The period 1865-1870 deserves special mention with the railway extension from Pitnappie to Kirkton Farm, where a cutting fully 300 yards long and from 30 to 40 foot deep through solid rock-known locally as "The Gullet" - leads on to a fine stone bridge spanning the main roadway and pursuing its long winding course along a lofty embankment to link up with the Coupar Angus section, Two signal boxes and a double track section at the first real station were erected, when John Henry, the young Banffshire agent from Ladysbridge station, became its stationmaster with a salary of £70 per annum.
It was thus possible to travel direct from Blairgowrie through Coupar Angus and Newtyle to Dundee. Incidentally, what was left of the Auld Toon gradually disappeared and reverted to its virgin state under the plough. The excellent train service thus inaugurated was of immense advantage to the whole community, who spoke of the non-stop trains to Dundee as the "Blairgowrie Express"; the slower trains as the "Blairre"; and the ancillary one from Alyth as "Trappie" - an era of splendid local railway travel, well patronised and very popular for many years, which came to an end on 8th January 1955, with the closure of the branch line for passenger traffic.
The aforegoing historical account then, outlines the remarkable record of Newtyle during the century and a half of its existence, since its present site was earmarked by Lord Wharncliffe, the land superior, for the erection of a new village at the proposed terminus of the railway system between Dundee and Newtyte.
Since the uplifting of the railway track from Auchterhouse to Newtyle has just been completed. and the Gullet is now a deep open yawning gap in the landscape, some ill-advised souls have been heard to remark that Newtyle railway system has been a glorious failure However, the underlying truth of the old adage - "hard facts are dour chiels, ill tae ding doon" - was never more apparent, when one considers the success of Newtyle village, as it appears today. Gone are the days when the homes of douce canny folk were lit with candles and oil cruisies, and the streets illuminated by paraffin lamps during the hours of darkness. Primitive modes of sanitation, cleanliness and water supplied from street metal pumps have given way gradually to more modern methods and standards of hygienic comfort. In every respect the village is run on modern lines with electric heating and lighting systems in our homes. One notes with pleasure the T.V. aerials fixed to most chimney heads, and also the large number of motor cars owned by house-holders for pleasure and business purposes, a sure sign of a thrifty prosperous community. This is a purely agricultural area where horse power for land and field operations has recently ceased to exist, Even steam power on our local railway has almost shared the same fate with the rapid advance of petrol and diesel locomotion for transport on our public roads, and should the atomic era appear in the near or distant future for similar purposes, at present it would be difficult to envisage how our present standards of living would be affected. Time will tell!
HENRY JOINER, M.A.
ex-Headmaster, NewtyIe P. School.
Please feel free to contact me by e-mail at elliottsimpson@hotmail.com
Nov 2005