Cults
The old Cults station site in 2008
General information
LocationCults, Aberdeenshire
Scotland
Coordinates57°07′04″N 2°10′15″W / 57.1178°N 2.1707°W / 57.1178; -2.1707
Grid referenceNJ897029
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyDeeside Railway
Pre-groupingGreat North of Scotland Railway
Post-groupingLNER
Key dates
8 September 1853 (1853-09-08)Station opened[1]
1855GNoSR station opened
28 February 1966 (1966-02-28)[1]Station closed to passengers
02 January 1967Line closed to freight

Cults railway station was opened on 8 September 1853 by the Deeside Railway and served part of Cults with mansion houses such as Southfield, Wellwood, Woodbank, Inchgarth, Drumgarth and Norwood nearby. The Deeside Railway station was replaced in 1855 by a new GNoSR that remained open, despite the 1937 closure of many other stations on the Aberdeen suburban service,[2] until 1966 as an intermediate station on the Deeside Railway that ran from Aberdeen (Joint) to Ballater. Cults is located in the parish of Peterculter, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

History

The first station was opened in 1853[1] and was replaced in 1855 by a new station on the Deeside branch and from the start its services were operated by the Deeside Railway. The original station is thought to have been close to Cults House. Later the line became part of the GNoSR and at grouping merged with the London and North Eastern Railway. It stood 3.75 miles (6 km) from Aberdeen and 39.5 miles (63.5 km) from Ballater. In 1920 the stationmaster was Peter Walker. It was closed to passengers on 28 February 1966.[1] The line has been lifted and sections form part of the Deeside Way long-distance footpath.

Infrastructure

The 1966 BRB Closure notice.
The 1963 timetable.

The wooden 1855 station originally only had a single platform on the later eastbound side of the then single track line with one siding to the south running to the west.[3] By 1884 the line had been doubled[4] and a goods yard built on the eastern side with two sidings, approached from the east. A pedestrian footbridge was present, a small signal box on the eastern end of the eastbound platform and a small shelter on the westbound platform. Crossover points lay to the east end of the platforms.[5] At some point the public open area at the station was partitioned off.[2]

By 1951 the line had been singled[4] with the westbound track lifted and the signalbox removed. The goods yard had a number of buildings present together with the two sidings still present.[6]

Services

Suburban services, "subbies", began between Aberdeen and Culter in 1894, calling at all eight intermediate stations in a seven-mile stretch of line in around 20 minutes with a total of around 30 trains every day. The "subbies" service was withdrawn from 5 April 1937.[4]

The line was chosen to trial the battery multiple unit and once introduced on 21 April 1958 the train service was doubled to six trains a day[7] and in addition a Sunday service was reinstated.[8] Cults, unlike stations such as Cambus O'May was not a request stop.

The site today

The modified and enlarged main station building survives as a workshop and both platforms remain with the trackbed in use as part of the Deeside Way.[2] The Royal Deeside Railway is located at Milton of Crathes some distance down the line towards Ballater. In 2021, a planning application was lodged to turn the former station building into a 250 plus seater Bistro restaurant utilising the workshop areas towards the North of the Building and Outdoor Space to the East of the building as well as the original platform.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Butt 1995, p. 74.
  2. 1 2 3 Maxtone, Graham (2018). Then and Now on the Great North. V.1. GNoSR Association. p. 11.
  3. ↑ https://maps.nls.uk/view/74948025 Kincardineshire - Aberdeenshire III.8 (Banchory Devenick) Survey date:1865 Publication date:1867
  4. 1 2 3 The Silver city Vault. Aberdeen Local History Studies
  5. ↑ Aberdeenshire, 086.01, Surveyed: 1899, Published: 1901
  6. ↑ NJ8802-NJ8902 - AA - Surveyed/Revised: 1961, Published:1963
  7. ↑ Railway Magazine June 1958 p. 419
  8. ↑ Railway Magazine June 1958 p. 382
  9. ↑ Morrice, Emma. "Plans lodged to turn former Aberdeen railway station into cafe". Evening Express. Retrieved 16 February 2021.

Sources

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Pitfodels
Line and station closed		   Deeside Railway   West Cults
Line and station closed
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