 The local authorities opposed the application, suspecting that the NBR had no intention of actually completing it.In fact the contract for the work was let in January 1904, and the line opened on 2 July 1906.The Meadowend to Elbowend section was on the alignment of the Elgin Railway of 1812, and from Meadowend to Lochymuir it was on the route of the 1783 waggonway.