Boddam branch line
The Boddam Branch Line was a 15-mile branch railway line constructed by the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) from Ellon railway station to Boddam in Aberdeenshire. It opened in 1897. As well as serving the small fishing port of Boddam and nearby stone quarries, it connected to the Cruden Bay Hotel, a luxurious resort hotel established and operated by the GNoSR. As a United Kingdom railway-owned resort hotel, the hotel was an unusual development.
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| Locale | Scotland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates of operation | 2 August 1897–1945 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 15 miles (24 km) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The remote location of the hotel and the short season, led to poor financial performance of the hotel; the other hoped-for traffics of the branch line were also disappointing. The passenger service on the branch line was discontinued in 1932 and the hotel itself was requisitioned by the military at the outset of World War II; it never re-opened to the public. The goods service on the branch closed at the end of 1948.