Ellon railway station

History

Ellon Railway Station (originally Ellon for Cruden) was situated on the Formartine and Buchan Railway, which ran from Peterhead/Fraserburgh to Dyce (where it connected to the Great North of Scotland Railway to Aberdeen).

A few years after opening, Ellon Station became a junction station for the Boddam Branch line, which ran to Boddam via Cruden Bay. In its heyday the station had three platforms, two for the main line and one for the Boddam Branch. There was also a substantial goods yard. The branch line closed in 1932, and was used to store wagons until the track was lifted in 1950.

The station is situated in Auchterellon, about 1 mile from the town centre.

Ellon survived until 1965, when passenger services were withdrawn from the Formartine and Buchan Railway due to the Beeching Axe. The line was closed to freight in 1978, with the tracks being lifted soon afterwards.

The station today

The trackbed of the main line was initially preserved, before becoming the Formartine and Buchan Way, a long distance cycle path. At the station site itself, no buildings survive, however the platforms and base of the water tower are still extant. A council depot was built on the former Goods Yard. The bridge over station road has been removed to the south, with the abutments being converted to allow graded access to cross the road.

As the Boddam Branch closed in 1932, with the track being lifted much earlier, most of the branch line within Ellon has been built on, by housing along Hospital Road, and the A948 Ellon Northern Bypass in 2001. However some of the trackbed is still visible from Golf Road, next to the McDonald Parklands housing estate.

The future

Transport Scotland ordered a feasibility study for the reopening of sections of the Formartine and Buchan line in 2013. Depending on the results of the study, it is possible that a station in Ellon may reopen in the future.