Echoes of a bygone age

A lovely Spring day today; just the day for a wander along the old Buchan and Formartine railway. Opened in 1861 it stretched from Dyce, in the south, northwards to Maud Junction where it spit into two branch lines, one to Peterhead and the other to Fraserburgh. In its hey-day it carried passengers, fish and agricultural produce, particularly beef cattle. It closed to passengers in 1965 and finally to all traffic in 1979.
The photograph was taken on the fine granite viaduct which took the line across the River Ythan. The wooden structure is one of the numerous poles which supported the telegraph lines that followed the course of the railway. How communication has changed!