A north-east tourist attraction is preparing to welcome back visitors for the first time in two years this weekend.
The Maud Railway Museum will be opening its door on two weekends this month following a series of renovations – and a few upgrades to comply with Covid restrictions.
The re-opening has been delayed twice with the Friends of Maud Railway Museum initially hoping to get back on track in April.
Des Byrne, from Friends of Maud Railway Museum, said: “It’s a great relief to see it all come together because we’ve got so many ideas and plans in mind and they’re all starting to drop into place.
“It’s been great to see everything come together in the last couple of weeks, it’s very rewarding to see all the effort everybody has put in beginning to show.”
A series of upgrades
The “work crew” has been busy painting the station’s buildings in the British Railway colours of the 1950s and have added a new pathed pathway to make access easier for visitors.
Last year, the museum was granted £20,750 from Museum Galleries Scotland to put towards upgrades on its toilet facilities, which were completed by Thistle Windows and Plumbing.
Two van bodies have also been bought from a local farm thanks to a grant from the Buchan Initiative Fund. The museum plans to use these to extend its scope and highlight its relationship with the agricultural community of the north-east.
Lots to see and explore
There will be lots to explore when the museum re-opens, including the Peterhead Prison railway carriage and a former Royal Navy explosives wagon.
The old refreshment rooms have been leased from Aberdeenshire Council to house a display titled “Stations of the Formartine and Buchan Line” featuring historic video footage of local railways.
Mr Byrne said: “We’ve got a series of old films that were made by Aberdeenshire Council for schools about the local heritage and history of the railways.
“There’s all types of fascinating stuff in there from when they were built in the 1850s right the way through to the two World Wars and after. All together there’s a couple hours of video for people to watch on our lovely new projector.”
A new display on the Royal Navy Air Service Lenabo Airship Base has been installed ahead of the re-opening on Saturday. In the past, the base was reached by a short branch line from Longside which was only in action for six years.
Mr Byrne added: “This was an airship base used during the First World War where hydrogen was made out of slag from blast furnaces reacting with caustic soda to fill up the airships.”
Recently donated to the museum is a railway wagon turntable which can now be viewed in its “very dismantled” state. It was previously used at the former Consolidated Pneumatic Factory is Fraserburgh.
Maud Railway Museum will be open October 16 to 17 and October 21 to 24 between 10.30am and 4pm.