Caledonian Railway

14/06/2021

Brechin Station Canopy Update!

Since our last update, the volunteers have been extremely busy progressing the rebuild of Brechin station's platform canopy. Around 75% of the wooden structure is now complete and the section over platform 1 now has the roofing sheets fitted.

18,000 nails, 2.2km of wood and £2000 of nuts & bolts have so far gone into the construction, and there's still a long way to go! Over the next few weeks, we hope to see these numbers creep up as the team continue on with the build.

This project has been made possible by a small group of people who have given up their own time to come to the railway - every part of this project has been completed by our dedicated volunteers (yes, no contractors!), with funding provided by a number of external sources, including the National Lottery Heritage Fund and SCVO Third Sector Resilience Fund, as well as a number of generous donations from our supporters. Special thanks also goes to Rembrand Timber Limited and Scotia Roofing & Building Supplies Ltd - Dundee Branch for their assistance with sourcing materials.

Thanks to their generosity, not only are we able to protect the 173 year old sandstone station building and platforms from the elements, we are also bringing a piece of history back to life, having been lost for over 40 years.

The volunteers would again like to say a massive thank you to the project funders, without whom this would not be possible.

#NationalLotteryPlayers #NationalLotteryHeritageFund #NationalLotteryHeritageFund #ThanksToYou #VisitScotland #SCVO

01/06/2021

It's great to see The Whistle Stop being featured on Visit Angus's Taste Tuesday. The Whistle Stop is open Wednesdays to Sundays, 10am to 3pm serving a wide range of quality, locally sourced food, drinks and delicious home baking.

31/05/2021

Over the weekend, our volunteers took another step towards reopening the railway with the first of our crew refresher days.

These days ensure that volunteers can refamiliarise themselves with operations in a controlled manner and maintain their competencies.

We hope we can reopen the railway and welcome back visitors this summer. An announcement will be made on our social media outlets once a date has been confirmed.

10/05/2021

Brechin railway steaming ahead with behind the scenes work for planned summer re-opening

Brechin railway steaming ahead with behind the scenes work for planned summer re-opening

A major project is underway to replace and main platform canopy at the historic Caledonian Railway in Brechin.

07/05/2021

A lovely Friday morning for a trip up the line to Brechin with D5370

02/05/2021

Today is a very significant day in the railway’s history. On this day 40 years ago, the very last British Rail train departed Brechin station before the line was officially closed, bringing a 133 year rail link to the rest of the country to a close.

To commemorate the closure of Brechin and several other stations in the area, a special train service was run from Edinburgh, comprising of Class 122 bubble car No. 55000 (now preserved at the South Devon Railway) and a 3-car Class 101 DMU.

Thankfully, the story did not end there for the railway as the founding volunteers of the Brechin Railway Preservation Society were there to take over as soon as the last train departed. And the rest as they say is history!

29/04/2021

Back in November last year, we announced news of our intention to reinstate the platform canopy at Brechin Station. This has been a long-term goal of ours since the early days of preservation, with the original canopy roof being removed by British Rail before the volunteers took over in the early 1980’s.

We are delighted to announce that work on the rebuild has now started and just look at the progress that has been made so far!

Mid-April saw the raw materials arrive onsite at Brechin. We are incredibly grateful to both suppliers, Rembrand Timber Limited & Scotia Roofing & Building Supplies Ltd - Dundee Branch, for their assistance with sourcing materials and ongoing support for the railway.

Volunteers Jon, Andy & Kaine wasted no time and got straight to work, making rapid headway with the construction of the wooden frame. It is hoped that another few weeks of work will see the completion of the structure, with attention then turning to fitting the roof sheets.

We are incredibly please with progress so far. This project has only been made possible thanks to donations from numerous generous supporters, as well as grant funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland & the SCVO Third Sector Resilience Fund.

We would like to pass on our most sincere gratitude onto the project funders and hope our followers are as impressed by the work as we are! What was once a dream is slowly becoming a reality and it will be fantastic to have this piece of lost history brought back to life.

#NationalLotteryPlayers #NationalLotteryHeritageFund #NationalLotteryHeritageFund #ThanksToYou #VisitScotland #SCVO

28/04/2021

It's fantastic to have The Whistle Stop back in business!

The Whistle Stop is so excited 😆 to be open again and can’t wait to welcome you all back 🥰

26/04/2021

Our volunteers have been making fantastic progress with essential drainage renewal works.

This is one of the several key projects which we are working on to get the railway back into a position where we can hopefully welcome visitors back once again sometime this summer.

18/04/2021

We are incredibly saddened to see that our friends at the Royal Deeside Railway Preservation Society have been the victim of vandalism and theft.

We encourage any of our followers who may have information related to this incident to contact the railway as soon as possible.

14/04/2021

Great to have the The Whistle Stop back!

Have you missed us!! We have missed all our lovely customers and can’t wait to get back to baking our delicious cakes and serving homemade tasty food!!
We will be reopening on Wednesday 28th April at 9.30am.
Our hours to start with will be
WEDNESDAY - SUNDAY
9.30am - 3.00pm
Hope to see you all soon 😊☕️🍰🧁
We will be following all COVID-19 regulations.

05/04/2021

Fantastic work! Well done to those involved for bringing another wagon brought back into service.

04/04/2021

Yesterday, our steam team completed the final annual inspections on both locomotives, making sure they are ready for the railway to reopen when the time comes.

Once satisfied that all was in order, the "wee" Barclay was used to take some wagons to Bridge of Dun. This was the first time the engine had run the length of the line since September 2019!

04/04/2021

Even though we are not able to open for Easter this year, we hope that our visitors and supporters are enjoying the bank holiday weekend safely.

To make up for us being closed, here is a throwback to Easter 2019 of the train arriving into Brechin station.

Even though we are not able to open for Easter this year, we hope that our visitors and supporters are enjoying the bank holiday weekend safely.

To make up for us being closed, here is a throwback to Easter 2019 of the train arriving into Brechin station.

31/03/2021

Another milestone birthday this year, this time for our flagship steam locomotive, Harlaxton, who is 80 years old today!

Outshopped on Monday 31st March 1941, No. 2107 left the factory in Kilmarnock and went straight to work at the Stewart & Lloyds Ironstone Quarry near the town of Harlaxton in Lincolnshire. The locomotive was named Harlaxton after the quarry and spent its first few years moving ironstone which went towards the war effort.

After retiring from working life, the locomotive was initially preserved at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, before moving onto the North Norfolk Railway and then spending a brief stint at the Scottish Industrial Railway Centre in Ayrshire. Harlaxton moved to Brechin in 2001 and became a regular site on our steam services until being withdrawn for overhaul at the end of 2002. After completing boiler works, the locomotive returned to traffic just in time to haul the Santa Specials in December 2003.

With the popularity of our Day Out With Thomas days continuing to grow, attention turned to creating our own Thomas the Tank Engine in 2008. Many options were explored, with the final solution being to repaint Harlaxton into Thomas the Tank Engine, whilst also completing some visual modifications.

The locomotive continued working until its boiler certificate expired again in 2013. After a lengthy restoration costing in excess of £100,000, Harlaxton returned to service in 2016. He is still in his guise of Thomas the Tank Engine and welcomes thousands of happy visitors every year.

30/03/2021

The steam team made some good progress at the weekend!

28/03/2021

The volunteer P-Way team continued on with the drainage replacement works today on the running line.

One of our Class 26 locomotives was out in the sunshine being the duty locomotive for the day.

#volunteering #caledonianrailway #pway #class26 #26014 #brechin #heritagerailway

22/03/2021

What do you do when you have a spare weekend and the weather is good??!

With the warmer weather fast approaching, a few of our volunteers have had to turn their efforts towards managing some of the vegetation that has been springing into life around the railway. While the track is often considered, the station areas also need a lot of work.

With suitable Covid controls in place, we’ve been able to invite some of our local younger volunteers back to the railway for some socially distanced work on clearing areas in readiness for passengers once again. These activities give our volunteers some purpose and allow them to continue to engage with the railway as well as get in some good physical activity!

Sometimes they need a bit of a rest of course – as can be seen in the photos…

21/03/2021

During the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and against all the odds, we are pleased to announce that we have reached a major milestone with one of our biggest projects to date!

In the last twelve months and with the help from some external contractors, we have constructed a brand-new diesel storage facility! This impressive building will allow the railway to centralise storage for the railway’s large fleet of diesel locomotives.

The new facility has been designed to accommodate approximately twelve locomotives. It also includes a large open area for a fully equipped machine shop at the rear, along with a purpose-built lifting facility to allow locomotives and carriages to be lifted safely off their bogies.

Work continues to finalise trackwork to the new facility and complete hook-up of the remaining services.

The completion of this facility will allow the consolidation of the two current railway sheds vacated by the diesel locomotives. These will then be subject to necessary refitting and will be used for undercover accommodation for our carriages, as well as the maintenance and storage of permanent way plant.

This will be the first time in our 40-year history that we have been able to routinely store our core coaching stock undercover. This will make a huge difference, not only to the volunteers restoring and maintaining them, but more importantly to the many thousands of our valued visitors who travel on them each year.

This has been made possible by a combination of railway funds and donations from generous benefactors, as well as support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the reinstatement of our lifting facilities. The benefit of the lifting facilities can’t be underestimated and will help ensure we can perform major inspections at a time when it is more challenging than normal to have work performed elsewhere.

We would also like to thank all the other groups and individuals who have continued to support us through this pandemic. We are thinking of you all – especially those groups most affected by Covid. We have some exciting plans for reopening and hope to be able to welcome you all back to the railway very soon.
#NationalLotteryPlayers #NationalLotteryHeritageFund #NationalLotteryHeritageFund #ThanksToYou #VisitScotland #SCVO

24/02/2021

A big Happy Birthday to one of the unsung heroes of the railway, our 'Wee' Barclay who is 95 years old today!

On Wednesday 24th February 1926, No. 1863 was outshopped from the Andrew Barclay & Sons factory in Kilmarnock and went on to spend her entire working life at the Cupar Sugar Beet Factory.

The plant closed in 1971 and the locomotive sat out of use for a number of years before being saved for preservation and moving to Brechin. She has since spent many years hauling thousands of passengers up and down our branch line and providing a rare glimpse into the life of locomotive crews with our popular Driver Experience courses

18/02/2021

Afternoon Teas are back for Mother's Day at The Whistle Stop!

Message their page or call the number in the post to book yours today!

Takeaway Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea
Sunday 14th March
Collection from The Whistle Stop Brechin
10.00am - 12.00 noon
£12.50 per person

Afternoon tea includes
Selection of sandwiches
Pastry sausage roll
A freshly baked whistle stop scone, clotted cream, homemade jam and butter
Our very popular grannies special recipe empire biscuit
Chocolate eclair
Lemon cupcake
Chocolate traybake

Order on messenger or
Phone 07743741159/07718921166

PLEASE REMEMBER THESE SELL OUT VERY FAST SO DON’T DELAY 💕

18/02/2021

A look back to the mid 2000's

13/02/2021

Slow and steady progress

12/02/2021

Snow clearing

This fantastic image has been shared by our friends over at the Angus Archives showing what looks to be three Caledonian Railway 171 Classes on snow clearing duties at Bridge of Dun in 1906.

07/02/2021

A very wintery scene at Brechin station tonight!

30/01/2021

Happy Birthday to D5314!

Happy Birthday to our workhorse D5314! 62 years ago today she was completed by BRCW in Birmingham. The loco was noted at Doncaster for acceptance trials on February the 6th 1959. It was then delivered to Hornsey shed where it regularly would have been rubbing shoulders with big LNER Pacific’s on a regular basis! In 1960 the loco moved to Scotland where it would see out the rest of its career with British railways being based at Eastfield , Haymarket and Inverness. It was withdrawn from service in 1992 and secured for preservation in 1994, it has been in service ever since.
Fair to say she’s earned her bus pass!

21/01/2021

Class 11, No. 12052 on 19/01/19

Hopefully 2021 will see our fleet of heritage locomotives and rolling stock running along our branch line once again!

31/12/2020

Happy New Year!

We would like to wish all of our volunteers and supporters a very Happy New Year. After remaining closed for the duration of 2020, we are looking forward to hopefully reopening again in 2021!

27/12/2020

Brechin Railway Preservation Society

More drainage!

The P-Way team continued on with the essential line side drainage replacements today, heading west into Magdalen cutting under the road bridge.

17/12/2020

Caledonian Railway

#ThrowbackThursday to one of our Santa Specials departing Bridge of Dun in 2017.

Sadly, there are no Santa trains running this year but we hope to reopen again in 2021!

Whilst other parts of the country were struggling with the wintery weather conditions, the sun shone brightly all weekend here at the Caledonian Railway. Here is a clip of our Santa Specials departing Bridge of Dun today.

Thanks to Steve Moir for the video.

15/12/2020

A sight we can only dream of recreating! An LNER A4 awaiting to depart from platform 1 at Bridge of Dun station, May 1966.

LNER A4 No. 60034, Lord Faringdon, in Platform 1 at Bridge of Dun. May 1966, 3 months before the locomotive was withdrawn.

08/12/2020

See you in 2021!

#brechincanopy Fundraising Appeal: https://caledonianrailway.com/brechin-canopy-project

Further to our announcement earlier in the year, we regret to inform our followers that the railway will remain closed until Spring 2021, when it is hoped that we can reopen on Easter weekend.

Whilst there are no trains running at the moment, The Whistle Stop remains open on their reduced opening hours – please visit their page for more details and to book your Christmas hampers!

Although the railway has remained closed since March, the volunteers have been working hard to deliver key projects, with one of these being the reinstatement of the platform canopy at Brechin station. With £5,175 now raised, we are now more than half way towards the £10,000 target of additional funding needed to help us secure this project's future!

We would like to thank everyone who has donated to the canopy project so far - we are incredibly grateful for your generosity. Please consider supporting this project by donating through our website - https://caledonianrailway.com/brechin-canopy-project