 1920 map of the railway | |
 No. 49 Gordon Highlander, seen here in 1964 after preservation. | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Aberdeen |
| Dates of operation | 1854–1922 |
| Successor | London and North Eastern Railway |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 334 miles 40 chains (538.3 km) (1919)[1] |
| Track length | 524 miles 1 chain (843.3 km) (1919)[1] |
The Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR) was one of the two smallest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping, operating in the north-east of the country. Formed in 1845, it carried its first passengers the 39 miles (63 km) from Kittybrewster, in Aberdeen, to Huntly on 20 September 1854. By 1867 it owned 226+1⁄4 route miles (364.1 km) of line and operated over a further 61 miles (98 km).
The early expansion was followed by a period of forced economy, but in the 1880s the railway was refurbished, express services began to run and by the end of that decade there was a suburban service in Aberdeen. The railway operated its main line between Aberdeen and Keith and two routes west to Elgin, connections could be made at both Keith and Elgin for Highland Railway services to Inverness. There were other junctions with the Highland Railway at Boat of Garten and Portessie, and at Aberdeen connections for journeys south over the Caledonian and North British Railways. Its eventual area encompassed the three Scottish counties of Aberdeenshire, Banffshire and Moray, with short lengths of line in Inverness-shire and Kincardineshire.[2]
Fish from the North Sea ports and whisky from the distilleries of Speyside became important goods traffic. The Royal Family used the Deeside Line for travel to and from Balmoral Castle and when they were in residence a daily special 'Messenger Train' ran from Aberdeen; for most of the railway's life this was its only Sunday service. The company ran three hotels, and a network of feeder bus services was developed in the early 20th century. In 1923, it became part of the London and North Eastern Railway as its Northern Scottish area, passing on 333+1⁄2 miles (536.7 km) of line and 122 steam locomotives, most of them 4-4-0 tender locomotives. The railway had several branches, but only its main line remains today as part of the Aberdeen to Inverness Line.
- ^ a b The Railway Year Book for 1920. London: The Railway Publishing Company Limited. 1920. p. 144.
- ^ Conolly, W. Philip (2004). British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer (Fifth ed.). Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0320-0.