Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay opened the authentic reproduction Victorian saloon carriage in Ballater earlier this month (Wednesday 9th April 2008).
Their Royal Highnesses publicly opened the new visitor attraction which was commissioned by VisitScotland, Scotland’s national tourism organisation.
Local schoolgirl, ten-year-old Amy Crawford, presented The Duchess with a bouquet of flowers after the official opening of the carriage. Amy is the granddaughter of the Customer Services Supervisor at Ballater Tourist Information Centre, Pat Crawford.
The railway carriage is an exact replica of the one used by Her Majesty Queen Victoria in 1869 to journey between Windsor and Ballater.
Their Royal Highnesses were met at Ballater Station by the Lord Lieutenant, Angus Farquharson, OBE, who presented guests including: Peter Lederer, CBE, Chairman of VisitScotland, Ian Dunlop, VisitScotland Area Director, Bill Howatson, Provost of Aberdeenshire Council, and Alan Campbell, CBE, Chief Executive of Aberdeenshire Council.
Peter Lederer, VisitScotland Chairman, said: “We’re delighted the Duke and Duchess came to open the carriage. It was a real seal of approval. The carriage is a fantastic addition to the Victorian exhibition in Ballater Tourist Information Centre. This is exactly the kind of investment needed in tourism if we are to continue to drive up quality and put the visitor experience at the forefront of everything we do.”
The arrival of the carriage fulfils a suggestion made by HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay. The £450,000 project has been funded by European Regional Development Fund, Scottish Enterprise Grampian, VisitScotland, Heritage Lottery Fund and FirstGroup, the UK’s largest bus and rail operator.
The 15 tonne carriage, which is 10.5m long, 2.5m wide and 3.8m high, was painstakingly handcrafted in York by a team of ten people, with help and expertise from transport operator First TransPennine Express. It was craned into the Old Royal Station on 30 January 2008 by a 400-tonne crane following its journey by low-loader from York to Ballater.
