The Railway by Hamish Napier

★★★★★ "Napier has the composer’s gift of painting a picture with sound, more evocative that an artist. Superb." FATEA

★★★★ “Warmly evokes the glory days of the long-closed Speyside Line…a lament for a lost world.” THE SCOTSMAN


Q: Why 'The Railway'? What's it about?

A: Well...having lived and worked in Glasgow for 17 years I finally took the bold step of moving back North to the Highlands where I grew up. As much of my work remains in Glasgow, I find myself a regular passenger on the railways for the first time in my life.

When I performed The River (2015) live in Grantown in summer '16, Karen approached me enthusiastically after the show, inviting me to compose a soundtrack to her exciting new venture, the Grantown East: Highland Heritage & Cultural Centre.

'The Old Railway Station', as I called it when I was wee, was just over the river from the house. It was haunted, and as a dare, my brothers, pals and I - including the drummer on this album, 'Stone' - would sometimes sneak in to the forbidden derelict buildings. Over two decades later, with the ruin carefully restored into an important local monument and cultural centre, the ghosts of the railway people are given a platform to tell the world their story.

The Railway, my second solo album, is dedicated to three railwaymen: Jimmy Gray (93, driver from Aviemore), Jocky Hay (94, driver from Inverness) and James telfer (94, the last signalman at Grantown-on-Spey East Station). Many of these tunes and songs were inspired by the great stories these men have to tell about their working lives.

Railways have served Scotland for nearly 200 years, connecting people and trade while leaving a distinctive impact on the landscape. The line that ran through Grantown-on-Spey East station was part of the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR). It is hard to imagine these days the impact the arrival of the railway had on the people. Journeys which had once taken days by foot, horse or wagon could be achieved in hours. The railway was their connection to the outside world. Trains did not just transport people, they carried vital goods and trade, in particular, whisky which was transported from the many local distilleries to the rest of the world. Grantown-on-Spey East Station served the local people for over 100 years until improvements to roads and a review by Dr Beeching the chairman of the British Transport Commission led to the closure of many of the rural railway lines. The last train passed through Grantown-on-Spey East on 2nd Nov 1968. Only the direct routes between Inverness, Perth and Aberdeen remain.

I am proud to be given the opportunity to bring new life to the heritage of my local area with The Railway. I hope that the listener feels that the music, lyrics, titles and stories capture the atmosphere and sounds of the lost railways of the North and the people closely connected to them.
It was a joy to play music again with the most influential peers of my teenage years: Fin, Robbo and Stone. Thank you Karen.

Hamish Grant Napier, Autumn 2017

Hamish is a multi-instrumentalist and composer from the Scottish Highlands.

hamishnapier.com