Far North Line
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(from south to north)
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The Far North Line is a rural railway line entirely within the Highland area of Scotland, extending from Inverness to Thurso and Wick.
Passenger trains on the line are operated by First ScotRail. Along the full length of the line there are three services each way Monday – Saturday, and one service each way on Sundays. Also, Kyle of Lochalsh services run between Inverness and Dingwall.
At Inverness the line connects with the Highland Main Line, which links Inverness and Perth, and a line to Aberdeen (the Aberdeen-Inverness Line).
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[edit] Route
Like the A9 road north of Inverness the Far North Line follows generally the line of the east-facing Moray-Firth coast. Much of the population of the far north of Scotland is concentrated in coastal areas and, in places, the railway is almost on the shore, the track running along the raised beaches left behind as sea levels fell at the end of the last Ice Age.
The railway links many of the same places as the road. Many more places were served by both the railway and the road before three new road bridges were built: across the Moray Firth (between Inverness and the Black Isle), the Cromarty Firth and the Dornoch Firth. The railway is now, in many places, a long way inland from the route of the A9.
Also, the railway loops inland from Tain to Lairg, which has never been on the A9, a deliberate diversion intended upon construction to open the centre of Sutherland to trade. The route then returns to the coast at Golspie. For many years there have been proposals to bypass this Lairg loop[1] with a line across the Dornoch Firth, linking Tain (via Dornoch[2]) more directly with Golspie. This would involve building a new bridge over the Firth, or making dual-purpose the bridge[3] which now carries just the A9. At present there seems to be little real prospect of such plans being implemented.
[edit] Towns and villages
Towns and villages (and other places) linked by passenger services (Ordnance Survey grid references are for stations, unless otherwise indicated):
| Places | Grid references |
| and other notes | |
| Inverness | NH667454 |
| Beauly | NH520457 |
| Muir of Ord | NH528501 |
| Dingwall | NH553586 |
| The Kyle of Lochalsh Line diverges at Dingwall. | |
| Alness | NH659694 |
| Invergordon | NH704686 |
| Fearn | NH815782 |
| This small village (full name Hill of Fearn, NH832778) is about two kilometres (one mile) east of the station. This station also benefits the Seaboard Villages. | |
| Tain | NH781823 |
| Ardgay | NH600904 |
| When first built, and for many years afterwards, Ardgay station was named for the nearby village of Bonar Bridge. | |
| Culrain | NH577947 |
| Invershin | NH579953 |
| Lairg | NC582038 |
| Lairg station is over two kilometres (one mile) south of this small town (NC582064). | |
| Rogart | NC725019 |
| Golspie | NH825997 |
| Dunrobin Castle | NC849013 |
| Brora | NC906041 |
| Helmsdale | ND023155 |
| Kildonan | NC901217 |
| Kinbrace | NC862316 |
| Forsinard | NC891425 |
| Altnabreac | ND003457 |
| Scotscalder | ND096560 |
| Georgemas Junction | ND155593 |
| In the past, passenger services divided at Georgemas Junction, part of the train going to Thurso, the other to Wick. In the 1990s this practice was changed. Trains now run to Georgemas, reverse to reach Thurso, and then return through Georgemas a second time before continuing to Wick. | |
| Thurso | ND113679 |
| Wick | ND360509 |
[edit] History
The line was built in several stages:-
- Inverness and Ross-shire Railway - Opened 11 June 1862 between Inverness and Ardgay
- Sutherland Railway - Opened 13 April 1868 between Ardgay and Golspie
- Duke of Sutherland's Railway - Opened 1 November 1870 between Golspie and Helmsdale
- Sutherland and Caithness Railway - Opened 28 July 1874 between Helmsdale and Wick / Thurso
Much of the work was done by the Inverness-based Highland Railway company or, when completed, taken over by that company. In 1923 the Highland Railway was grouped into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, under the Railways Act of 1921.
Like railway lines generally in Britain the line was not a product of any strategic plan, but was an ad hoc development, facilitated by Private Acts of Parliament (which were themselves a significant expense for developers) and dependent on cooperation between companies and individuals, each with their own private vested interests. The line did become strategically important during World War I and World War II as part of a supply route for Scapa Flow, Orkney: Jellicoe's Express linked Thurso directly with London (Euston) and Portsmouth.
That the line extends beyond Ardgay in the county of Ross and Cromarty is due, to a large extent, to the railway enthusiasm (some might say madness) of the 3rd Duke of Sutherland. The duke did realise his dream of being able to run his own private train to and from his own station at Dunrobin Castle.
The duke's enthusiasm took the line as far as Gartymore, a little south of Helmsdale, in the county of Sutherland, but this development was more of a financial liability than an asset: the long-term viability of the line then depended on a Caithness willingness, not least from the 17th Earl of Caithness, to link the line to the population centres of Wick and Thurso.
North of Helsmdale the line was built by the Sutherland and Caithness Railway. Turning inland it reaches Forsinard in the Flow Country. The building of the line through the Flow Country - one of the least densely populated parts of Scotland - was to avoid the Berriedale Braes. North of Helmsdale as far as Lybster, it would have been impractical to have built a railway without massive civil engineering projects. Thus coastal villages such as Latheron and Lybster are not served by the line.
In 1902, under the provisions of the Light Railways Act of 1896, the standard gauge Wick and Lybster Railway was built along the east coast of Caithness, running south from Wick to Lybster.[4] This line was never profitable, and it closed in 1944.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ The Lairg loop serves Ardgay, Culrain, Invershin and Rogart as well as Lairg.
- ^ Ordnance Survey grid reference for Dornoch: NH798895.
- ^ Grid reference for Dornoch Firth road bridge: NH748858.
- ^ Grid reference for Lybster: ND248363.
[edit] External links
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