Dingwall and Skye Railway

Dingwall and Skye Railway
(inc Kyle of Lochalsh Extension)

Locale	Scotland
Dates of operation	5 August 1870 – 2 August 1880
Successor	Highland Railway
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm)

Legend

Kyle of Lochalsh Extension

Kyle of Lochalsh

Duirinish

Plockton

Dingwall and Skye Railway

Luib (Loan) Crossing

Raven's Rock Siding

Strathpeffer

Fodderty Junction

Inverness and Ross-shire Railway

Dingwall

Inverness and Ross-shire Railway

The Dingwall and Skye Railway was authorised on 5 July 1865 with the aim of providing a route to Skye and the Hebrides. However, due to local objections, another Act of Parliament was required before work could commence. This was passed on 29 May 1868.

With the exception of the Strathpeffer Branch, the line is still open, being the major section of the Kyle of Lochalsh Line.

History

The line to Stromeferry opened for passenger traffic on 19 August 1870.^[1] It was 53 miles (85 km) in length and cost £238,500 (equivalent to £20,580,000 in 2015)^[2] to build.

The line was worked by the Highland Railway, and was ultimately absorbed on 2 August 1880. On 29 June 1893 the Highland Railway obtained re-authorisation to build the section to Kyle of Lochalsh. The line was inspected by Sir Francis Marindin of the Board of Trade on 29 October 1897, and opened for traffic on 2 November.^[3] The construction of the 10.5 miles (16.9 km) line cost £200,000 (equivalent to £20,470,000 in 2015)^[2] and was built under the supervision of the engineer Murdoch Paterson. The pier at Kiyle of Lochalsh cost £85,000 to build.

The initial aim was to connect Skye to Inverness. Although Inverness was Skye's county town at the time, it was easier to get there via Glasgow. The line opened in 1870, but with its terminus at Stromeferry. Boats provided onward connection to Skye and the Outer Hebrides.

The line was extended to Kyle, through some unforgiving terrain; almost all of the extension is in rock cuttings or embankments. At the time it was the most expensive railway ever built in Britain per mile, and much money was provided by the Government.

The line never gained much traffic: connections with the ferries were often unreliable; much freight traffic was stolen by the West Highland Railway upon its opening. Original ideas, including such ideas as moving fishing boats by rail across Scotland to avoid navigating around, never came to fruition. The line avoided the Beeching Axe due to social necessity, but throughout the 1970s it was variously threatened with closure, but won a reprieve until the Caledonian MacBrayne service to Lewis was moved from Kyle to Ullapool. It was eventually saved in connection with supplying goods for oil platform fabrication at the nearby Kishorn Yard. The section of line along Loch Carron is particularly troublesome, and prone to landslides, often closing that section.

Strathpeffer Branch

Main article: Strathpeffer railway station

The logical route for the original line would have taken it through Strathpeffer, a spa town, and one of the few centres of population, but disagreements with landowners - particularly Sir William Mackenzie of Coul House - meant that it bypassed the town, and the line was diverted through Raven Rock. This diversion consequently proved very costly for the Dingwall & Skye Railway company. The original Act had allowed the company to build the railway through to Kyle, but the severe costs of the Strathpeffer diversion in addition to loss of revenue from relevant shareholders meant that the money ran out, leading to the line being cut back to Stromeferry, 10 miles short of Kyle. It would be another 27 years before the line reached the originally planned terminus.

The short-sightedness of the landowner was to last for a generation, as his son gave permission for the branch line to be built to Strathpeffer by 1884, despite the fact the main line was now already in place. On 3 June 1885, the branch opened, operating for 66 years before it closed on 26 March 1951, with the track being lifted soon afterwards. A station was opened at Achterneed on the original line, being called Strathpeffer, but proved too far from the town to viably harness that revenue, and closed in 1965.

Connections to other lines

Inverness and Ross-shire Railway at Dingwall

References

↑ "New Railway in the North". Morning Post. British Newspaper Archive. 20 August 1870. Retrieved 15 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
1 2 UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Gregory Clark (2016), "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)" MeasuringWorth.
↑ "Railways in the Western Highlands. Opening of New Kyle Extension". Glasgow Herald. British Newspaper Archive. 3 November 1897. Retrieved 15 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).

Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063.
Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.
Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137.
RAILSCOT article on Dingwall and Skye Railway
RAILSCOT article on Strathpeffer Branch
RAILSCOT article on Kyle of Lochalsh Extension

Historical Scottish railway companies

Primary companies	Caledonian Railway Glasgow and South Western Railway Great North of Scotland Railway Highland Railway North British Railway

Caledonian Railway	Aberdeen Railway Alloa Railway Alyth Arbroath and Forfar Busby Railway Cathcart District Clydesdale Junction Crieff Junction Crieff and Comrie Crieff and Methven Junction Dumfries, Lochmaben and Lockerbie Dunblane, Doune and Callander Dundee and Perth Dundee and Perth and Aberdeen Forfar and Brechin General Terminus and Glasgow Harbour Garnkirk and Glasgow Glasgow Central Railway Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Greenock and Wemyss Bay Hamilton and Strathaven Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Leadhills and Wanlockhead Lesmahagow Railway Lochearnhead, St Fillans and Comrie Paisley and Barrhead District Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Polloc and Govan Rutherglen and Coatbridge Scottish Central Scottish Midland Junction Scottish North Eastern Solway Junction Symington, Biggar and Broughton Talla Railway Wishaw and Coltness Lines built by the Caledonian Railway Balerno line CR Cleland and Midcalder CR Main Line CR Douglas Branch CR Hamilton Branch CR Hamiltonhill Branch CR The Switchback Independent lines worked by the Caledonian Railway Callander and Oban Killin Railway

Glasgow and South Western Railway	Ardrossan Railway Ardrossan and Johnstone Ayr and Dalmellington Ayr and Maybole Junction Ayr to Mauchline Ayrshire and Wigtownshire Barrhead Branch Bridge of Weir Railway Cairn Valley Caledonian and Dumbartonshire Junction Castle Douglas and Dumfries Dalry and North Johnstone Darvel Branch Girvan and Portpatrick Junction Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Greenock and Ayrshire Kilmarnock and Troon Largs Branch Maidens and Dunure Maybole and Girvan Paisley and Renfrew Paisley Canal Line

Great North of Scotland Railway	Aberdeen and Turriff Aboyne and Braemar Alford Valley Banff, Macduff and Turriff Junction Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Boddam Branch Deeside Denburn Valley Formartine and Buchan Inverury and Old Meldrum Junction Keith and Dufftown Moray Coast Morayshire St Combs Light Railway Strathspey Railway

Highland Railway	Buckie and Portessie Branch Dingwall and Skye Duke of Sutherland Findhorn Railway Fortrose Branch Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Inverness and Aviemore Direct Inverness and Nairn Inverness and Perth Junction Inverness and Ross-shire Kyle of Lochalsh Extension Perth and Dunkeld Sutherland and Caithness Sutherland Railway Independent lines worked by the Highland Railway Dornoch Light Railway Wick and Lybster Light Railway

North British Railway	Aberlady, Gullane and North Berwick Anstruther and St Andrews Railway Ballochney Bathgate and Coatbridge Blane Valley Border Counties Railway Border Union Railway Campsie Branch Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway and Dock Company Charlestown Railway and Harbour Company Coatbridge Branch Devon Valley Railway Dunfermline and Queensferry East of Fife Railway Edinburgh and Bathgate Edinburgh and Dalkeith Edinburgh and Glasgow Edinburgh and Hawick Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway Edinburgh, Loanhead and Roslin Railway Edinburgh and Northern Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Esk Valley Eyemouth Railway Fife and Kinross Railway Forth and Clyde Junction Gifford and Garvald Glasgow, Bothwell, Hamilton and Coatbridge Glasgow City and District Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Glasgow and Milngavie Junction Glasgow, Yoker and Clydebank Kelvin Valley Railway Kincardine Line Kinross-shire Railway Kirkcaldy and District Railway Leadburn, Linton and Dolphinton Leven Railway Leven and East of Fife Railway Macmerry Branch Monkland and Kirkintilloch Monkland Railways Montrose and Bervie Mallaig Extension Newburgh and North Fife Railway (worked by NBR) Newport Railway North Berwick Branch North British, Arbroath and Montrose Peebles Railway The St. Andrews Railway Stirling and Dunfermline Strathendrick and Aberfoyle Slamannan Slamannan and Borrowstounness Wemyss and Buckhaven Railway West Highland Railway West of Fife Mineral Railway Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness

Joint lines	Caledonian and Dumbartonshire Junction City Union Dundee and Arbroath Darvel and Strathaven Glasgow and Paisley Joint Glasgow and Renfrew District Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Kilsyth and Bonnybridge Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint

Other lines	Brechin and Edzell District Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway Cromarty and Dingwall Light Railway Dundee and Arbroath Hagdale Chromate Railway Invergarry and Fort Augustus Lealt Valley Diatomite Railway Lochaber Narrow Gauge Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Rothesay and Ettrick Bay Light Railway Skye Marble Railway Tranent to Cockenzie Waggonway

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Dingwall and Skye Railway

History

Strathpeffer Branch

Connections to other lines

References

See also