The sparse local population did not sustain the line long, and passenger services were withdrawn in 1931; an experimental resumption in 1938 was brief and unsuccessful.

Goods services continued, and construction at an RAF base in the early 1960s brought some business but the line closed completely in 1964.

Brechin was an important town but its manufacturing output, and its requirement for coal and agricultural minerals, were stifled because of the difficulty of transport to and from the nearest harbour where coastal shipping was available: Montrose.

A canal was proposed but the topography of the district was a problem, and Stevenson recommended consideration of an iron railway.

The primitive locomotives of the day were inadequate for the gradients encountered, but Stevenson proposed several alternatives, including a route consisting of level sections with intermediate inclined planes worked by stationary engines, and a route that descended from Brechin on a steady gradient of 1 in 414.

Stevenson admitted that some of his proposals were technically unproven, and passenger revenue was forecast to be only £50 per annum.

It was thought important to link Aberdeen to the planned network further south, and it began to become clear that Perth was going to be a focus.

The second scheme would shorten the mileage of new construction required, but Brechin would only be served by a branch line.

[3] The second scheme was the one adopted, and the Aberdeen Railway obtained Parliamentary authority on that basis on 31 July 1845, the same day as the SMJR.

There was one intermediate station, at Inchbare, and the Caledonian Railway worked the line for 50% of gross receipts.

The Edzell line joined that alignment west of Brechin North Junction and the two single lines ran alongside one another to the North Junction signal box, where they merged to a double track, which immediately turned south and west to enter Brechin station.

The avoiding line was closed in 1917 when the track materials were requisitioned for use in hostilities during World War I.