The Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR/GNoSR) was one of the smaller British railways before the grouping, operating in the far north-east of Scotland. It was formed in 1845 and received its Parliamentary approval on June 261846, following over two years of local meetings. In 1923 it was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway as its Northern Scottish area.
The GNSR's eventual area encompassed the three Scottish counties of Aberdeenshire, Banff and Moray, with short lengths of line in Inverness-shire and Kincardineshire.[1] The railway operated its main line between Aberdeen Waterloo and Keith. Although the line had several branches, its remoteness, and the fact that it served an area far removed from the rest of Britain, has resulted in only its main line remaining today. There were connections westward with the Highland Railway at Boat of Garten, Elgin, Keith and Portessie[1] and southward with the Caledonian Railway and North British Railway at Aberdeen, where the three shared a station.[2] The headquarters were at 89 Guild Street in Aberdeen. In 1921 the railway comprised 334 miles of line and the company’s capital was £7 million.[2] The company also owned hotels in some of the towns and resorts served by its stations. In the early 20th century it also developed a network of feeder bus services.[2]
Aberdeen and Turriff • Aboyne and Braemar • Alford Valley • Banff, Macduff and Turriff Junction • Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla • Boddam Branch • Deeside Railway • Denburn Valley • Formartine and Buchan • Inverury and Old Meldrum Junction • Keith and Dufftown • Moray Coast • Morayshire Railway • St Combs Light Railway • Strathspey Railway
