The Permanent Way

Strathspey Railway Association (SRA) volunteers tackle maintenance, repairs, improvements & extensions to the Permanent Way (PW) on the first full & third full weekends each month. If the first day of the month is a Saturday work therefore takes place on the 1 st. & 2 nd. & then again 2 weeks later.

In, for example, December 2006 the PW days were 2 nd. / 3 rd. & 16 th. / 17 th.

The work is organised & notified in advance by Hamish MacKay, the Strathspey Railway Company (SRC) PW Director & by George McNair the SRC Outdoor Superintendent.

George was a professional railway track supervisor before becoming a full-time SRC employee & had been a volunteer before then. It is in large part due to his knowledge & skills that the PW on the Strathspey Railway is of high standard. Many knowledgeable visitors to the Railway have favourably commented on this. Locomotive owners have as a result been more than pleased to base their locomotives on the Railway recently. We intend to keep up the standards. Despite the name, repeated train movements affect the PW & regular attention is needed.

A variety of tasks ranging from skilled work to heavy & light duties are available. On average 6 to 8 volunteers turn out but some tasks need more assistance so extra help is always welcome.

Anyone who is reasonably fit can get involved. We use mechanical assistance where possible & the PW squad has gathered a comprehensive set of tools & equipment.

The work takes place outdoors & suitable protective clothing & footwear are needed. High visibility vests are provided. These are obligatory when trains are running. There is not much to better being outside working on the track half way between Aviemore & Boat of Garten, amongst pine trees & moorland, miles from roads & houses & with the Cairngorms as a backdrop.

The track has also to be inspected weekly. This involves a pleasant 5-mile walk & anyone interested will be given the necessary training.

In the near future PW work may start towards Grantown on Spey . This is something to look forward to & to get involved in.

The Strathspey Express contains regular in-depth reports on PW work completed & planned.

These web pages serve to compliment the Express by giving additional information & progress photographs in colour.

For details of joining, see the membership section of this site.