They were the duo who brought a Deeside project back on the rails.
And now, Jon Tyler and Peter Mearns are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the venture at Milton of Crathes.
The volunteer members of the Royal Deeside Railway preservation society have been working hard for two decades, but have no intention of terminating their plans to expand the service.
The original scheme to restore the line was first mooted when an advertisement was published in the P&J looking for volunteers to resurrect the old tracks.
Mr Tyler and Mr Mearns then took it upon themselves to form a community group, allowing the Milton railway to come back into use.
Speaking about the success of the initiative, Mr Tyler said it had been an “extremely satisfying” project which had required an “incredible amount of teamwork” from all involved.
He added: “It all started back in 1996 when the P&J published a small article where Peter was asking for volunteers to join him in reopening the railway, so I replied through the advert and we haven’t looked back since.
“Planning permission initially took a long time; we didn’t get the proposal granted until 2006.
“But it’s fantastic to look back over the 20 years and see how well the railway has done; it’s been a great addition to Aberdeenshire and we are now planning to expand the line further.”
The group is now preparing to extend the current line to Banchory and have planning permission to build as far as the supermarket.
Mr Tyler added: “It’s been an extremely satisfying project to take on and fantastic to see it come to life over the years and move from strength to strength.
“We are now hoping to expand the railway all the way to Banchory, and that is our next target.
“These things require an incredible amount of team work and a huge team effort, and we have been helped, not only by volunteers, but by many sponsors, both locally and nationally.”
Banchory and Mid-Deeside councillor Linda Clark said: “I have great support for all the volunteers who have made the railway a possibility.
“I can’t praise everyone involved high enough, because we appreciate it is an entirely volunteer-led project and we must see that as a wonderful thing for Banchory and the district.
“It’s a great tourist attraction, people have got married on the train, the children love it and it has been wonderful.”
The team also recently received an award from the Transport Trust for their work.
