Isolated narrow(?) gauge line new to me; any information?

[Calthrop]

Prompted by the current thread "A railway line that in connected land but completely isolated": questing for instances of such, led on to discovering a line which I had never heard of before; and information on which seems to be in tantalisingly short supply. It was, for sure, isolated from all other railways; ran parallel to and a short way inland from, the coast just north of Aberdeen; and appears to have been about three miles long. It is shown in Tony Dewick's Complete Atlas of Railway Station Names (publ. Ian Allan), which does its best to be meticulous about featuring "all the railways that ever were" in the British Isles.

Googling revealed that this railway came into being around the beginning of the 20th century, inaugurated by a brick-and-tile-making firm to carry its products from the brickworks at Blackdog (Strabathie), its northern extremity, to the depot at Bridge of Don -- southern ditto. After the brick-and-tile firm went into liquidation in 1924, the railway was bought by the Murcar Golf Club, which used it to facilitate access for its members -- this involved closing of about the northernmost mile of the line, from Blackdog to Berryhill. The line continued to run thus for the golfers' benefit, until abandonment in 1949.

A source describes the line as of narrow gauge, but does not specify precisely what gauge. Mention is made, of old horse-tram cars from the Aberdeen city system being adapted for use on the railway, in both its "industrial" and "sporting" phases; but what performed haulage of these vehicles, is not stated. One learns that the Aberdeen city tram system was of standard gauge; but the horse-cars concerned, could of course have undergone all and any kinds of alteration and modification.

Below, links -- which I hope may work -- to the two most useful (all rather relative !) sources found.

https://www.scottishbrickhistory.co.uk/strabathie-brick-and-tile-works-blackdog-aberd...

https://www.railscot.co.uk/locations/B/Berryhill_Murcar_Golf_Club/

I would be most grateful for response from anyone who has more information about this line, than the rather meagre quantity set out above, which is all that I have been able to assemble. Would be particularly interested to know: the line's exact gauge; and what manner of motive power was used on it.

 

[randyrippley]

from the interwebs.....
http://murcarlinks.com/about-murcar/history/

more photos and details at http://www.tramwaybadgesandbuttons.com/page148/page152/styled-184/page607.html
"

The Strabathie Light Railway was not a tramway as such, but an industrial railway which transported raw materials and finished products, as well as the company's workers; the latter were carried in ex-Aberdeen District Tramways Company horsecars, modified and re-gauged to 3ft 0ins. Although it allowed the local golf club (Murcar Links Golf Club) to run a railcar on a portion of the line — from 1909 onwards — it was nevertheless still a railway.

Initial passenger services were operated solely for the benefit of the owning company's workers (Seaton Brick and Tile Co Ltd), and were steam hauled; drivers would have worn typical steam footplate attire, whilst conductors were probably not needed in the way that they would have been for a public service, as travel was provided free of charge. When the service was extended to include the golf club's members (at weekends), the club provided an 'attendant'; surviving photos are rare, however, from the example shown below, it seems highly likely that they wore informal attire (jacket, muffler and the fashionable headgear of the day), the sole badge of office being a cash bag. When the golf club began running its own services using a petrol railcar, this was operated by a driver-cum-attendant, who again wore informal attire.
The Strabathie Light Railway was not a tramway as such, but an industrial railway which transported raw materials and finished products, as well as the company's workers; the latter were carried in ex-Aberdeen District Tramways Company horsecars, modified and re-gauged to 3ft 0ins. Although it allowed the local golf club (Murcar Links Golf Club) to run a railcar on a portion of the line — from 1909 onwards — it was nevertheless still a railway.

Initial passenger services were operated solely for the benefit of the owning company's workers (Seaton Brick and Tile Co Ltd), and were steam hauled; drivers would have worn typical steam footplate attire, whilst conductors were probably not needed in the way that they would have been for a public service, as travel was provided free of charge. When the service was extended to include the golf club's members (at weekends), the club provided an 'attendant'; surviving photos are rare, however, from the example shown below, it seems highly likely that they wore informal attire (jacket, muffler and the fashionable headgear of the day), the sole badge of office being a cash bag. When the golf club began running its own services using a petrol railcar, this was operated by a driver-cum-attendant, who again wore informal attire."

 

[randyrippley]

two possible sources of more info:
Great North Review: Volume 37, Number144, February 2000.
and if you can find it, a three-page article dating back to 1960
https://www.worldcat.org/title/stra...ght-railway-the-murcar-railway/oclc/867892038
going to be hard to track down though

 

[Calthrop]

@randyrippley -- very many thanks for the above. Interesting that the golf-club connection arose -- with the golfers organising their own transport by railcar -- already at the height of the line's industrial usage. I understand that Bridge of Don was the northern terminus of the Aberdeen city tram system: golfers no doubt going to and from there by tram, with their own 3ft. gauge service north thereof.

I'm surprised that this line isn't better-known; especially as it lasted until a relatively late date, by standards of narrow-gauge history in Great Britain -- or perhaps it is widely known about in the "fancy", and it's been a matter of a gap in my education !

Is it too fanciful, I wonder, to "compare and contrast" this outfit with, at pretty much the opposite end of the island, the Rye & Camber Tramway? Both 3ft. gauge; both relatively short; both started with steam traction, but switched to internal combustion at an early date; and a lot of the R & C's traffic -- chiming in with the Scottish line -- was to and from a golf course en route. And the historical period of the two lines' life-spans was, very broadly, similar.

 

[Calthrop]

A perhaps rather absurd thing to wonder, which has occurred to me following-on from previous post: did the Murcar golfers' line continue to function during World War II? In fact, was golf permitted during World War II? I'd guess, "yes": even in the most desperate of conflicts, people need various kinds of R & R, to keep morale up...