The day the last train quietly departed Crieff

Sep 7 2007 By David Ferguson, Strathearn Herald

FORTY years ago, on September 12, a British Railways diesel engine arrived from Perth to collect any remaining wagons or other rolling stock which had been left at Crieff.

The engine then returned to Perth, becoming the last ever train to leave Crieff.

There was no announcement in the local papers, nor were there any people around to bid farewell to a railway service, which had served the town for the previous 111 years.

It started in 1852 with the formation of the Crieff Junction Railway Company by local businessmen to build a line a from a junction on the Scottish Central Railway Company’s line near Loaninghead to Crieff.

The official opening ceremony of the Crieff Junction Railway was held at noon on March 12, 1856, so linking the town to the growing national rail network.

Ten years later saw the opening of the Crieff and Methven Junction Railway.

This line ran from a junction on the Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Railway and gave more direct access to Perth from Crieff.

It was to be another 27 years before a line was built west of Crieff.

The Crieff and Comrie Railway opened on June 1, 1893, but the extension westwards again to join the Callander and Oban railway at Balquhidder, did not materialise until 1905.

It opened from Comrie to St Fillans on October 1, 1901, to Lochearnhead in July 1904, and finally reached Balquhidder on May 1, 1905.

From the outset, Crieff and Upper Strathearn in general, benefited from this new and quick form of transport. General merchandise, and especially coal and farm traffic, began to move more freely and cheaply.

One of the first signs of the impending upturn in Crieff’s fortunes was the opening of Morrison’s Academy.

The school’s benefactor had asked for it to be built in his home town of Muthill.

However, Muthill Station was 11 miles from the village, whereas Crieff’s was near the centre of the town and therefore more convenient for the students.

Also around the time of the construction of the Academy, the Crieff Junction Railway Company were offering free ‘Villa Tickets’.

These gave free travel from Crieff Junction to Crieff and they were handed out to any businessman who built a villa in Crieff or surrounding area.

Broich Terrace is an example of the large new houses built in Crieff, becoming a catalyst to raising the housing standards from the old thatched weaver’s cottages previously found around the town.

These incentives, along with the water quality and fresh air, also encouraged Dr Meikle to construct the Strathearn Hydropathic Establishment (now Crieff Hydro) in 1868.

Crieff’s rise to fame continued.

The Caledonian Railway Company (who had absorbed the smaller companies) even marketed the town as the ‘Montpelier of the North’ - 12,000 people arrived in the town during August 1886, swelling Crieff’s population by a factor of three.

Villas continued to be built along the northern edge of the town. Sedate Crieff became the place to holiday, while the family enjoyed the scenery and historic sites in Upper Strathearn, the men continued to do business by commuting daily by train to the large cities.

With the completion of the line to Balquhidder, circular tours could be undertaken from Edinburgh or Glasgow to Crieff via Gleneagles, returning south via Comrie and Balquhidder to Stirling and so back to the starting point.

As the tourist industry continued to grow, the Caledonian decided to invest in Strathearn with the construction of their flagship hotel at Gleneagles.

Work started in 1913, but was halted with the outbreak of World War I (Highlandman, Innerpeffray and Lochearnhead Stations were also temporarily closed during this period).

Eventually progress was made on the Hotel and it opened for business around in June 1924.

A small siding ran up to the back of the Hotel, but was used only for goods traffic — other than hospital trains during the war. Linked with the Hotel, Crieff Junction was renamed Gleneagles in 1912, with the whole junction being remodelled in 1919.

The First World War saw the advancement of the use of cars, lorries and buses, which was accelerated after World War II, many ex-service vehicles being sold on after the war.

This, unfortunately, was to prove the death knell for the Strathearn lines.

Circular tours stopped after October 1951 saw the closing of the railway between Comrie and Balquhidder and the loss of the direct passenger service to Perth.

The passenger service from Methven Junction to Methven had long ceased back in 1937.

To try and combat the declining passenger numbers and make the Comrie-Gleneagles line more economically viable, the first diesel railbus service in Scotland was introduced in September 1958.

Although often troubled by engine and transmission problems, resulting in steam engines again having to work the line, the passenger service soldiered on until July 4, 1964. (Apparently many services were not run at suitable times, therefore it was necessary to drive to Dunblane and get a train from there).

Some people saw this as part of a ploy by British Railways to justify closing the lines.

Coupled to this “the stations on this route are decaying, overgrown and in disrepair.

Crieff has already lost portions of its roof and the platform is broken up in parts.

Paint is a forgotten word.

The rolling stock has seen too much service and too little cleaning.”

So David Tough wrote to the Strathearn Herald in early 1964.)

The last day’s service was run by diesel railbus M79973 and steam engine 80063 on a special train to cater for any last rush of passengers to say they had travelled on the last train.

Unfortunately, compared to the 3,000 who turned out to witness the Crieff Junction line’s opening 108 years earlier, only a small handful came to witness the end, although as the 8.58pm left Crieff, members of Crieff Folk-song Club at least gave it a musical send off.

Goods traffic was also withdrawn from the Crieff-Gleneagles line in 1964.

The section between Gleneagles and Muthill closed on September 1 and between Crieff and Muthill on November 2, although Crieff still had a goods service via Methven Junction.

It was along this line that a last consignment of coal travelled on September 8, 1967, with the empty wagons being uplifted a couple of days later.

With the closing of the passenger service in 1964, 17 railwaymen were made unemployed, with a further 9 in 1967. Over the years many people gave good service along the Crieff lines, the author having records of over 600 to date. For example:-

Peter Brown, who lived at 25 Burrell Street, served as a Guard at Crieff from February 1924 until his retiral on April 26, 1947. Previous to working at Crieff, Peter served at Madderty, Crieff Junction and Methven

William Wishart started working at Crieff in August 1882, having transferred from Brechin after losing a leg in an accident. At Crieff he served as Night Gateman and Pointsman at Duchlage Road Crossing. When the crossing was replaced by a bridge, William began working in Crieff West Signal-box.

After ten years here he moved to Pittentian Level Crossing and retired from there in April 1924, having served the railways for 47 years – 42 of them at Crieff.

The railway’s legacy still lives on in Upper Strathearn with a number of stations now converted into private dwellings and numerous bridges and embankments still to be found by those who wish to explore the remains of this once important part of Crieff’s past.

But perhaps the real legacy can be seen in the many villas around the town, the Hydro, Morrison’s Academy and the many other hotels and businesses which arose to serve the ever growing number of visitors arriving by train and the town’s own expanding population.