Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Full steam ahead for memorial to celebrate much-loved Strathearn railway line

Crieff station, around 1960
Crieff station, around 1960

A group has been formed to develop a lasting memorial to the golden age of railways in west Perthshire.

Plans were hatched two years ago to look at ways of paying tribute to the once-thriving trainlines that served Crieff and Upper Strathearn, and the staff who worked on them.

Now a small band of enthusiasts has been established to raise funds for some kind of monument that would highlight the benefits the lines brought to the area, before they were shut down in the late 1960s.

Comrie Station, c1955

The track helped bring thousands of visitors into the area, and supported the growth of places such as Crieff Hydro and Morrison’s Academy.

The Trains Across Strathean (Tracs) steering group, which has now set up a bank account to accept bids, has already secured £1,000 from Scotrail, via the Strathallan Community Rail Partnership.

That money has been match-funded by an anonymous member of group.

Chairman David Ferguson said it was still undecided what form the memorial will take. In the meantime, the team is busy working on the restoration of a Caledonian Railway signal, which came from Blackford.

Poster announcing the closure of Crieff Goods Station

The piece was donated to the group after it was removed to make way for a new Highland Spring depot.

Mr Ferguson said there had been a lot of support for the project, since its launch at the 50th anniversary Crieff Lines Railway Festival in 2017.

“It has been really heartening to see the local community rallying around this project,” he said. “From the many people who came forward for the original festival and gave their memories – and allowed some of their railway artefacts to be put on show – to the donations of money and the gift of the signal.”

He said Mike Melville of MAM Contracting had also agreed to volunteer his services to install the signal, once a site is identified. Two locations in Crieff are being investigated, and Mr Ferguson said the next step will be to trace and approach landowners.

“I would like, on behalf of the group, to put on record our profound thanks to all involved,” he said.

Alongside Mr Ferguson, Sandy Fraser has been appointed treasurer and Mary Hunt is secretary.

To get involved in the Tracs project, or make a donation, e-mail Fergie.4@aol.com or call 01764 654060.