The Strathspey Railway was a railway company in Scotland that ran from Dufftown (in Moray) to Boat of Garten (in Badenoch and Strathspey). It was proposed locally but supported by the larger Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR), which wanted to use it as an outlet towards Perth. The GNoSR had to provide much of the funding, and the value of traffic proved to be illusory. The line opened in 1863 to Abernethy, but for the time being was unable to make the desired connection to the southward main line. Although later some through goods traffic developed, the route never achieved its intended purpose. In common with many rural railways, it lost business heavily to competing road transport, both passenger and freight, from the 1930s. In 1958 lightweight diesel railbuses were used on the line in an attempt to contain the fast-rising financial losses, but the novel form of vehicle failed to bring about the necessary profitability. The line was closed to passenger traffic in 1965, and to general goods services in 1968. A short section north of Aberlour remained in use until complete closure of the line in 1971. Origin A railway came to Aberdeen, from the south, in 1840. From that time there was a demand from interests in Inverness for a railway connection to Aberdeen that would give them a connection to Central Scotland and the south, albeit by a roundabout route. It proved difficult to find the money for this simple aspiration, and after a number of tentative moves, the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) extended a line from Aberdeen as far as Huntly, and then Keith; its line reached there in 1856. From the Inverness end, the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway (I&AJR) reached Keith in 1858. A through connection was established, but for the time being passengers had to change trains at Keith, and any co-operation between the two companies was patchy. Moreover a lack of co-operation at Aberdeen meant that connections there, with the North British Railway, meant that through passenger journeys were unpredictable. The Morayshire Railway had established itself north of Elgin, connecting to Lossiemouth, and it developed a local scheme to connect Craigellachie into the emerging railway network. It opened a line from Orton on the I&AJR line between Elgin and Keith as far as Rothes on 23 August 1858, extending to its Craigellachie station on 24 December 1858. In