We are very sad to report the sudden death of one of our longest serving members. George Littlejohn died on Sunday 28th November from injuries sustained in a road accident on the previous Thursday.
He was a local man from Keith but had spent over thirty years in Canada where he worked in association with Canadian Pacific.
George was amongst the first to help form the KDRA and was a member of the Banffshire Rolling Stock Company which bought the Class 140 from the then British Rail. When it was unfortunately damaged, it was passed on to the KDRA and stored, the owners being reimbursed. Through his contacts with the Canadian Pacific Railroad he managed to ship the three “Speeder” track inspection cars in a container with spares over to us in Dufftown. He generously gifted them to the railway.
George left the KDRA for a decade to work at the Strathspey Railway after he had acquired a Class 31 locomotive. This, after being serviced at Bo’ness, he was able to use to power the Royal Scotsman trains on the Strathspey’s metals. After reaching an age limit for driving there, he returned to the KDRA and passed out as a 108 DMU and shunter driver.
More recently he has set about getting the speeders back into operation, providing a shed for their maintenance.
He was always passionate about reconnecting to the mainline, getting loco hauled stock and a larger locomotive. George never shrank from giving advice nor from expressing opinions even when controversial. Describing himself as a ‘Can do’ man, he was truly a great character; he will now be greatly missed both at the stations and on the trains.
