Private railway station

A private railway station was a logical development of the rapid growth in railway transportation during the 19th century. Whereas financiers looked to place their stations so as to balance the cost of the construction with expected revenue from the nearby populace, wealthy people utilised this new mode of transport by creating a halt solely for the use of their family, guests and minions. The earliest recorded such halt is Crathes Station [ [http://jove.prohosting.com/ark84/railways/deeside/crathes/crathes.htm Earliest Private Halt] ] in Aberdeenshire, built for Sir Robert Leys in 1853. Such was his authority that even the royal train had to stop there, just in case he wanted to get on [ [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9A00E0D81F31E033A25752C1A9649C94659ED7CF New York Times, 11th February 1984] ] . There were many such lairds [ [http://jove.prohosting.com/ark84/railways/buchan/philorth/philorth.htm Arrangements for crossing Philorth] ] , although some were rather less willing to pay for their station once it was safely constructed [ [http://www.railscot.co.uk/Dingwall_and_Skye_Railway/frame.htm List of Scottish private halts] ] . Some wealthy land-owners wanted the convenience of a bespoke station but did not want an unsightly intrusion onto their land [ [http://198.170.119.92/PDFs/MVVC%20Wetton%20Mill.pdf Tunnel built to hide line] ] , while others wanted their station to be seen from far and wide [ [http://www.users.waitrose.com/~rod99/pages/rail/ringwood-christchurch.htm Flamboyant Egremont family] ] . The practice spread to Ireland [ [http://www.hoganstand.com/general/Identity/extras/heritage/stories/railways.htm Grim cost of Private Halt in Monaghan] ] and abroad: both Bermuda [ [http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showthreaded.php?Number=798655 Halt for The Bermudiana] ] and Austria [ [http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showthreaded.php?Number=798655 The Mariazellerbabn] ] creating exclusive stations for upmarket hotels. Some such stations exist in rural Wales [ [http://www.frheritage.org.uk/wiki/Coed_Y_Bleiddiau_Halt Welsh Halt] ] but others designed to ferry the more budget-conscious to holiday camps have disappeared [ [http://www.123exp-places.com/t/01121494503/ Irish holiday camp private halt] ] as increasingly such customers ventured abroad. The uses for private halts was as diverse as their appearance: to transport fram produce [ [http://www.hfstephens-museum.org.uk/pages/topics/selsey/selsey_tramway.htm Selsey tram farm stop] ] , access a golf club [ [http://www.eastlothianmuseums.org/exhibitions/nbr/branch.html Luffness Golf Club] ] , a remote firing range [ [http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Uk/uk.railway/2005-10/msg02418.html Long disappeared Military Halt] ] , hospital [ [http://web.ukonline.co.uk/cj.tolley/cjt-brhm.htm For Lord Treloar, Alton] ] or an aircraft factory [ [http://www.beaumontschool.com/pdf/ob_newsletter%20issue%2050.pdf Halt forDe Havilands employees] ] . Many took great pride in their private fiefdoms [ [http://archive.thenorthernecho.co.uk/2002/4/26/137613.html Racehorse named after station] ] and most are remembered with great affection.

One of the stops on the Black Isle Railway line was a private halt opened in 1894 at Rosehaugh, near Avoch for the estate owner, Mr James Douglas Fletcher. In its early days it was a great success. The only alternatives, even for a laird, were horse,bicycles or Shanks Pony but once the motor car came into its own however, the station’s use dwindled and it eventually closed in 1951. Elizabeth Marshall The Black Isle-Portrait of the past [Fortrose,J.C.Protheroe,1974 ISBN 0190980738]

Today the term is often used jokingly for an underused station such as Emerson Park [ [http://billz1064.proboards1.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=metro&thread=1166899615&page=3 Transport thread] ] or mistakenly about remote highland stations [ [http://www.railscot.co.uk/Dingwall_and_Skye_Railway/body.htm#lochluichart%20new Former private halt re-routed] ] where it would be uneconomic to stop for the minuscule number of per annum passengers, unless requested. Many are now only remembered because of the diligent recording of railway enthusiasts [ [http://jules-merlin27.fotopic.net/p25882309.html Photograph of former site] ]

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