Strathspey Railway – take a steam train along the River Spey

Stephan Goldmann

2 days ago

The Strathspey Railway museum railway offers a journey through Speyside and the age of steam locomotives. What to expect.

Strathspey Railway steam locomotive 46464 at platform 3 at Aviemore Station.

Die Dampflokomotive 46464 der Strathspey Railway am Gleis 3 in Aviemore Station. — Strathspey Railway steam locomotive 46464 at platform 3 at Aviemore Station.

You feel like royalty in the observation carriage. No wonder: it dates back to 1937 and used to be part of “The Coronation” train. It travelled between Edinburgh and London on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. Its nickname is Beaver Tail because that’s what it looks like at the end of the train.

The Strathspey Railway is known for details like this. For the preservation of such carriages and for its famous 46464 steam locomotive. And for the wonderful stations on the line.

You can see the Coronation Observation Car with large windows and a sloping end.

The Strathspey Railway connects the Art Aviemore with Boat of Garten and Broomhill. The line runs alongside the River Spey. The trip on the museum railway takes around three quarters of an hour – including stops.

The Strathspey Railway can’t compete with the scenery on the Jakobite Steam Train line, but it can compete with everything else. Even the station building in the starting point of Aviemore is magnificent: lovingly renovated and decorated, it brings the Victorian era into the present day. The cinnamon red and creamy white are a lovely contrast. And the detail work on the roof, posts and supports is beautiful.

The end of the train can be seen on a track, with the red and white Victorian station building of Aviemore rising up next to it.

There are historical eye-catchers all over the platform, such as the luggage wagon full of suitcases.

A historic luggage trolley with suitcases on it and an old handcart stand around a pillar of the Aviemore station building.

Only passengers with a ticket are allowed on platform 3. But they can take their time to look at the train before departure. For example, the different carriages. There is an expensive “Officers’ Saloon Carriage”, where you can even get a light lunch.

A look inside the Officers’ Saloon Carriage with its high chairs.

Then back to the classic “open-plan carriage”.

Rows of seats with blue fabric in the lower class carriage.

And finally, there is the showpiece at the end of the train:

The interior of the Coronation Observation Car is decorated with Art Deco elements.

So there is already plenty to explore at Aviemore station. At some point, however, the journey begins. There are a few highlights right at the start, such as the turntable and the engine shed.

View from the train of the historic engine shed at Aviemore.

The line initially runs between birch and pine trees – there are not many views. This continues almost all the way to the first stop at Boat of Garten station. Here passengers also have enough time to take a look at this very successful station at their leisure.

There are so many details in Boat of Garten: signals, a water crane, benches, flowers, luggage trolleys and much more.

Then it’s off to the second stage. On this stage, there are views over the valley of the River Spey and the Cairngorms beyond.

A view from the Strathspey Railway’s observation carriage of the River Spey with the Cairngorms beyond.

Finally, the train arrives at Broomhill station. It is also lovingly decorated, but not quite as large as Boat of Garten. Some may be surprised that there is also a sign here that reads “Glenbogle”. The background: this railway station was used as a backdrop in the British series “Monarch of the Glen”. There it was called Glenbogle.

The spectacle here is almost a little more interesting. In Broomhill, the locomotive is re-coupled and placed in front of the observation carriage.

Steam locomotive 46464 has passed the rest of the train over the points and is now coupled to the observation car.

The return journey is then quicker, as the stop at Boat of Garten is only a few minutes. And so the journey ends again in Aviemore. Here, too, you can watch the locomotive being re-coupled.

A trip to and on the Strathspey Railway is a fascinating experience which, although not as scenic as the Jakobite Steam Train (“Harry Potter Train”), is much cheaper and offers a great railway environment. Another alternative is the Boness Kinneil Railway near Edinburgh.

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More Information

Knowledge: History of the Strathspey Railway

The original Strathspey line connected Aviemore with Forres on the Moray Firth. The railway company hoped to create an efficient line between Perth and the north. But it was not a success – too many passengers switched to cars. the line was closed in 1965.

Just a few years later, enthusiasts began to restore parts of the line as a museum railway. in 1978, the first train travelled from Aviemore to Boat of Garten again. the extension to Broomhill followed in 2002.

But the vision goes further: the connection to Grantown-on-Spey is already underway – bridge parts were even brought from Motherwell and rails were donated by Network Rail.

Trains are now running regularly again, supported by the Strathspey Railway Association with around 900 members.

How to get there

With satnav: Enter “PH22 1PY” – this is the Strathspey Railway station in Aviemore.

Without satnav: Coming from Inverness, take the A9 south to Aviemore. The Strathspey Railway station is to the west of the main road. The car park is at the back of the station.