Facts & Myths

The purpose of this page is just to provide a Steptoe's Yard of facts and figures for the benefit of anyone researching the area or writing articles about it. Where possible we've included some details of where the information was found so that permission can be sought if it is to be used. Where we have obtained permission that fact is annotated red. The information is in no particular order although some attempt has been made to categorise it under headings such as Railway, Castle, Lime Kilns, etc.

Railway: A book "Speyside Railways" devotes some 20 pages, about half of them photographs, to the Keith to Craigellachie railway. Other stuff has been gleaned off the Web.

	27th July 1857 the authorisation was given for the construction of a railway line from Keith to Dufftown. It was a nominally separate company but effectively the Great North of Scotland Railway who were desperate to complete their line from Aberdeen to Inverness. (Actually, they only got as far as Elgin.)
	21st Feb 1862 the line opened with stations at Keith Town (then called Earlsmill after that district of Keith), Auchindachy (then called Botriphnie but renamed Auchindachy in mid 1863) and Dufftown.
	1st June 1863 Drummuir Lime Kilns Siding was opened to ship out 'brunt lime' from the nearby Drummuir Lime Kilns. In late 1884 it was renamed Botriphnie and then it was closed from 10 July 1890 until 1894. On 1st Jan 1898 it was renamed again, this time to Towiemore.
	On 1st June 1863 Drummuir Lime Kilns Siding was opened to ship out 'brunt lime' from the nearby Drummuir Lime Kilns. By Dec 1884 it had been renamed Botriphnie. It was closed on 10th July 1890 and then reopened in 1894. On 1st Jan 1898 it was renamed again, this time to Towiemore. A passenger service was available from about 1924 but was not in the public timetable until 1937.
	In 1866 the line was amalgamated with the Great North of Scotland Railway
	Drummuir station, along with its so-called Drummuir Curlers Platform at the exit end of Loch Park, was added about 1894 - 1895.
	On 6th May 1966 the line was closed to passenger traffic other than the tourist Northern Belle which continued until ????. Freight continued until ????.
	In 1985 the Keith & Dufftown Railway Association was incorporated under the Companies Act.
	On 21st July 1999 the KDRA was granted permission to operate as a railway.
	On 18th August 2001 the first train ran from Dufftown to Keith on the reopened line.

In Newsletter No 63, September 1994, I noted that the Keith and Dufftown Railway Association had been formed in the Summer of 1992 to preserve the historic 11 miles of single line track which had been built in 1862 but from which trains had ceased to run in 1991. Travers Cosgrove wrote to me in July to say that the Glenfiddich viaduct has been repaired and is now in use and that the Keith and Dufftown railway is running from Dufftown, which is the home of the Glenfiddich distillery, to Drummuir and is planned to reach Keith before next summer. Linking to the national railway network at Keith, 15 miles south west of Elgin, still lies ahead.

Lime Kilns:

Land obtained

Towiemore Distillery:

	In 1896/97 Towiemore Distillery was established by a Peter Dawson.
	In 1898, just as construction is completed, the distillery is purchased by the Towiemore-Glenliet Distillery Co. Ltd.
	In 1902 new warehouses are built.
	In 1904 the distillery is damaged by fire.
	From 1914 until 1917 the Distillery is closed.
	In 1922 blenders are reported as refusing to use Towiemore whisky due to its tendency to briefly turn cloudy when water is added (said to be caused by the lime in the water but whether that referred to the lime in the water being added or in the water used to make the whisky is not known).
	In 1930 the assets of Towiemore-Glenlivet Distillery Co. Ltd. are liquidated and the Distillery is purchased by Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd, and promptly closed.
	At some point the Stills are removed.
	At some subsequent but unknown time the Distillery is used as Maltings.
	In 1993 the Maltings and Warehousing are discontinued, part of the building is demolished and the remainder are sold to L.H. Stainless for the manufacture of stainless steel fabrications.