The history of Britain’s railways is marked by a number of historic lines; some, such as the Stockton & Darlington and the Liverpool & Manchester, are still familiar names, other sadly are now less familiar despite their historical importance. One of the latter is the Dundee & Newtyle, which opened the first sections of its 4ft 6 in gauge line in 1831 and which was the first railway in the north of Scotland. The original northern terminus was at Newtyle. The initial terminus was bypassed by a diversionary route and new station in 1866, the line having been converted to standard gauge in the late 1840s, but the original station was retained as a goods shed until final closure in September 1964.
Vacant for many years, various schemes were proposed for its reuse but it was not until 2023 that work started on its restoration and conversion of the Grade B listed building into a number of residential units.
The success of the work in transforming one of the oldest surviving railway buildings in Scotland for a new purpose was rewarded when the contractors behind the project, Sidlaw Building & Joinery Services Ltd, was awarded the National Highways Award – made for the restoration, refurbishment or other means of bringing a building or structure that is no longer in railway ownership into a sustainable use – at the 2024 National Railway Heritage Awards.
On Wednesday 13 August the plaque awarded at the ceremony held in London in early December was officially unveiled on the exterior of the building by Andy Savage, chairman of the NRHA, and by Donald Stuart, who was the last stationmaster in post when Newtyle station finally closed in 1964.
The unveiled NRHA plaque alongside the Red Wheel (awarded to commemorate the Dundee & Newtyle Railway by the National Transport Trust) on the restored building at Newtyle with, from the left, Ray McConnachie and Tracey McConnachie of Sidlaw Building & Joinery Services Ltd, John Yellowlees and Andy Savage, both representing the NRHA (which was also represented by Tim Hedley-Jones, who took this photograph, and Greg Beecroft), and Donald Stuart, who was the last stationmaster when Newtyle station was closed in 1964.
The restored Dundee & Newtyle Railway building at Newtyle; with parts dating to 1831 this is one of the oldest railway buildings to survive in Scotland and work in converting it into residential accommodation saw it awarded the National Highways Award at the 2024 National Railway Heritage Awards.