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From the buffers to brand new wedding and whisky venue – 1950s Dufftown carriage set to charm visitors

By Chloe Irvine

November 22 2022, 5:24 pm

Chief Engineer, Bruce Crowe aboard the Dram Train. Image: Sandy McCook /DC Thomson

Volunteers at Keith and Dufftown Railway have turned a 65-year-old coach into a “dram tram” for weddings and whisky tastings.

The coach, built in 1957, at the vintage Keith and Dufftown Railway has spent the last decade unused and cast aside in the buffers.

However, volunteers decided to change that and transform it into a venue for public functions such as weddings, whisky tastings and parties.

Keith and Dufftown Railway volunteers sitting inside the dram tram — Keith and Dufftown railway volunteers inside the newly renovated tram. Picture of Bruce Crowe, John Roberts and Alan Moir by Sandy McCook / DC Thomson

‘It was just in my head, now it’s a reality’

This vision was created by chief engineer Bruce Crowe who is preparing with the team for an opening day this weekend to the Dufftown and Keith community.

He said: “We started in January; it’s sat here for ten years unloved and neglected, getting very dirty.

“I had a vision, but it’s the guys and myself, it’s all of our efforts, I had an idea of what it would be like in my head but it’s evolved.

What the Dufftown dram tram would've looked like before renovation — Another Dufftown coach identical to what the dram tram looked like before it was renovated. Picture by Chloe Irvine

“Everyone brings their own individual skills to the table, it’s scary this was just in my head at one time and now it’s a reality.

“I hoped it would happen, it was just when and it was just the right moment.

“We didn’t go sort of modern, there’s simple chandeliers but they look good, they came from America of all places.

“I put the shelf up in the toilet this morning, we’re fitting the door in the toilet, it’s just small jobs because we’ve got an open day on Saturday for the locals.”

This open day comes five years after the railway hosted an open day for intrigued locals to show the work that goes into maintaining the trains, stations and infrastructure.

‘Go overboard with the Scottishness’

“At Keith and Dufftown railway we sell ourselves as a whisky line, so I thought we’d need to make more of that.

Dufftown Railway has spent the year refurbishing a carriage into a ‘Dram Tram’ which can be used for functions, weddings and other occasions on the line from Dufftown to Keith. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson.

“The idea was to go overboard on the Scottishness with the tartan carpet and curtains, it’s what tourists expect when they come to Scotland,” he explained.

Though the dram tram is still yet to open to the public, Mr Crowe said the group has already received bookings.

He said: “We’ve got a booking for October next year, someone’s using it to get married.”

He added that this project has been completed entirely off the backs of volunteers and encouraged more people to join in from driving the trains to completing workshops.

New members can volunteer for the Keith and Dufftown railway on their website.