were three trains each way between Strathspey Junction (renamed Craigellachie Junction the following month) and Abertheny on weekdays, with an additional train each way on Saturday evenings. The journey took around 1 hour 40 minutes. In December 1895, there were three trains each way between Craigellachie Junction (renamed Craigellachie in 1897) and Boat of Garten, supplemented by two short workings between Craigellachie Junction and Ballindalloch. Services in April 1910 followed a similar pattern. In July 1922, there were four trains each way, although one of the southbound trains ran from Craigellachie to Ballindalloch only. In 1938 there were three daily trains supplemented by two southbound and one northbound on Saturdays. None of these timetables show a Sunday service. From 1910 Ballindalloch is indicated as the station "for Tomintoul, 15 miles distant." Grouping and Nationalisation In 1923, the Great North of Scotland Railway became part of the new London & North Eastern Railway (LNER). Most of the railways of Great Britain were "grouped"; in this process they were transferred into one or other of four new large companies, following the Railways Act 1921. The GNoSR was a "constituent" of the new LNER. The grouping had limited impact on the Speyside line, and in 1948 a second Government-imposed reorganisation took place, when the railways were taken into national ownership under British Railways. Since the 1930s road transport had become increasingly attractive for passenger and goods transport in rural and remote areas, and had abstracted much from already barely-profitable train services. This resulted in increasing financial losses, which the Government required British Railways to control. In 1955 it was proposed to withdraw passenger services between Ballindalloch and Boat of Garten, the most lightly used part of the line, but hardship to travellers, especially in the winter months, was put forward as an objection, and for the time being the proposal was deferred. In an attempt to stem the increasing losses on this and other lines, four-wheel diesel railbuses were introduced on some passenger services. This operation started on 3 November 1958, when a real attempt was made to make the service more attractive. Four new request stops were opened on 15 June 1959; they were ground level platforms, and passengers had to negotiate retractable steps to board the train. While the railbuses had a very modern feel to them, in those days there was a considerable volume of non-passenger business forwarded by passenger