The Alford Valley Railway was a railway company that built a branch line in Scotland, connecting Alford and Kintore on the main line of the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR), giving access to Aberdeen. The line was opened in 1859. It struggled financially from the outset, and it was only support from the GNoSR that enabled it to continue. The GNoSR absorbed it in 1866.
Passenger carryings were never busy, but granite from quarries near the line was a dominant traffic; in the twentieth century timber was also an important business. In the 1930s passenger and general goods traffic was heavily abstracted by road competition, and the line was closed to passengers in 1949, and completely in 1965.
History
Early proposals
Alford was a small market town and regional centre in the valley of the River Don, Aberdeenshire. As the railway network developed in the north of Scotland, there were a number of proposals to connect the town. On 26 June 1846 the Great North of Scotland Railway was authorised to build a line from Aberdeen to Inverness. A week later, on 3 July 1846 an Act authorised the Alford Valley Railway to build a line from Kintore on the unbuilt GNoSR line to Alford along the Alford Valley. The authorised share capital was £100,000. However in the aftermath of the Railway Mania there was widespread financial panic and it proved impossible to generate subscriptions, and the company was unable to proceed. In fact in December 1850 the Company was wound up due to inability to raise money. Only £4,344 of its £100,000 capital had been subscribed, and investors got back only £2 16s of their £5 deposit on each £50 share.
In 1854 the idea of a railway to Alford was revived, and a plan was made to make a railway from a junction with the GNoSR main line at Buchanstone to Alford, with a 700-yard tunnel through the Bryndie Hill, and very severe gradients. However better gradients and a line without a tunnel could be made by going from Kintore through Tillyfourie, and this was the line for which Parliamentary sanction was sought. There were two other schemes put forward in the same year for railways to Alford: one was to continue the Deeside Railway from its Banchory terminus, through Lumphanan and Cushnie to Alford. This line was surveyed but an alternative, also promoted by the Deeside Company was advanced. It was called the Deeside and Alford Valley Extension Railway. Yet another proposal was to build a line from Colford on the Deeside line, through Echt and Waterton to Tillyfourie, and from there to Alford. Both the proposed lines were to have their terminus at a point near the crossroads which are south of the Bridge of Alford and about a mile from the village itself.
At a public meeting the Deeside scheme was approved by a very large majority, but in Parliament, preference took another turn, chiefly because the Kintore junction with the GNoSR gave much more flexibility for connectional journeys for both passengers and goods, as compared to the Deeside connection.
Authorisation
It was the Alford Valley Railway, backed by the GNoSR, that was authorised by Parliament, on 23 June 1856. The Great North of Scotland Railway would subscribe £15,000 of the necessary capital, and would work the line. At a shareholders' meeting, the GNoSR Board was challenged as to the purpose of this expenditure (and similar subscriptions to other branch lines) and it was stated that "The aim of the company in making these investments as the smallest sums that could be advanced to enable the proprietors and tenants to develop the traffic of a district". Authorised capital was £85,000.
In fact the authorised extent of the line was to the south end of Alford Bridge, which spanned the River Don. There was a small community of the same name on the north side of the bridge.
Opening
The Alford Valley Railway had been expected to open in August 1858, but there were delays in completing the construction. There are differing accounts of the actual opening day: 21 March 1859, or "the official opening was 30 July" but 25 March 1859; Carter says "21 November 21 1859, or according to contemporary authorities, in March of that year".
The original authorised route had been as far as Alford Bridge, but the shortage of money brought home awareness that a further mile of railway to serve a hamlet was an unnecessary expense. In fact construction of this final section was abandoned by the Alford Valley Railway Amendment Act of 1862.