The hard work of the Railway’s volunteers has been recognised by a number of national organisations – here is a selection:
RAILWAYS ON THE AIR (ROTA 2017)
On the 23rd & 24th September, the railway took part in ROTA 2017 organised by Bishop Auckland Radio Amateur’s Club (BARAC). This is an annual event celebrating the birth of the steam passenger railway and the application of amateur radio by successfully contacting or hearing radio stations at preserved railways throughout the world. The following left photo shows the certificate awarded to KDRA for interest shown in promoting ROTA 2017.
Right photo above the certificate awarded to railway radio station GB2KDR for taking part in the ROTA 2017 weekend. The KDR has participated in this event for several years and hopes to continue to participate in this annual event in the future.
NATIONAL RAILWAY HERITAGE AWARDS 2016
The above photo shows our past Chairman, Rod Furr, receiving a National Railway Heritage Award on behalf of the Keith and Dufftown Railway on 7th December 2016. The award was presented by Paul Maynard MP, Rail Minister, at Merchant Taylor’s Hall, London.
Our Keith Town Station is a replica built to replace the original building demolished by British Rail during their tenure of the line. The current building was rebuilt on the site of the original as closely as possible to the original bearing in mind current building regulations and modern requirements.
Keith Town Station was short listed for the Taylor Woodrow Partnership Award along with Dover Marine Station Building, Port of Dover and Mountsorrel Railway Project, Mountsorrel & Rothley Community Heritage. The winner of the award was Port of Dover for Dover Marine Station Building. The KDR received a Highly Commended Certificate for Keith Town Station, photo below.
TRIP ADVISOR CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE 2016
TRIP ADVISOR CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE 2015
SCOTTISH TOURIST BOARD 4 STAR ATTRACTION 2014
Following an unannounced visit on Friday 26th September 2014 from a Visit Scotland Quality and Tourism Advisor the Keith and Dufftown Railway were delighted to be granted a FOUR STAR VISITOR ATTRACTION award. The railway has held a THREE STAR VISITOR ATTRACTION for a number of years and is very pleased to see the efforts of our volunteers recognised by this prestigious award. The railway is run entirely by volunteers, many of whom work unseen behind the scenes, so this FOUR STAR AWARD is a reward for all our volunteers’ efforts. The railway will not be resting on its laurels, however, but will continue its efforts to make the KDR a memorable experience for all our visitors. A very warm welcome awaits you on the Keith and Dufftown Railway.
Extracts from the Visit Scotland report
“The brochure is well presented”
“The web site is easy to navigate and has lots of up to date information”
“All the staff I encountered were smartly dressed in the appropriate uniforms.”
“The main waiting room in Dufftown is well presented”
At Keith “It was good to see that other events on the railway were clearly advertised.”
Keith Shop “There is a good range of merchandise”
Catering “There was clear signage for how to order at the counter. I enjoyed the homemade tomato and red pepper soup”
TRIP ADVISOR CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE 2014
HERITAGE RAILWAY ASSOCIATION ANNUAL AWARD 2001
On 2nd February 2002, the Keith and Dufftown Railway Association was presented with the Heritage Railway Association’s prestigious Annual Award, for successfully opening the line from Dufftown to Keith on limited resources. The award was shared jointly with the North Norfolk Railway who successfully in raised funds at short notice to purchase its station at Sheringham. The award, a coat-of-arms once used on Royal Trains, was displayed at Dufftown for six months. In 1992 the Keith and Dufftown began the long tedious task of purchasing the 11 miles of track, which incidentally has 42 bridges; one the famous 60ft high two-span Fiddich Viaduct. The viaduct needed urgent repairs and the railway was fortunate to obtain grant aid from Moray, Badenoch and Strathspey Enterprise, and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The grant monies also covered refurbishment of Dufftown station, four miles of track and four bridges. Phase 1, Dufftown to Drummuir, opened to passengers on 3rd June 2000. Further funding was obtained in October 1999 from ERDF and the local Enterprise Company, resulting in the remaining seven miles opening to passenger trains on 18th August 2001.
The success of the railway is due to the enormous effort of its volunteers who have given many, many hours of their time and money to the project, the ERDF, and Moray, Badenoch and Strathspey Enterprise. The Keith and Dufftown Railway Association thanks them all for putting their faith in the Association to accomplish this awesome task, although at times, when bureaucracy went into overdrive they and the Association wondered if they would ever see the line open. The volunteers are small in number, but dedicated to the project. Adapted from the HRA Press Release.