Boat of Garten owes its existence to the opening of the railway in 1863 and in particular to the station's role as the junction for the Great North of Scotland Railway's Speyside branch from 1866.
An inn was built which was later extended and rebuilt to become the The Boat Hotel.
Traffic was exchanged between the two lines until Speyside services were extended to Aviemore in the 1950s and the railway was the major source of employment.
In the 1900s there were about 30 railway workers at Boat of Garten, eleven of these being employed by The Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR), the others by The Highland Railway.
Many of these staff lived in the houses built by both companies in the village. Similar to Aviemore, villas were built in the village during the Edwardian period.
Keep up to date with what's happening at Boat of Garten station by visiting the station's Facebook page.
Probably up until this year, the most famous filming to have taken place at Boat of Garten railway station is the remake of the A J Cronin series "Dr Findlay's Casebook" which starred famous Scottish actors David Rintoul and Annette Crosby (who famously played Margaret in the sit com One Foot in the Grave alongside Richard Wilson). The railway scene in the first episode of the TV programme was filmed at Boat of Garten railway station and features rare footage the LMS Black Five 5025 in operation on the railway. This locomotive is currently under going a four hundred thousand pound restoration and will shortly been seen again on the railway.
This year saw the filming of Scottish stunt rider Danny MacAskill's new film "Wee Day Out" at various locations around the railway. At Boat of Garten railway station Danny filmed the audacious last stunt in the film, where he cycles off the top platform of the pedestrian bridge onto the handrail and then down onto a picnic bench. It is only when you are walking across the pedestrian bridge that you get an understanding of the skill level required to execute this jump safely.
Boat of Garten railway station also featured prominently in the 2016 TV series "Full Steam Ahead". The TV Programme featured a whisky goods train arriving at Boat of Garten to assist in telling the story of how important the establishing of the railways in the mid 19th century was in establishing the world-famous whisky industry. It was the railway that allowed barley to be brought to distilleries and allowed the end product, this unique Scottish drink, to be transported all over the world. Each of the then remote Distilleries, built private branch lines to connect to, what was then, the Great North of Scotland railway. The GNoS brought malted barley to the door of the Distilleries and took whisky to the national network. Thus allowing the Distilleries access to bigger markets which meant distilleries began to produce Scotch on an industrial scale.
Boat of Garten is well known as the "Osprey Village". The observation hide for ospreys, maintained by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds at Loch Garten, lies three miles from the village. After an absence of half a century from Scotland a pair of these fish-eating birds of prey nested close to the Loch in the 1950s and ospreys have returned from their winter quarters in Africa each year since then.
The village lies on the banks of the River Spey and has amongst other attractions, a James Braid designed golf course. There are many way marked walks around the village, some connecting with the Speyside Way which runs through the village.
Near to the railway station is the community garden which was created in 2002 in partnership with the BBC's Beechgrove Garden and which is now looked after by local volunteers.
Nearby is Milton Loch and its adjacent Community Wood. The small loch is an excellent location for bird watching. There is a timber hide at the far side of the loch or just sitting watching the wildlife, which includes ducks, geese and occasionally red squirrels.
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It also handled much timber traffic from the surrounding forests replacing the previous method of floating the logs down the Spey.
The replica main station was built by Volunteers of the Strathspey Steam Railway, on the foundations of the original building in 1997.
The Station was then selected by the producers of the popular TV programme Monarch of the Glen to feature on the programme as "Glenbogle Railway Station"
Aviemore developed as a small village after the opening of the Inverness & Perth Junction Railway (from 1865 the Highland Railway) in 1863.
The Victorian railway station you see today was constructed in the late 1900's and became a major junction between the new direct route to Inverness via Carr Bridge and the old route via Boat of Garten.
The growth of Tourism in the 1970's was a major reason for the re-opening of the railway from Boat of Garten to the outskirts of Aviemore by the Strathspey Railway in 1978.
Today the steam trains depart from Platform 3 Aviemore which became the new terminus of the Strathspey Railway in 1998.
The railway is staffed mostly with volunteers who are members of the Strathspey Railway Association.
They run the trains, sell the tickets, service the locomotives and coaches, and maintain the tracks, bridges, fences and signals.
Accommodation is provided in Spey Lodge the LMS train crew's hostel in Aviemore for modest rates.
The Association also provides financial support towards projects on the Railway and is one of the major shareholders in the Company.
All interested are invited to join the worldwide membership, whether they can play an active role or not.
Benefits of membership include a quarterly magazine and reduced rate tickets for travel on the line.
For details of the Strathspey Railway Association please contact:
The Membership Secretary
Aviemore Station
Dalfaber Road
Aviemore
PH22 1PY
Or apply on-line at www.strathspeyrailwayassociation.co.uk