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
The Formartine and Buchan Railway was a railway company operating in the north-east of Scotland. It was built to link the important fishing ports of Fraserburgh and Peterhead with Aberdeen. It had a junction with the main line of the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoS) at Dyce. Due to shortage of finance, the line was opened in stages as money became available. The section from Dyce to Mintlaw opened in 1861, and from there to Peterhead in 1862. The Fraserburgh line opened in 1865. The Company was never profitable, and it was heavily supported financially by the GNoSR; it was formally absorbed by that company in 1866.
The area served was a good agricultural district, and farm produce supplemented the buoyant fish traffic, which included fishing boats' crews travelling home; there was some leisure business, especially connected with a golf course and hotel sponsored by the GNoSR at Cruden Bay.
Ordinary use of the line declined after 1950, although the line fared better than some others because of the poor road network at the time. Nevertheless the passenger service was withdrawn in 1965. Notwithstanding the development of the offshore oil industry, freight train operation was discontinued to Peterhead in 1970 and to Fraserburgh in 1979. There is now no railway activity on the line.