miller at Auchterhouse. In 1846 the line was leased to the Dundee and Perth Railway Company, which changed its name to the Dundee and Perth and Aberdeen Junction Railway Company two years later. The route was diverted through Dronley, avoiding the Balbeuchley incline, in 1860, resulting in Auchterhouse station being resited and a new Dronley railway station provided. In 1861 the line was extended from Newtyle to Alyth. It was absorbed by the Scottish Central Railway Company in 1863, which in turn was taken over by the Caledonian Railway Company in 1865. Three years later, the Hatton incline was eliminated, and a deviation built into Newtyle. The Caledonian Railway became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company under the Railways Act 1921. Severe snow storms hit Angus in February 1947, and a passenger train was snowed in at Dronley cutting for over a week. Severe rationing still existed at the time, the roads were blocked, and the coal from the stranded engine was stolen, so that more had to be sent for to get the engine started again. There were also problems at Auchterhouse station, where snow drifts blocked the line under the road bridge. It would have been a massive task to dig out the drift, so a pair of large locomotives was sent from Newtyle, with a large snowplough attached. Although the engines managed to get some distance, the drivers soon realised they would need to get up speed before tackling the drifts. The engines and snowplough reversed back along the line and then charged. The force caused by the displaced snow as the engines passed through the station was so great that there was hardly a pane of glass left in the signal box or station buildings, and all the doors were smashed. It took over a week to repair the damage. Following the damage caused by World War II, in 1948 the United Kingdom's railways were nationalised, and the line became part of British Railways. It survived for just seven years, with passenger services withdrawn on 10 January 1955. Freight services continued, but the Auchterhouse–Newtyle section closed in 1958, and the remaining route to Dundee ceased operation on 5 April 1965. Education By 1873 public schools had been established in Auchterhouse for both boys and girls. Children attended between the ages of five and 13, and of the 165 living in the parish, 141