Author Archives: Roger Farnworth

About Roger Farnworth

A retired Civil Engineer and Priest

The Duke of Sutherland’s Saloons, Locomotives and Railways

In January 1950, G. Charles published a short (2 page) article about the Duke of Sutherland’s railway interests. [1]

It was only the nationalisation of the British railways which brought to an end the Duke of Sutherland’s hobby of owning and running his own train with running powers over LMS lines.

Charles noted in 1950, that the Duke of Sutherland was the only individual owner of a private railway carriage in the UK. He notes that wealthy men in the USA owned private carriages until the 1930s.

We perhaps ought to remind ourselves that the royal family had access to a number of sets of rolling stock on different railway company lines. A tradition which remained in place once the UK railways were nationalised.

We should perhaps also note that the Duke of Sutherland was not alone in owning his own locomotive which ventured onto the main line railways of the UK. The story of the diminutive ‘Gazelle’ includes its first ownership by a wealthy businessman who took it out onto the main line. Its story can be found here. [2]

Since Charles article of 1950, we have become used to private owners being able to run stock (locomotives, carriages and wagons) on lines which belong to the nation in some guise or other. Indeed, the whole railway network began to operate in this way with privatisation in the 1990s.

Charles continues to tell the story of the Duke of Sutherland’s railway involvement. … “The railway through Sutherland, from Golspie to Helmsdale (17.25 miles), was projected by the third Duke, and built at his own expense, after a local undertaking, the Sutherland Railway, had succeeded only in completing its line from Bonar Bridge to Golspie, 6 miles short of Brora, the intended terminus. The line was authorised on 20th June 1870, but construction already had been begun, and the railway was completed on 19th June 1871. A private station was provided, 2 miles north of Golspie, to serve Dunrobin Castle, the seat of the Duke. The railway from Golspie to Helmsdale was worked by the Highland Railway, but it was not until 28th July 1884, that the Duke sold his undertaking to that company, of which he was already a director. He was also a director of the London & North Western Railway.” [1: p9] Some notes about the Sutherland Railway are included below.

“To enable his railway to be opened before the connection with the Sutherland Railway, at Golspie, was completed, the Duke had purchased a locomotive and some coaches. After the Highland Railway took over the working of the line, the engine was used to haul the Duke’s private saloon between Inverness and Dunrobin, but south of Inverness, the saloon was attached to main-line trains. These arrangements were continued after the railways north of Inverness were amalgamated with the Highland Railway, and persisted after the grouping, in 1923.” [1: p9]

“The locomotive was a small 2-4-0 tank engine, built by Kitson & Company Leeds, and named Dunrobin. It had outside cylinders 10 in. diameter x 18 in. stroke, and coupled wheels 4 ft. diameter. The weight in working order was 21 tons.” [1: p9]

The first ‘*Dunrobin*‘ was a small 2-4-0 tank engine, built by Kitson & Company, Leeds. It was used to pull the two daily passenger trains on the line. When the Duke of Sutherland’s Railway reached Golspie in June 1871, the railway operations were transferred to the Highland Railway and the locomotive was used exclusively for the Duke of Sutherland’s private train. [4: p35-36] Dunrobin was sold to the Highland Railway in 1895. It was rebuilt in 1896 with a larger boiler and cylinders. The Highland Railway numbered it 118 and named it Gordon Castle for use on the Fochabers branch. Later it was renamed Invergordon and used as a shunter in that town, where it survived until just after the Grouping. [14]

“The original Dunrobin was acquired by the Highland Railway, and rebuilt at the Atlas Works, with a larger boiler, and new cylinders. It was numbered 118, named Gordon Castle, and put to work on the branch from Orbliston Junction to Fochabers. Some years later, it was renamed Invergordon, and used for shunting at Invergordon Harbour. During the first world war, it was loaned to the Great North of Scotland Railway, and was scrapped in 1923. The second Dunrobin performed shunting duties at Invergordon, and at Rosyth, during the [second world] war.” [1: p9]

The Duke of Sutherland’s locomotive **Dunrobin** designed by David Jones and built in 1892. [1: p18]

The second Dunrobin survived into preservation. Along with the four-wheel saloon it was sold to Captain Howey and initially preserved as static exhibits at New Romney on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway in Kent.

Dunrobin and its carriage at New Romney. [19]

Following Howey’s death in 1963, the locomotive and carriage were sold to Harold Foster, who had them transported to Canada. Foster was declared bankrupt in 1965, [15] and the locomotive and carriage were bought for $15,000 by the Government of British Columbia. Dunrobin was then overhauled at the British Columbia Hydro workshops, to enable it to take part in the Canadian railway centennial celebrations in 1966. [20] Dunrobin and its carriage (58A) became exhibits at Fort Steele heritage village, where Dunrobin was steamed occasionally. It was last steamed at Fort Steele in 2005. [16]

This image is embedded from the Beamish Museum website. It shows Dunrobin and 58A being tested on 27th June 1966, on the BC Hydro sidings at New Westminster, British Colombia. This photo is one of an extensive set (plus a scrapbook) recording Dunrobin’s life in British Columbia. [20][21]

In 2010, both were declared surplus to requirements [15] and in January 2011, Beamish Museum announced that it had purchased both the locomotive and carriage which arrived back in the UK in May 2011. Dunrobin was taken to Bridgnorth on the Severn Valley Railway, where restoration work was undertaken. [17] Progress on restoration was slow as the condition of the locomotive was worse than had been anticipated. By 2020 work had made good progress but was halted by the pandemic. In 2021, Beamish Museum, received a grant of £150,000 to allow work to be completed. At that time, the Museum was anticipating that the project would be completed within 2 or 3 years. [20]

Heritage Railway Magazine No. 181 contains a feature article on Dunrobin which can be found here. [18] At present Beamish Museum is still expecting Dunrobin to be in steam at the Museum in 2025. [22]

The Two Carriages

“In 1899, a large saloon was built for the Duke at Wolverton Carriage Works, London & North Western Railway. It was designed by Mr. C. A. Park, Carriage & Wagon Superintendent, L.N.W.R., who used it as the prototype for the royal train built in 1903 for King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, an example of railway coachbuilding, decoration, and furnishing unequalled during the [first half of the 20th century]. This train was used subsequently by King George V and Queen Mary, and George VI and Queen Elizabeth, until 1941. King Edward VIII never used it, as he preferred the late Lord Stamp’s “President’s Car,” which also [was] used by the Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret.” [1: p9-10]

“After the death of the third Duke, in 1892, his son decided to have a more powerful engine, and David Jones, Locomotive Superintendent, Highland Railway, designed a 0-4-4 side tank engine, with 13 in. x 18 in. inside cylinders, and a boiler carrying a working pressure of 120 lb. per sq. in. The diameter of the coupled wheels was 4 ft. 6 in., and of the trailing wheels 2 ft. 6 in. This engine was built at the Atlas Works, Glasgow, in 1895. Like its predecessor, it was named Dunrobin, and was painted dark green, with black bands, and yellow lining. A seat with leather cushions, extending the full width of the cab, was provided over the coal bunker for passengers riding on the footplate. The front weather board was autographed by several illustrious travellers, who inspected the engine while they were guests of the Duke.” [1: p9][14]

The large saloon in the paint shop at Wolverton in June 1949. [1: p19]

“In February, 1949, the Duke of Sutherland advertised his saloon for sale, for conversion into a bungalow; but a Lincolnshire firm of coachbuilders recognised the vehicle from its description, and purchased it. The new owner, the Lincolnshire Trailer Company, Scunthorpe, intend[ed] to preserve the saloon as an example of the finest British coach work in existence. It … also acquired the Duke’s locomotive and smaller saloon, Arrangements [were] made with Capt. J. E. P. Howey, Chairman of the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway, for the engine and the saloons to be exhibited at New Romney.” [1: p10]

“The large saloon [was] 57 ft. long over headstocks, and 61 ft. over the buffers. The width [was] 8 ft. 6 in., and height from rail level to the top of the roof 12 ft. 7 in., and to the side cornices 10 ft. 9.5 in. The saloon [was] carried on four-wheel bogies with a wheelbase of 8 ft., and spaced at 39 ft. centres. It [was] fitted with the vacuum and Westinghouse brakes. …. The saloon [was] divided into a large lounge (13 ft. 10 in. long, and extending over the full width of the vehicle), a smoking room (7 ft. long) three single berth sleeping compartments, a pantry, and a luggage and attendant’s compartment. Two of the sleeping berths [had] separate toilets, and a third toilet adjoin[ed] the smoking room. The lounge [was] furnished with two movable settees, a round table, and four dining chairs; and the smoking room [had] four fixed armchair seats, convertible into two beds, and two folding tables. The vestibules at each end of the saloon [had] end observation windows, but no gangways to connect with other vehicles on the train. Complete privacy for the occupants [was] thus assured.” [1: p10]

The smoking compartment of the Duke of Sutherland’s large Saloon. [1: p19]

“Stone’s system of electric lighting [was] installed, and there [were] electric bells to the attendant’s compartment, and electric fans for ventilation in hot weather. The fittings of the pantry include[ed] an oil cooker, a sink and a dresser. Steam heating apparatus, and a self-contained high-pressure hot-water system, [were] provided for warming the vehicle. … The interior decorations of the saloons and berths [were] of Spanish mahogany, white enamelled, and picked out in gold leaf, with solid silver lighting fittings. The ceilings [were] in figured lincrusta, finished in white and gold leaf. The couches and easy chairs [were] upholstered in green figured tapestry, with loose chintz covers, and the pelmets and curtains [were] of green silk and chintz to match. Turkey carpets [were] laid in the lounge and the smoking room, but elsewhere, Wilton pile carpets, underlaid with thick grey felt, [were] used. The external finishings of the saloon [were] dark Sutherland green, on the lower panels, and white, picked out with gold leaf, on the upper panels. The roof and the tyres [were] painted white.” [1: p10]

The bogie saloon is now part of the National Railway Museum’s collection. As of January 2011 it was under the care of the Scottish Railway Preservation Society at the Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway. [14] It remains on display in Museum Hall No. 2 in the Museum of Scottish Railways at the Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway. Further details can be found here. [23]

This photograph of the bogie saloon (57A) is embedded here from the Museum of Scottish Railways website. Please click on the image to go to their website. [23]

“The smaller saloon [ran] on four wheels, and [was] 25 ft. long and 8 ft. 6 in. wide. It [was] divided into a saloon, 14 ft. 3 in, long, with side and end windows, and a brake van, 10 ft. long. The saloon [was] furnished with six armchairs and a table, and there [were] three fixed seats in the brake van. The interior decorations [were] of mahogany and maple, and the external finish resemble[d] that of the larger saloon. When the Duke was travelling by special train, north of Inverness, the large saloon was steadied by having the smaller vehicle attached behind it.” [1: p10]

The Duke of Sutherland’s small four-wheel saloon, used for local journeys, and for steadying the large saloon. [1: p18]

The smaller saloon is now at Beamish Museum. It travelled there in 2011 and underwent limited refurbishment to allow it to be placed in service at the Museum. In 2018 it saw its first use at the Museum. [20]

This photograph of coach 58A is embedded her from Heritage Railways Magazine’s website from 2018. Please click on the image to be taken to the report on their website. [24] Should image-link fail, please click here. [25]

The Sutherland Railway and the 3rd Duke of Sutherland

“The Sutherland Railway had opened in 1868, terminating at Golspie. The Duke continued the line to Helmsdale from his own resources. It opened from a Dunrobin Castle station to West Helmsdale in 1870, and for some months the Duke had it operated as a private railway. In 1871 the line was completed from Golspie to Helmsdale, and operated as a part of the Highland Railway. … It was absorbed into the Highland Railway in 1884 and continues in use today as part of the Far North Line.” [3]

Various interests in Inverness and in Sutherland sought to extend railways to the North of Inverness. The first step in this was the Inverness and Ross-shire Railway which opened as far as a Bonar Bridge station on 1st October 1864. [4: p30]

“Next came the Sutherland Railway which obtained Parliamentary powers to build a line from Bonar Bridge to Brora in 1865. [5] This was assisted by the commercial drive and financial resources of The Duke of Sutherland.” [3]

The Sutherland Railway ran out of money when it reached Golspie. It was “unable to continue to Brora as authorised. By now the Inverness and Ross-shire Railway had been absorbed into the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway, and it was only by the negotiating pressure of the Duke of Sutherland that the line reached Golspie. The Duke of Sutherland had a seat at Dunrobin Castle, which would have been on the Brora line, but was now not railway connected. … The Duke of Sutherland decided to build a line himself, and this became the Duke of Sutherland’s Railway. It obtained its authorising act of Parliament, the Duke of Sutherland’s Railway Act 1870 … on 20th June 1870. [4: p33-36] The act authorised a 17-mile line along the coast from Golspie to Helmsdale, on the borders of Caithness, taking over the Golspie to Brora powers of the Sutherland Railway.” [3][5]

“Engineering difficulties at both ends of the line delayed the completion of the line throughout, but the section from Dunrobin to a point just short of Helmsdale was finished by the autumn of 1870. The Duke decided that the railway should be opened forthwith, and a temporary station, known as West Helmsdale, was built at Gartymore. An engine and some coaches were purchased for working the line, but since there was as yet no physical connection with the Sutherland Railway at Golspie, the stock had to be placed on wagons and hauled along the road by a traction engine.” [3][4: p33-36]

“The opening ceremony was performed on 17th September 1870 by Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. … From the date of the opening ceremony, the railway was privately operated, but after a Board of Trade inspection it was opened to the public on 1st November 1870.” [3][7]

“After the public opening, a service of two trains a day in each direction was run. On 19th June 1871 the works were completed and the railway was opened throughout, and the Highland Railway took over the working. [4: p33-36] The temporary terminus at Dunrobin became a private station serving the castle, at which trains called by request to pick up or set down passengers. In 1902 the buildings were reconstructed to the designs of the estate architect.” [3]

On 28th July 1884 the Duke of Sutherland’s Railway was absorbed into the Highland Railway. [3][4: p40]

It is worth noting that the Duke of Sutherland made a significant loss in undertaking all this work. He later commented in 1870 that it might have been possible to have turned a small profit if he had chosen to undertake the work as a narrow gauge line. …

“The Duke of Sutherland said he wished he had known more of the Festiniog Railway six years ago. ‘I have expended’, said His Grace, ‘about £200,000 in promoting and making railways in the North. Had these lines been constructed on the narrow gauge, and had they in consequence cost only two-thirds of the sum that has been expended on them, I should have obtained a direct return on this large sum which I have laid out for the benefit of my estates and of the people in those remote districts. As it is I shall suffer considerable loss.” [8]

The expenditure in the 1860s of £200,000 is the equivalent of close to £31,077,000 in 2025! [9] It is astounding that the Duke’s holdings meant that expenditure of that sum of money did not bring about bankruptcy. “The pound had an average inflation rate of 3.11% per year between 1860 and 2025, producing a cumulative price increase of 15,438.46%! … A pound today only buys 0.644% of what it could buy back then.” [9]

George Granville William Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland (1828-1882) had interests around the country but of particular interest to me is his involvement with developments in East Shropshire which became the Lilleshall Company. He also held shares in other industrial ventures, including coal and ironstone mines.

The 3rd Duke of Sutherland inherited significant wealth and estates, including those in West Midlands, which included the estate of Lilleshall. He was also known for his interest in industrial projects, like the Shelton Iron & Steel Co. where he was a principal shareholder. The Duke’s involvement with the Lilleshall estate and his other industrial interests demonstrate a broader pattern of wealth accumulation and investment within his family. The family’s influence extended beyond the specific “Lilleshall” company to include other industrial and land ownership ventures, particularly within the West Midlands region. [10][11][12]

In 1892, the 3rd Duke of Sutherland’s obituary included these words: “…The late Duke was keenly devoted to science as employed for the promotion of the prosperity and material comfort of the tenants on his vast estates. He did more than, perhaps, any other man in the world to utilise cultivation by steam, and at one period he used all the resources and talent of the firm of John Fowler and Co., of Leeds, in this direction. He constructed at his own expense a railway in Sutherlandshire. It is said that an admiring navvy, seeing him start from Dunrobin Station one day, exclaimed to his mate, ‘There, that’s what I calls a real Dook. Why? There he is a driving of his own engine on his own railroad and burning of his own blessed coals!’ One who knew him well has said of him: ‘He was ever ready to assist in the development of ingenious ideas in machinery, mechanical appliances, and the like’...” [12][13]

References

G. Charles; The Duke of Sutherland’s Saloons and Locomotives; in The Railway Magazine, January 1950, Volume 96, No. 585, Transport (1910) Ltd., Westminster, London, p9-10.
https://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/07/21/gazelle.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_of_Sutherland%27s_Railway, accessed on 6th June 2025.
H. E. Vallance et al; The Highland Railway; David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1938, (extended edition 1985).
David Ross; The Highland Railway; Tempus Publishing Limited, Stroud, 2005, p47-49.
Donald J Grant, Directory of the Railway Companies of Great Britain; Matador, Kibworth Beauchamp, 2017, p155.
Anne-Mary Paterson; Pioneers of the Highland Tracks: William and Murdoch Paterson; The Highland Railway Society, 2013, digital edition not paginated.
The Railways of the Future II; in The Times; 1st March 1870, p4.
https://www.in2013dollars.com/uk/inflation/1860?amount=200000, accessed on 6th June 2025.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Leveson-Gower,_1st_Duke_of_Sutherland, accessed on 6th June 2025.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_of_Sutherland, accessed on 6th June 2025.
https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/George_Granville_William_Sutherland_Leveson_Gower, accessed on 6th June 2025.
The Engineer; 30th September 1892, p286.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunrobin_(locomotive), accessed on 6th June 2025.
Tony Streeter; Dunrobin: Overlooked, outcast and unwanted – until now!; in Steam Railway No. 384; Bauer Media, Peterborough, (7 January – 3 February 2011), p7–8.
Robin Jones; Steam comes home… twice; in Heritage Railway No. 151; Mortons Media Ltd., Horncastle, p24–25.
Will Marsh; Steam Locomotive Notes; in Severn Valley Railway News. No. 220; Winter 2022, p18.
http://beamishtransportonline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Heritage-Railway-Dunrobin.pdf, accessed on 6th June 2025.
https://beamishtransportonline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/500891.jpg, accessed on 6th June 2025.
https://beamishtransportonline.co.uk/2021/05/dunrobin-ten-years-on, accessed on 5th June 2025.
https://beamishtransportonline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Dun3_1000x982.jpg, accessed on 6th June 2025.
https://beamishtransportonline.co.uk/2025/05/dunrobin-attention-to-detail, accessed on 6th June 2025.
https://museumofscottishrailways.org.uk/duke-of-sutherlands-saloon, accessed on 6th June 2025.
https://www.heritagerailway.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2018/03/HR-239-p18.jpg, accessed on 6th June 2025.
https://www.heritagerailway.co.uk/3869/dunrobins-carriage-back-in-service, accessed on 6th June 2025.

The Railways of Skye and Adjacent Islands – An Overview

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There was a 19th century proposal for a public railway to Dunvegan and Portree which never came to fruition. A later proposal was the Hebridean Light Railway which was promulgated by the Hebridean Light Railway Company. It intended to operate on the Scottish islands of Skye and Lewis. [8] The Skye line was to have connected the port of Isleornsay (for ferries from Mallaig on the Scottish mainland) and the port of Uig on the north-west coast of the island, from where ferries would have sailed to Stornoway on Lewis. Another line was then proposed to link Stornoway to Carloway, the second settlement of Lewis. Branch lines were also proposed to Breasclete [9] and Dunvegan. [10]

The line was proposed in 1898, but was never completed. Records of the proposals are held in the National Archives at Kew. [11]

Although these schemes never came to fruition, at least six industrial railways have existed on Skye and adjacent islands at one time or another. These include:

The Loch Cuithir to Lealt Diatomite Railway – Details of this line can be found here. [5]

The Talisker Distillery Tramway – This short 23″-gauge tramway opened in 1900 and closed in 1948. Details can be found here. [6]

The Skye Marble Railway – Soon after the turn of the 20th century a line was opened between the Kichrist Quarries in Strath Suardal and Broadford Pier/Quay. Different sources say that this was initially either and aerial ropeway or a horse-worked tramway. Whatever form the initial arrangements took, by the end of the first decade of the 20th century, it was operating as a steam-hauled 3ft-gauge railway which for a short while (certainly no more than 4 years) employed a Hunslet 0-4-0ST, originally built in 1892 and previously used on the construction of the County Donegal Railway and various other contractors projects. This line is covered in more detail in the article which can be found here. [7]

The Raasay Iron Ore Mines and Their Railway – the railway operated from 1913 to 1919. [1][2]

Looking down from the former railway over the remains of the iron works and the pier from which the iron was shipped to Ravenscraig in Lanarkshire. Between 1912 and 1916 iron ore was extracted from ironstones that outcrop in the southern part of the Isle of Raasay. Extensive ruins of the workings and associated buildings continue to disfigure the landscape of the island, © Anne Burgess and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [4]

More can be discovered about Raasay’s railway here. [12]

The Quartzite Quarry at Ord (opened in 1945) was equipped with a 3ft-gauge railway along which wagons were pushed by hand to a loading embankment. A short article can be found here. [13]

Storr Lochs Hydroelectric Power Station (opened in 1952) which included a standard gauge electric cable railway which still routinely carries spares and supplies down a 1 in 2 gradient. Another short article can be found here. [14]

Other railways on Skye or on adjacent islands? One source commented that Skye had thirteen different railways/tramways open at one time or another. I have only been able, so far, to identify the ones listed here. Should others be aware of more historic rail sites on Skye, I would be interested to hear. Maybe that source intended their list to include the abortive schemes mentioned at the head of this article? One particular proposal, which never came to fruition, has imaginatively been taken as the basis for the story of the fictitious Highland Light Railway Company. [15]

References

https://www.isbuc.co.uk/Sights/Rail.php, accessed on 13th April 2025.
https://www.hows.org.uk/personal/rail/incline/sky.htm, accessed on 13th April 2025.
https://geoscenic.bgs.ac.uk/asset-bank/action/browseItems?categoryId=1118&categoryTypeId=1, accessed on 13th April 2025.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5761169, accessed on 13th April 2025.
https://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/05/01/the-railways-of-skye-part-1-loch-cuithir-to-lealt
https://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/05/03/the-railways-of-skye-part-2-the-talisker-distillery-tramway
https://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/06/02/the-railways-of-skye-adjacent-islands-part-3-the-skye-marble-railway
Direcleit; a’spaidsearachd agus a’meòrachadh: Hebridean Light Railway Company; on Direcleit.blogspot.com; via https://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/11/hebridean-light-railway-company.html?m=1, accessed on 23rd April 2025.
Tom ………; Railways of Lewis & Harris | Isle Ornsay; on Hlrco.wordpress.com. 5 October 2010; via https://wp.me/p153uL-81, accessed on 23rd April 2025.
Tom ……….; Isle Ornsay | General ramblings of the Hebridean Light Railway Company; via https://hlrco.wordpress.com, accessed on 23rd April 2025.
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/record?catid=5230967&catln=6, accessed on 23rd April 2025.
https://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/05/27/the-railways-of-skye-adjacent-islands-part-4-the-raasay-iron-mine-railway
https://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/06/03/the-railways-of-skye-and-adjacent-islands-part-5-the-quartzite-silica-quarry-tramway-at-ord
https://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/06/04/the-railways-of-skye-and-adjacent-islands-part-6-storr-lochs-hydroelectric-power-station
https://hlrco.wordpress.com/history, accessed on 1st June 2025.

The Railways of Skye and Adjacent Islands – Part 6 – Storr Lochs Hydroelectric Power Station

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Storr Lochs hydro-electric power station was commissioned in 1952. It was built by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board, and used water from Lochs Leathan and Fada, to provide the first general supply of electricity to the island. The power station has a total output of 2.40 MW. Because the location of the turbine house was not easily accessible, it was (and continues to be) served by a standard-gauge electric funicular railway. [1]

The location of Storr Lochs Hydroelectric Power Station in the Northeast of the Isle of Skye. [1]

The funicular is the only working railway on the Isle of Skye. It is below the spectacular stacks and landslips of The Storr on the Trotternish Peninsula, a few kilometres north of Portree.

Loch Leathan and Loch Fada adjacent to the A855 provide the water used in the hydroelectric scheme. [Google Maps, June 2025]

The hydroelectric scheme at Storr Lochs. [1]

The railway alongside the penstock pipes is described as a funicular which is not really the right description as it is a single car steel rope worked system. A funicular would usually have two cars which ass each other at the mid-point of the line. This photograph was taken in 1983, © wfmillar and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [2]

The hydroelectric power station is fed by water from the Storr Lochs which cascades down to the turbines via the penstock pipes seen bottom left. There is a cable railway running alongside the pipes. Beyond the power station can be seen the sweep of Bearreraig Bay with the cliffs of Rubha Sùghar beyond that, © Rob Farrow and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence. [3]

The power station is some 500ft below the lochs and accessed now by a path, but previously by nearly 700 steps alongside the cable, © Norrie Adamson and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [4]

The upper terminus/station and winch house of the cliff railway, © Russel Wills and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence, (CC BY-SA 2.0). [8]

The single car ‘train’ is descending the cable railway which connects the Storr Lochs Dam to the Bearreraig hydro power station on the shore of Bearreraig Bay below. The top of the railway, seen here, is less steep than the longer lower section. The three small structures on the cliff edge on the right are information boards at a viewpoint, © Richard Dorrell and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence. [5]

The cable railway descends the hillside alongside the pipes carrying the water from the Storrs Reservoirs down to the power station, © Rob Farrow and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence. [6]

The cable railway was built early in construction of the power scheme, and used to carry materials and equipment to the shores of Loch Bearreraig. In the concrete foundation of the railway over 600 rough steps were built. The first pipeline was constructed for the 1952 opening, and the second pipeline, running parallel added in 1956. [7] The maximum gradient on the railway is 1 in 2. [9]

Photographs of the construction of the scheme can be found here. [10]

Other pictures of this site can be seen here. [11]

References

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storr_Lochs_Hydro-Electric_Scheme, accessed on 3rd June 2025.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1275950 accessed on 3rd June 2025.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/829150, accessed on 3rd June 2025.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/107735, accessed on 3rd June 2025.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2667791, accessed on 3rd June 2025.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/830640, accessed on 3rd June 2025.
https://www.ambaile.org.uk/asset/8915, accessed on 3rd June 2025.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6613950, accessed on 3rd June 2025.
https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/51/33, accessed on 3rd June 2025.
https://www.ambaile.org.uk/search/?searchQuery=Storr+dam, accessed on 4th June 2025.
https://www.ambaile.org.uk/search/?searchQuery=Storr+power, accessed on 4th June 2025.

The Railways of Skye and Adjacent Islands – Part 5 – The Quartzite (Silica) Quarry Tramway at Ord

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There was a short tramway in the quartzite quarry close to Ord which was operational in the mid-20th century. …

The small village of Ord sits on the Northwest side of the Sleat Peninsula. [1]

The small building shown on this map near to Coille a’ Chuaraidh is the approximate location of the quarry. [6]

A road from the village runs Southeast across the Sleat Peninsula. The quartzite quarry was on the North side of the road at Coille a’ Chuaraidh. [1]

J.G. Stein & Co. of Bonnybridge commenced quarrying at Ord, Sleat Peninsula, Isle of Skye in 1944 and this continued until 1960. Silica was extracted from the quartzite ore and used as a heat resistant substance in industrial furnaces, fire bricks, cements, boilers etc. Only the explosives store and a storage building, now used as a bothy, survive. [1]

Ore was removed from the quarry in trucks that ran on a very short rail track to the road where it was loaded onto lorries and taken to the pier at Armadale. The ore was then loaded into a waiting puffer (coastal trading boat). [1]

The high cost of transport away from Skye meant that the quarry was uneconomic and it closed in 1960. [2]

The tramway/railway was very short – only 110 metres in length. [4]

The Ord Quartzite Quarry in 2024, © Copyright Richard Webb and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [7]

A stone shed at Ord Quarry which remained in use in 2010, although Ord Quartzite Quarry was disused, © John Allan and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [8]

Rolling Stock

The tramway was operated by manpower, no mechanical propulsion was employed. Rolling stock consisted of a number of wooden-framed tipper wagons, allegedly used on the Skye Marble Railway. [3]

This image is a postcard view of the Skye Marble Quarry.At the centre of the image is one of the tipper wagons used at Kilchrist and which may well have been bought for use at Ord Quarry. [5]

Until the 1970s, there were a number of these wagons gradually deteriorating on the beach at Ord, although there is no longer any sign of them. [4]

References

https://her.highland.gov.uk/Monument/MHG55558, accessed on 3rd June 2025.
http://www.sleatlocalhistorysociety.org.uk/index.php/township/36, accessed on 3rd June 2025.
https://hlrco.wordpress.com/scottish-narrow-gauge/constructed-lines/skye-marble-railway, accessed on ,3rd June 2025.
https://hlrco.wordpress.com/scottish-narrow-gauge/constructed-lines/ord-quarry-tramway, accessed on 3rd June 2025.
https://www.facebook.com/share/1G4ECRkrPn, accessed on 1st June 2025.
https://helpful-mammal.co.uk/2018/07/29/cxcv-armadale-to-isleornsay, accessed on 3rd June 2025
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/7761899, accessed on 3rd June 2025.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2102114, accessed on 3rd June 2025.

The Railways of Skye & Adjacent Islands – Part 3 – The Skye Marble Railway

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The featured image for this article is the only photograph I have been able to find of ‘Skylark’, the locomotive which for a matter of only a few years operated on the Skye Marble Railway. Further notes about the locomotive can be found in this article. This information board across the road from Kilchrist Church, features Skylark at the head of a train of wagons. [5]

Some sources say that in 1904, an aerial ropeway was constructed to transport marble to Broadford Pier from Kilchrist Quarries (alternatively known as Kilbride Quarries or Strath Suardal). The quarries were used to excavate marble. [1][2] Other sources talk of the line being worked first by horses. [14] There was an incline between the upper and lower Quarries at Kilchrist which appears to have been rope-worked. It is most likely, given the length of line from Kilchrist to the quay at Broadford and the relatively shallow gradients, that the line from the marble works down to Broadford was worked by horses, but it is entirely possible that an aerial ropeway was employed. Nothing remains of the line beyond the formation which now carries a footpath once South of Broadford, and, as will be seen below, some rails in the surface of the pier at Broadford.

The main length of the line was converted to a tramway/railway in 1910. It was, in total, over 6 km in length. [4] Some sources quote 3.5km [viz. 2] and probably take that length from the length of the footpath which follows the route of the old railway. The Skye Marble Railway was a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge [5] line which only operated from circa. 1910 to 1912/1913. [6][7]

The Northern half of the Skye Marble Railway as shown on railmaponline.com’s satellite imagery. [8]

The Southern half of the Skye Marble Railway as shown on railmaponline.com’s satellite imagery. [8]

A closer look at the line

We start at the pier/quay at Broadford.

Remnants of the old railway can be seen in the road surface at the East end of the pier at Broadford. [Google Streetview, 2012]

Looking West from the same location towards the landward end of the pier a short section of rail can be seen in the bottom-left of the photograph. The alignment of the railway shown on railmaponline.com’s satellite imagery above suggests that the railway ran uphill from the pier to a point beyond the houses shown on the left of this image before then turning South. It seems more likely to me that the old railway turned South immediately at the end of the pier. [Google Streetview, 2012]

Looking West from the West end of the pier the gradient ahead is more evident. Railmaponline.com shows the old railway turning South close to the boat which can be seen at the end of the tarmac ahead. It is this route that appears in the video at the conclusion of this article. I could find no clear evidence of the route taken by the railway but it seems to me that it is more likely that the railway ran immediately adjacent to the shore as it travelled South. If so, then there is a footpath which follows the old railway. This can be seen in the bottom-left of this image. [Google Streetview, 2012]

The footpath adjacent to the seashore which probably follows the line of the old railway. The footpath runs from this location as far as the mouth of the River Broadford. [Google Streetview, 2012]

The steam locomotive ‘Skylark’ which was used to transfer marble from the Kilchrist quarries to Broadford. The locomotive is probably standing close to the landward end of the pier at Broadford. ‘Skylark’ was a Hunslet Engine Company 0-4-0ST locomotive (manufacturer’s No. 564) which was built in 1892. It was acquired second-hand from Ireland where it had been used in construction of the County Donegal Railway and various contractors projects. It was finally scrapped in 1925 after having been owned by two further contracting companies. [4][5] This image was shared on the Elgol and Torrin Historical Society Facebook Page on 27th May 2024, © Public Domain. [14]

It seems appropriate at this point to take a break from our journey along the line to find out as much as possible about the locomotive which was used on the Skye Marble Railway for a short time in the early 20th century. The website of the Industrial Railway Society (IRS) has some more information about this locomotive which the Skye Marble Company knew as ‘Skylark’. … The engine was first known as ‘Bruckless’, the notes which follow come from the IRS archives and were pulled together by D. Cole in 1965, in part from work undertaken by Dr. Iain D. O. Frew: “Delivered to T.S. Dixon in May 1892 through the agency of Josiah Buggins as ‘Bruckless’ for the Donegal-Killybegs contract of the County Donegal Railways, it was sold in 1894 after the completion of the contract and later worked for the Preston Corporation Waterworks Department on the construction of the Spade Mill No.1 Reservoir at Longridge. There it was named ‘Skylark’. Subsequently, in 1907, it went … to the Skye Marble Company and was used firstly by a contractor in building the Company’s railway from Torrin to Broadford, and then, from 1909, to work the railway itself. In 1913, following the failure of the quarries, the line was lifted and the locomotive sold to W.N. Jackson, a Glasgow metal merchant. He in turn sold it to J. Mackay, contractor for the Roundwood Reservoir in County Wicklow. This contract passed to H. & J. Martin Ltd. in 1915, and after its completion in 1925 the locomotive was scrapped.” [15]

D. Cole undertook further research into Hunslett’s records and was able to ascertain that “from July 1897 – the date from which the earliest detailed Hunslet spares records have survived – to March 1905 spares were sent to the Newcastle & Gateshead Waterworks. Delivery was sometimes to Otterburn, and the name of the locomotive was frequently quoted as ‘Bruckless’. No name was quoted by Preston Corporation when ordering spares between March 1907 and March 1910.” [15]

Cole was also able to confirm that:

from November 1910, spares were sent to W.R. Herring with the locomotives name quoted as ‘Dilworth’; [15]
in January 1911 and May 1911, spares were sent to Skye Marble Ltd. but no name was quoted; [15]
in August 1913, spares were ordered for the locomotive named ‘Skylark’ by W.H. Jackson, Glasgow, but sent to Mr. Easter, Skye Marble Cottages, Broadford, Isle of Skye; [15]
from May 1914 to May 1916, spares were sent to John Mackay, Dublin Waterworks, Roundwood, Co. Wicklow; [15] and
the last spares of all were sent out in January 1921 to H. & J. Martin Ltd., Roundwood Reservoir. – K.P.P. [15]

We now continue the journey along the old railway route. …

This view looking South towards the village of Broadford shows the footpath below the road (to the left beyond the dwarf wall) which probably follows the line of the old railway. [Google Streetview, December 2021]

The alignment of the railway which I have proposed here is supported by Railscot. On their page about the railway the alignment is shown adjacent to the shore rather on the higher ground to the West. [7]

The probable route of the old railway continues along the seashore. [Google Streetview, December 2021]

As can be seen in this image, while the road gains height on its way towards the village, the presumed route of the old railway keeps its place and level close to the water. [Google Streetview, December 2021]

The footpath following the line of the old railway can be seen at the centre of this image. [Google Streetview, December 2021]

It curves round between the road to the pier and the water’s edge. [Google Streetview, December 2022]

And runs away from the road towards its bridge over the River Broadford. [Google Streetview, December 2021]

The descriptive sign close to the footbridge in Broadford during its construction in 2010, © Richard Dorrell and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence {CC BY-SA 2.0). [9]

The footbridge under construction in 2010, the Skye Marble Railway bridge was on this site. One of the abut.rnts of the railway bridge remained in position. It can be seen on the right side of this image, just above the water line, © John Allan and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence. (CC BY-SA 2.0). [10]

The completed footbridge, seen in December 2012, which sits on the line of the Skye Marble Railway at the same location as the railway bridge, © Richard Dorrell and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence {CC BY-SA 2.0). [11]

The yellow-brick abutment on the Northside of the river is original, the modern footbridge sits on that abutment but is on a different alignment to the old railway. There is no remaining abutment on the South side of the river, so a new smaller abutment was constructed to support the footbridge. A comparison is made and pictures are provided, on this site. [5] The photographs towards the bottom of that webpage give an idea of the alignment of the old railway bridge. Which crossed from the North abutment to a point on the South bank of the River Broadford marked by the young tree in the image below.

The modern footbridge sits on one of the abutments of the old railway bridge beyond the river in this picture. The old railway bridge spanned the river on a line between the North abutment and the young tree, in leaf, at the centre of this image which looks North from the A87. [Google Streetview, May 2022]

From the South bank of the river and running South the line shown on railmaponline.com’s satellite imagery seems to be realistic, following, as it does, a curved route to the East of the location pictured above. …

Crossing the modern A87, the old railway ran Southeast crossing the modern Glen Road (which did not exist at the time the railway was operating) close to Broadford (Church of Scotland) Church and then curved round to the East of Strath Suardal Way (which also did not exist when the railway was working). [8]

The next two images show the formation of the old railway on a low embankment on the East side of Strath Suardal Way.

This photograph was taken at the roundabout looking South-southwest along Strath Suardal Way. The low embankment runs behind the street lighting. [Google Streetview, December 2021]

Further along Strath Suardal Way and looking Southwest, the low embankment is again visible blue beyond the street lighting columns. [Google Streetview, December 2021]

Towards the end of Strath Suardal Way the line of the old railway turned away to the Southwest. [8]

The old Railway’s route runs through the evergreen trees on the left side of this West-southwest facing photograph. [Google Streetview, December 2021]

The line then ran over open moorland to the East of the road to Elgol (the modern B8083). [8]

Initially the route of the old railway and the modern B8083 converge as they head South-southwest. [8]

The footpath access to the line of the old railway can be seen just as the old railway route and the B8083 begin to diverge. [8]

The footpath access to the line of the old railway as seen from the B8083. Just beyond the second gate the footpath turns to the right and follows the old railway formation. The first length of the footpath runs through a protected plantation of young trees. [Google Streetview, December 2021]

The four photographs immediately below show the first few hundred metres of the footpath along the old railway – as far as the plantation boundary fence which can be seen beyond the two low gateposts in the fourth photograph.

This series of four photographs (above) show the first few hundred yards of the path along the line of the old railway. [My photographs, 5th May 2025]

The next length of the line continues to the Southwest. [8]

Looking back along the line of the old railway towards the plantation area. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

Looking ahead along the line of the old railway – it can be seen curving round along the flank of the hillside as shown on the next railmaponline.com satellite image below. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

A few hundred metres Southwest along the line of the old railway. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

Looking back round the curve of the old railway towards Broadford. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

And the line curved to the West towards the B8083 running along the flank of the hillside on a steady climbing grade. [8]

Heading West on the line of the old railway. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

Close to the point where the line curved round to the Southwest again, at the left edge of the satellite image above, © David Medcalf and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [12]

Back on a Southwesterly heading, the old railway continued its gradual climb [8]

Close to the top of the satellite image immediately above, this is the view Southwest along the old railway formation. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

Continuing on a Southwesterly course, railmaponline.com shows the old line continuing up the valley. [8]

Close to the top of the satellite image immediately above, this view looks Southwest along the line of the old railway. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

A few hundred metres further Southwest, and continuing to look Southwest along the old railway formation. [5th May 2025]

The building visible on the last few Southwesterly facing photographs is Swardale House B&B. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

The view Northeast from the same location as the picture immediately above. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

Again looking Southwest, Swardale B&B is on the right edge of this photograph, with the old line running ahead. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

Looking back towards Broadford from the same location with the B8083 on the left. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

The first junction on the old railway saw a line branch off the main line to the quarries, to serve the Marble Works. The extent of what was once railway land is still evident on the satellite images from railmaponline.com. The main line to the quarries curves away to the South. [8]

When marble was discovered near Kilchrist in Strath Suardal on the slopes of Ben Suardal about 3 miles (5 kilometres) Southwest of Broadford, a large factory was built near the quarry for cutting and polishing the quarried blocks. The Marble was formed by the heating of limestone by igneous intrusions in the Tertiary Era. It appears that small scale workings were active as early as the 18th century, developing throughout the 19th century. [14]

“On level ground by the South side of the Broadford to Torrin road are the remains of an industrial complex belonging to the old marble quarries. The remains consist of a ruinous concrete shed/warehouse 60m long, a railway platform, traces of the railway line and sidings, and four brick-built circular bases 2.4m in diameter.” [17]

The branch to the Marble Works as shown on railmaponline.com’s satellite imagery. I am not sure of the source of the mapping of the old railway. The yellow line superimposed by railmaponline.com onto the Google satellite imagery does not take account of the island platform which can be seen on the Northwest side of the Marble Works. It doe however follow the boundary lines evident on the satellite imagery. [8]

Pulling out somewhat to look at a larger area round the works, and removing a length of railmaponline.com’s superimposed yellow line, there appears to be a whole series of man-made markings on the landscape. It is possible to imagine a series of sidings at this location. Clearly there was some sort of connection between the platform to the Northwest of the main Works’ building and the line to the site which seems most probably to have run along the Southeast side of the Works. [Google Maps, June 2025]

A much closer view of the remains of the Marble Works and railway platform at Kilchrist. The edges of the platform are clearly visible in the top-left of the satellite image. The Southeast wall of the main building remains forming a shelter for a small modern yard. [Google Maps, June 2025]

The platform as it appears on Google Earth and Streetview. [Google Streetview, December 2021]

The platform edge at the Skye Marble Works near Kilchrist Quarries in the hills above Broadford, © Lesbardd and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 4.0). [13]

The Southeast wall of the abandoned Marble Works. [Google Streetview, December 2021]

Associated structural remains. [Google Streetview, December 2021]

Sadly, very little detail about the layout of the site and its railways appears to have survived.

We return to the junction to follow the line up to the quarries which deviates sharply from the line to the Marble Works.

The line to the quarries heads South from the line to the Marble Works. We might imagine that ‘Skylark’ managed its train down from the quarries sitting to the North end of a train of wagons, before reversing back down the line to the Marble Works. [8]

Beyond a single gate, the line to the quarries ran across open farmland towards the quarries. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

Looking East from the line to the quarries towards the erstwhile Marble Works. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

Further South along the line to the quarries. [My photograph, 5th May, 2025

Further South again. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

Further along the flank of the hills to the South. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

Looking back along the old line again towards Broadford. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

This next extract from the railmaponline.com’s satellite imagery shows the line closing in on the quarries at the end of the line. A very short branch served the lowest level, with the line continuing through the lower quarries on to an incline which was rope-worked and served the upper quarry. [8]

The junction shown on the satellite image extract above. The lower line on the right served the crusher location and some earlier earthworks. The climbing main line headed on through the quarries as it continued South. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

Further down the short branch towards the crusher, looking South. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

Turning round to look North along that short branch. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

The view West, down through the lower quarry towards the crusher and earlier workings, © Ian Taylor and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [16]

The line continued South beyond the lower quarry as a rope-worked incline. [8]

The location of the lower quarry which appears at the top of the last satellite image. [Google Earth, June 2025]

Postcard image of the marble quarry at Kilchrist. One of the wagons used on the railway can be seen at the centre of the image. The rail tracks were 3ft gauge. This image was shared on the Elgol and Torrin Historical Society Facebook Page on 27th May 2024, © Public Domain. [18]

The crusher sat in the midst of dramatic scenery! [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

From adjacent to the lower quarry, with its own branch, spoil heaps and concrete bases, [22] the line continued South but as a rope-worked incline.

Looking South up the incline towards the upper quarry. [My photograph, 5th May 2025]

The view South up the incline to the upper quarry. This image is embedded from here. [19]. Clicking on the image takes you directly to the original image which is one of a series of photographs of the route of the old railway can be found here. [5]

In a rocky cleft immediately to the East of the track to Boreraig, are the remains of two former dynamite stores, one within the other. The older, larger building with walls of rubble construction, envelopes a smaller concrete blockhouse. Close to these are the remains of the ot for the winding wheel for the rope-worked incline.

The winding wheel pit at the top of the rope-worked incline that linked the upper and lower Kilchrist quarries, © Sheila (swanscot.wordpress.com) and used by kind permission. [23]

Also located at the upper quarry (but of which I did not get photographs) are two machinery stands:

2m square with 11 bolts protruding
6.5m by 5.2m with 4 stanchions protruding.

The Demise of the Line

The operation was not a commercial success. The railway line was abandoned by 1914 when the operating company became bankrupt. The line was offered for sale as part of the liquidation of the business. The sale comprised a 9½-in, 4-wheeled locomotive, 500 tons of 35 pounds (16 kg) and 56 pounds (25 kg) flat-bottomed rail and 9,000 6-foot creosoted sleepers. [4][20]

Extracting the marble proved difficult and expensive and quarrying finally ended here in 1939. [21]

A short video about the line. [24]

References

https://canmore.org.uk/site/75416/skye-broadford-kilchrist-quarries, accessed on 4th May 2025.
https://www.isbuc.co.uk/Sights/Rail.php, accessed on 4th May 2025.
https://www.hows.org.uk/personal/rail/incline/sky.htm, accessed on 4th May 2025.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skye_Marble_Railway, accessed on 5th May 2025.
https://hlrco.wordpress.com/scottish-narrow-gauge/constructed-lines/skye-marble-railway, accessed on 5th May 2025.
https://web.archive.org/web/20120307102020/http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_writtenword.jsp?item_id=15980, accessed on 5th May 2025.
https://www.railscot.co.uk/companies/B/Broadford_Marble_Quarry_Railway, accessed on 5th May 2025.
https://www.railmaponline.com/UKIEMap.php, accessed on 5th May 2025.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1956455, accessed on 6th May 2025.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1944765, accessed on 6th May 2025.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2732942, accessed on 6th May 2025.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/7490601, accessed on 1st June 2025.
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marbleplatform.jpg, accessed on 5th May 2025.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18nfSEb5Tz, accessed on 1st June 2025.
https://www.irsociety.co.uk/Archives/8/ireland.htm, accessed on 2nd June 2025.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6174399, accessed on 2nd June 2025.
https://her.highland.gov.uk/api/LibraryLink5WebServiceProxy/FetchResourceFromStub/1-2-3-6-5-8_bbb88b186fd2f2b-123658_cfeb7c1add15a5b.pdf, accessed on 1st June 2025.
https://www.facebook.com/share/1G4ECRkrPn, accessed on 1st June 2025.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7410/8725631309_1419a300d2.jpg, accessed on 2nd June 2025.
https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000540/19130628/370/0003, paid subscription required (3rd June 2025).
https://www.scottish-places.info/towns/townfirst9418.html, accessed on 3rd June 2025.
https://canmore.org.uk/site/74987/skye-kilchrist-lower-quarry, accessed on 3rd June 2025.
https://wp.me/pusRh-Qj, accessed on 5th May 2025
https://youtu.be/EA_XhkwQwNc, accessed on 13th April 2025.

John 17: 20-26 – The Sunday After Ascension Day 2025

2 Replies

During this week the church celebrated Ascension Day. The day when Jesus returned to heaven after his death and resurrection. The Ascension begs a question:

What exactly is happening as Jesus goes into heaven?

Is this the triumphant finale, the final victory parade? When at last Jesus goes home to the Father, to be paraded through the streets of heaven in victory – much like a Roman general would be feted after a battlefield victory, or a triumphant football team parades through its home town or city.

Is the Ascension the final triumphant seal on Christ’s work on earth? Or is it the time when Jesus is welcomed into that indescribable unity which is the Trinity of the Godhead – back home at last?

Or is it a moment of desertion. The disciples have only just received Christ back among them after his death and now cruelly he is taken from them into heaven. A renewed relationship is abruptly ended!!

A commission is given and then the bombshell is dropped. “Listen!” says Jesus, “I have a job for you to do – to be my witnesses throughout the known world.” … “Great, Lord, when do we get down to business, when do we work out the strategy, when do you provide the plan of action?” … “Not us, not me!” says Jesus, “You! I’m going away and you’ll never see me again this side of heaven!”

Or is this, actually, rather than desertion, the point at which followers become leaders, children become adults? Is this primarily the point where Jesus followers can no longer hide behind a leader and have to begin to make choices themselves?

For all the participants in the Ascension story, this must have been a confusing moment. A time which carried so much emotion – parting from friends, losing a friend and leader, going home … All sorts of mixed emotions.

Ultimately this is all true. … Christ goes home in victory. A job well done. … He leaves behind a ragged group of followers who must have felt deserted. … And perhaps most crucially for the church today, Jesus is asking this ragged group to stand up for themselves. To be what he knows that they can be with the Spirit’s strength – a missionary band that will turn the known world upside down within a century.

You may well recognise this prayer of St. Teresa of Avila. … In summary:

Christ has no body now but yours.
No hands, no feet on earth but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which He looks compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

The Ascension story reminds us that we are the ones that count – between now and eternity God has left his concerns, his mission in our hands. And as a result of Ascension Day, it behoves us to commit ourselves again to serving to God – to discovering his way and walking in it, to being his hands, eyes and feet in our local communities.

Our Gospel reading reminds us that in this endeavour, we need to give the highest priority to just one thing …. Working together with a common purpose – being united.

Jesus makes one thing his priority in his final long prayer in John 17 – God’s call to his church to be ‘one’, to be united. ….. We have not done so well with this! Have we?! It is, I believe, our greatest failure.

Rather than unity being the high priority that Jesus makes it in our gospel reading. The church down the ages has always set Jesus’ prayer for unity aside in favour of other things. … Often these other things have been so very important to us. Doctrinal purity comes high up the list, perhaps the role of women in ministry, perhaps issues of human sexuality, perhaps inclusive church, perhaps ….. the list could go on. One of the most significant lessons from church history is that the Church has played fast and loose with Jesus’ call to be one.

‘Being one’ does not mean that we all agree about everything. ‘Being one’ is about recognising just one thing and one thing alone. ‘Being one’ is about recognising that we are family, God’s family. However much we wish it was not true, however much we wish we could choose our Christin sisters and brothers we must not. Our failure to be one, gives the lie to all that we claim as Christians. We cannot claim to love others if we don’t love each other, in our churches, in our communities, in the national church and in the international church.

God’s call is that we work together for a common aim. For the church that aim, that purpose, is the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus.

Just as Jesus, at his Ascension, leaves his disciples to do his work, so God gives us the freedom to choose to build hope, joy and peace in our world and in our church. Each of us, each one of us, sits in the midst of a stream of the overflowing love of God. … We have a choice, over whether we share that love with each other. And so very often we have chosen not to do so.

The national church makes this period between Ascension and Pentecost a time of prayer, it calls it a “Novena” (that just means 9 days – 9 days of prayer). Our prayer needs to be that we will be one just as Jesus desires that we be one. Nothing for God, for Jesus, has a higher priority, not getting things doctrinally correct, not our own priorities, not the state of our buildings, not even the future of our churches. One thing matters above all else to Jesus, that we are united. We are one family under God.

This is Jesus’ prayer for us. Listen again to what he prays:

(John 17:20-23) “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

Dereham (East Dereham) Station, Norfolk

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An article in the magazine Railway Bylines, in the September 2002 edition written by Orson Carter prompted a look at the railway system in Dereham Norfolk. [1]

These three extracts from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1905, published in 1906, show the railway running North to South through Dereham. Southbound trains on the Wymondham & Wells Branch ran between the town’s Malthouses, crossed Norwich Street and entered the Railway Station. Goods facilities were close alongside the passenger station with the Goods Shed east of the main running lines. Further sidings sat to the West of the line before a triangular junction (including Motive Power Depot and turntable) gave access to lines running Southeast to Wymondham and Norwich and West to King’s Lynn. [2]

Carter’s article primarily reflected on the changes experienced in Dereham as the 1950s and 1960s developed. The line through Dereham remained open as a goods only line into the later part of the 20th century. This made it a prime candidate for preservation. The Mid-Norfolk Railway was formed in 1974 as preservation efforts began. The line re-opened in the mid-1990s. The MNR owns and operates most of the former Wymondham-Fakenham branch line of the Norfolk Railway! [3]

These three extracts from Google Maps show a similar length of the line as that covered by the extracts from the 25″ 1905 Ordnance Survey above. [Google Maps, February 2024]

Carter’s article gives only a limited account of the railway history of East Dereham’s rail network: ” In railway terms the small town of East Dereham in Norfolk belied its size as until the early 1950s it was, in effect, a three-way railway junction which enjoyed a status lofty enough to warrant a ‘Class 1’ grade station master. The ‘main line’ though the term is comparative – was used by trains between Norwich and Wymondham and Wells-next-the-Sea; there was also a branch from East Dereham to Kings Lynn, and until September 1952 the trains on the semi-circular route to/from Norwich via Wroxham and County School also started and terminated at East Dereham. But if one looked in the public timetables for this apparently important junction station, one would not have found an East Dereham the station was invariably listed simply as Dereham.” [1: p522]

Dereham Railway station looking South. The photograph was taken from the Norwich Road footbridge. The station footbridge is no longer present but Dereham Central No. 37 signal is visible against the gasometer at the far end of the station so the station is still open. The general.vondition of the station suggests a probable date between, 1965 and 1969. This image was shared on the Norfolk Orbital Railway Facebook Page on 30th January 2025, © Unknown. [4]

Dereham Station was built by The Norfolk Railway. “The Norfolk Railway was an early railway company that controlled a network of 94 miles around Norwich, England. It was formed in 1845 by the amalgamation of the Yarmouth and Norwich Railway opened in 1844, and the Norwich and Brandon Railway, not yet opened. These lines were built out of frustration that the Eastern Counties Railway line that was expected to connect Norwich to London failed to be completed. The Norfolk Railway also leased the Lowestoft Railway and Harbour Company, and built a branch to Dereham and Fakenham, opened in 1846 and 1849 respectively.” [5]

The Norfolk Railway ‘s Network in 1849, © Afterbrunel, and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 4.0). [5]

The Mid-Norfolk Railway dates the opening of the station to 1847: “Three years later an agreement was made to allow the Lynn & Dereham Railway to start to use the Norfolk Railway’s station, meaning that they could close their own terminus in the town. In 1857, the line northwards to Well-next-the-Sea was completed – with all the lines becoming part of the Great Eastern Railway in 1862. The station grew and evolved over the decades, with the Great Eastern Railway expanding the original Norfolk Railway ‘Tudoresque’ buildings as traffic grew, and the platforms being raised and extended to accommodate longer and more modern trains. Eventually, the station boasted a licensed buffet and four platforms with extensive canopies. Platform 1 is on the up line, with platforms 2 and 3 being set back to back (making one long platform face) and platform 4 being a short bay originally connected only to the King’s Lynn line.” [6]

The uncertainty over the date of opening of Dereham Station is resolved by Wikipedia quoting D. I. Gordon: A branch from Wymondham to Dereham “opened from Wymondham to Dereham on 7th December 1846 for goods trains and on 15th February 1847 for passengers. [7] … During construction, the Norfolk Railway sought an Act of Parliament to extend the Dereham line to Wells and Blakeney. … The Wells and Blakeney extensions were not built, and the new work was confined to building to Fakenham only. The construction contract [for the Fakenham line] was let to Peto in the Spring of 1847.” [5]

Soon, “The Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) … engaged in talks and … agreement for acquisition of the Norfolk Railway was finalised on 2nd May 1848, and the ECR took over the entire Norfolk Railway system, rolling stock included, on 8th May 1848. It sacked the Norfolk Railway staff and substituted its own. [7] Gordon says that the ECR ‘took the Norfolk on lease, so saving it from financial ‘perdition’.” [7: p164][5]

The Lynn and Dereham Railway also obtained an Act of Parliament to build a line to Dereham in 1845. It did not open its station (Lynn Hill) until 11th September 1848. [8: p41] [13] very close to The Norfolk Railway and formed a junction with it. This station was closed in 1850, when trains were extended to The Norfolk’s Railway station.

The King’s Lynn line was originally operated by the Lynn & Dereham Railway but, in 1848, the ECR leased The Norfolk Railway and absorbed the line to King’s Lynn.

In 1857, the line between Dereham and Wells opened. The Railways in this area became part of the Great Eastern Railway (GER) in 1862.

“In addition to the passenger facilities, Dereham had extensive goods facilities. Three goods sheds were provided (the surviving shed, one north of Norwich Road and another on the Lynn line), a large cattle yard, a coal yard, sidings for the town’s maltings trade, the Hobbies’ works, gas works and, during the Second World War, additional War Department sidings were provided on a new site to the east of the line. A triangle was provided for the Lynn line, allowing some trains (including the Royal Train) to avoid having to reverse in the station and a locomotive depot was built inside this triangle – where the town swimming pool now stands. This complex site was controlled by four signal boxes and stables were provided to house the horses used to operate delivery carts and shunt the yards.” [6]

“With an 1841 population of 3,837, Dereham already had several brewers and maltsters, two iron foundries and various small industries geared to the needs and produce of what was described as the ‘Garden of Norfolk’. But by 1855 it had grown to nearly 4,500 and had added a steam saw-mill, two further foundries, and a greatly expanded interest in the making of agricultural implements. In that year White recorded how the town trade had ‘considerably increased’ since the opening of the railways, and described the extensive granaries which had been built near the station and through which extremely large quantities of corn were despatched by rail. East Dereham in fact well illustrated the power of the nineteenth century railways to develop a small town when not too near a major centre and when conditions, in this instance the high fertility of the local soil, were right.” [7]

Derehamhistory.co.uk tells us that, “Along with the railways came the electric telegraph. The Norfolk Railway was a pioneer in the use of this instrument in railway operating and its spare capacity was made available to the public. It provided a nationwide accurate time check, replacing the often erratic local time with ‘Railway Time’. It gave the latest Stock Exchange prices and racing results in advance of the arrival of the newspapers.” [10]

“In the early 1880s, the railway line between Dereham and Wymondham was expanded to a double-tracked line, which was completed shortly after 1882. Yakham, Thuxton, Hardingham, and Kimberley Park all had new platforms constructed on the new up line, while the down line platforms underwent alterations, including the addition of new canopies. In 1886, an avoiding double track line was constructed to the south of the Dereham station. This allowed the Wymondham to King’s Lynn line to be used as a cross-country route. The avoiding line was utilised by freight, excursion, and diverted main-line trains.” [11]

Looking Northeast from the Western platform at Dereham Station in July 1936. The locomotive which features on the centre-right of the photograph is LNER 4-4-0 locomotive No. 8032. The locomotive standing in the near platform is LNER Locomotive No. 7894. It was a member of the ex-GER J15 class of 0-6-0 freight and shunting locomotives. It was later renumbered as BR 65394. This image was shared on the Norfolk in Old Photographs and Postcards Facebook Group by Dave Johnston on 15th March 2025, © Pamlin Prints. [17]

Dereham in the 1960s. This image was shared on the Norfolk Orbital Railway Facebook Page on 5th January 2024, © Unknown. [15]

Diesels were introduced in the mid-1950s but rapidly increasing road transport competition meant that rain services in rural Norfolk became increasingly uneconomic. “In 1963, Richard Beeching recommended that the line from Dereham to Fakenham and Wells be closed and, in 1964, the last passenger train ran over this section. He also recommended that the railway from Norwich to Dereham and then to King’s Lynn be retained for express trains and freight. However, in 1968, the connection to King’s Lynn was cut, as part of the formation was wanted for improvements to the A47, and the remaining passenger services between Dereham and Norwich ended in 1969. Concerns had been [raised] in Parliament about the local roads being inadequate for local business needs, specifically the large maltings at Great Ryburgh, so tracks through the station remained in regular use as a goods-only line until the 1980s.” [6]

The line closed to goods in 1989.

Dereham Railway Station in 2012, © Mike Smith and licensed for use here under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [14]

Sadly the main station building at Dereham suffered a significant fire in 1988. The interior and roof were lost. The station master’s house survived in a near derelict condition. After the line was purchased by the Mid-Norfolk Railway it was carefully restored and it re-opened to passengers in 1997. [6]

The Mid-Norfolk Railway also reports that “two of the station’s signal boxes have been replaced. The original Dereham Central site is occupied by the former Stratford Southern box, which controls the station site and the line southwards. Dereham North is occupied by the former Laundry Lane box from Lowestoft, and controls the level crossing and line northwards. The original Dereham North box also survives, as holiday accommodation near Melton Constable. With the original locomotive depot site being lost, [their] new maintenance shed has been built in the former goods yard.” [6]

The surviving goods shed, stables and one of the station’s original LNER yard cranes feature in future plans for a heritage attraction at Dereham Station.

The Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust also plans to restore another section of track. It intends to bring back into use another mile and a half of the line from North Elmham, near Dereham, up to the former County School station. The Trust will restore the station to an operational standard and make it the line’s northern terminal. “County School once served a nearby boarding school set up in the 19th century, which later became a naval training school and a Dr Barnardo’s home until its closure in 1953.” [12]

County School Railway Station in 1996, prior to the cosmetic restoration undertaken by the Mid-Norfolk Railway, © DiverScout and licenced for use under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0).[16]

Currently, The Mid-Norfolk Railway, at 17.5 miles, is already one of the UK’s longest heritage railways. Once the latest extension is completed, it would be the third longest. [12]

County School Station on the Mid-Norfolk Railway. [12]

References

Orson Carter; Dereham – a Time of Transition; in Railway Bylines, Volume 7, Issue 10; Irwell Press, Clophill, Bedfordshire, September 2022, p522-527.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/120850328, accessed on 14th February 2024.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Norfolk_Railway, accessed on 18th February 2024.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15pGLytCUQ, 31st January 2025.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norfolk_Railway, accessed on 31st May 2025.
https://www.midnorfolkrailway.co.uk/eastdereham, accessed on 31st May 2025.
D. I. Gordon; A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 5: the Eastern Counties; David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1977.
Leslie Oppitz; East Anglia Railways Remembered; Countryside Books, Newbury, Berkshire, 1989.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dereham_railway_station#reghist, accessed on 31st May 2025.
https://www.derehamhistory.co.uk/the-railways.html, accessed on 31st May 2025.
https://www.norfolksdisusedrailways.com/derehamnorwich, accessed on 31st May 2025?
https://www.fakenhamtimes.co.uk/news/24580692.mid-norfolk-railway-unveils-track-extension-project, accessed on 31st May 2025.
http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/d/dereham/index.shtml, accessed on the 31st May 2025.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2893207, accessed on 31st May 2025.
https://www.facebook.com/share/1Bzhw96Nyh, accessed on 31st May 2025.
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:County_School_station_1996.jpg, accessed on 31st May 2025.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1A9vURm6fh, accessed on 31st May 2025.

The Railways of Skye & Adjacent Islands – Part 4 – The Raasay Iron Mine Railway

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There is an excellent book by Laurence & Pamela Draper, which they self-published in 1990, entitled “The Raasay Iron Mine: Where Enemies Became Friends.” I picked up a copy second-hand from an online sales site. That book covers the operation on Raasay in some detail. This article looks at the railways involved.

An extract from the Ordnance Survey 1″ Mapping of 1930 (Sheet 25) shows the line of the railway running North-northeast from the pier at Suisnish to Mine No. 1. A dotted line represents the line to Mine No. 2. [8]

Raasay Iron Mine

L. & P. Draper tell us that “Just before the First World War the Scottish coal and iron-ore mining, and iron-smelting, firm of William Baird and Company opened up an iron-ore mine on the Island of Raasay in the Inner Hebrides. … In association with the mine, Baird’s built several kilometres of narrow-gauge railway, a crusher, five calcining kilns, a huge ore hopper and a reinforced concrete pier. Many aspects of the installation, such as this pier, diesel-electric power generation and the provision of powerful external electric lighting, were very advanced for their time.” [1: pV][3: p146]

The BBC tells us that “William Baird and Co. Ltd … owned the Raasay estate and initiated the mine’s operations. The mine was developed just before the war and was crucial in providing iron ore for the British war effort, with the ore being transported to Ravenscraig for smelting.” [2]

Because most of the local men had been called up, Baird’s arranged for German Prisoners of War to work the installation from 1916 onwards. In permitting this, the British Government probably “contravened the Hague Convention which specifically banned the employment of Prisoners of War on munitions production; in 1920 the British Government attempted to destroy all relevant records, and was largely, but not entirely, successful. To enable prisoners to be used, the project was effectively nationalised (although that word was not actually used), with Baird’s operating it as agents for the Government; this was a standard system of management in the First World War. … Prisoners and local people worked in harmony together as colleagues, but relationships between Baird’s and the Ministry of Munitions were at times hostile. At the end of 1917 the local men, who were badly paid compared with men doing similar work elsewhere, went on strike, and there were allegations in Parliament that German Prisoners of War were being used as strike breakers, with a result that Winston Churchill himself made statements in response; these allegations were at best only half truths.” [1: pV][3: p146]

This map was reproduced in an article written by the Drapers for Der Anschnitt in 1999. It shows Baird’s initial plans for a railway were altered to move the kilns away from Suishnish House (modern spelling Suishnish). [1: p2]]3: p150]

A probable total of almost 200,000 tons of raw iron ore was produced over the life of the mines, which in the first instance ran until six months after the end of the First World War. “Everything was maintained in full working order, [but] almost the only further iron to be yielded, in the Second World War, came out as scrap from the dismantled installation itself.” [1: pV][3: p146]

L. & P. Draper tell us that, “After hostilities ceased on 11th November 1918 there was a rapid fall in demand for iron, and on 21st December 1918 the Government stated that it wished to terminate its agreement with Baird’s, asking: … do you want the prisoners after about the end of January 1919? … Baird’s said that it did, for a while, if the Ministry could take the output; otherwise the prisoners were not needed. … The Ministry was anxious that the whole installation should be shut down by 31st March 1919.” [1: p30]

It appears that there was probably no resolution between Baird’s and the government over ownership of remaining stocks of iron ore at the mine when it closed but L. & P. Draper note that in the years after the war, whenever a full load of coal was delivered to Raasay, the steamers involved left Raasay with a full hold of iron ore. [1: p31-32]

“Soon after the war ended there was unrest on the island, partly because the fisheries had failed and partly because many of the veterans returned expecting that their interpretation of promises which had been made to them, that they would be re-located on more fertile ground, would be honoured. Following the example of many other Hebridean islanders since the latter years of the nineteenth century, they forcibly took over the south end of the island and some men served terms of imprisonment as a consequence. However, Baird’s sold the estate to the Scottish Board of Agriculture during the 1921-22 post-war crisis and many islanders were re-settled on land which they had coveted.” [3: p155-156]

“ln the mid nineteen thirties, twenty years after its heyday, the installation was still in good working order as Baird’s had placed the works on a care and maintenance basis and employed a full-time 3-to-5 man crew … who kept the machinery in perfect working order. They painted the ironwork, including the large expanse of the end of the calcined-ore hopper, with red Iead, and ran the installation once each week. lt was capable of being started at relatively short notice at a time of national emergency. However, this was not to be, probably because of the cost of winning the relatively low grade ore, and after the onset of the Second World War the only iron to come from the site was the installation itself as scrap. lt is not clear whether the formal abandonment on 15th May 1941 was the beginning of dismantling, or just the date on which the
plan was drawn. … Three, if not all, of the kilns were taken to Lingdale, in Cleveland, Yorkshire where three were re-erected . They continued in intermittent production until about 1962. lt is not known which ones were rebuilt, but it seems likely that they were Nos 3, 4 and 5 which had been unused on Raasay.” [3: p156]

Raasay Iron Ore Mines Railways

“No 1 Mine was connected to the pier at Suishnish by a virtually straight railway. A short steeply-inclined spur to the outcrop site left the main line at the entrance to No 1 Mine; No 2 Mine was connected by a spur from the main line. The railway led directly from the mines to the top of the crusher, on the hill overlooking the pier. Just below the crusher stood the kilns. An inclined railway connected the area just above the crusher down to the pier; this is also the route by which the coal was taken from the pier up to the crusher. Coal and iron ore were mixed in the crusher and taken by conveyor belt to charge the kilns. Below the kilns, more belts took the calcined ore to a hopper, from whence it was ultimately loaded onto ships at the seaward end of the pier.” [1: p33][3: p151]

Prior to the construction of the 4 ft. 6 in. railway the first output from the iron ore mine was transported by horse and cart down the narrow lane through Inverarish. [5: p78] But before the completion of the facilities near East Suishnish Pier, the incline was already bringing iron ore down from Mine No. 1 and the Outcrop Site.

We focus first on the railway infrastructure at the southern end of the line where the processing plant and pier were sited. The drawing below shows the layout of the site.

This hand-drawn map illustrated the arrangements at the Southern end of the operation on Raasay. It shows the layout of the various rail lines which served that part of the site. The main incline enters at the top of the sketch map. It brought the raw iron ore from the mine to the crushing plant. The crushed ore then was taken by an enclosed conveyor to the kilns where calcination took place. [4] It is of interest to note that the construction of the reinforced concrete pier was undertaken by Robert McAlpine and Sons, pioneers of the Glenfinnan and other concrete viaducts on the Mallaig railway line opened in 1901. [1: p33 and 35]

A first length of the line as shown on the satellite imagery provided by railmaponline.com. [10]

A second length of the line as shown on the satellite imagery from railmaponloline.com. [10]

Suisnish Pier appears at the bottom of this extract from Google Maps which allows us to see the line of the old railway without a superimposed purple line. As can be seen, the line of the old railway is still very evident in the landscape. The building shell to the West of the incline was a series of offices, from the Southeast these were a general office, a store (With a boiler underneath), a joiner’s workshop, a blacksmith’s workshop and an engineer’s workshop. To the right of the large hopper, the series of stone/brick structures are all that remains of the kilns. [Google Maps, May 2025]

East Suishnish (Suisnish) Pier in operation, note the wagons lined up on the pier. This T-shaped pier constructed of hand-mixed and reinforced concrete is 380 feet long and 25 feet wide. The pier frontage is 150 feet. The ore conveyor runs the length of the pier from the hopper to the 50 feet high ore conveyor loading-tower on the pierhead. The pier was designed by F.A. MacDonald and Partners, C.E. Glasgow and built by Robert McAlpine and Sons with teams of Irish labourers. [6][British Geological Survey: BGS C 2185]

This satellite image shows the area pictured in the photograph above. The pier extends from the bottom-left of the image towards its centre. The remains of the giant calcined-ore storage hopper are at the top of this image. At the top-right are some of the remains of the kilns. [Google Maps, May 2025]

Buildings adjacent to the incline, probably summer 1917; left to right: Ioads creeper hauler house (probably); pier incline hauler house; crusher (with circular oil storage tank); gantry; kilns; workshops and office. [3: p151][British Geological Survey: BGS C 2184]

The processing plant from the pier, probably in the summer of 1917. The giant calcined-ore storage hopper is just to the right of the centre of the image. It appears incongruous with its vertical iron face – looking much like a giant table-tennis bat! The concrete bases to the support gantries for the covered conveyor stand out to the left of the hopper, indicating that the plant was in a very new condition when the photograph was taken. [3: p151][British Geological Survey. BGS C 2183]

Two enlarged details from the image immediately above, show parts of the rail infrastructure on the site.

This first enlargement shows the steeply inclined line which ran down the side of the crusher to the pier. [3: p151][British Geological Survey: BGS C 2183]

This second enlarged extract shows the rail line running out onto the reinforced concrete pier. A short train of open wagons appears to be sitting on the rail line. [3: p151][British Geological Survey: BGS C 2183]

A third and a fourth extract, this time from photographs provided by the Munro Daughters for L. & P. Draper’s book, show the incline in use while the calcined-ore storage hopper was being constructed. …

This image is an enlarged extract from a photograph taken early during the construction of the calcined-ore storage hopper (1912?). The incline down towards the pier is already in use at this time and two short trains of wagons can be seen at the bottom. The line still.has to be extended out onto the pier, © Public Domain, courtesy of the Munro Daughters. [1: p35]

At a later date (1913/1914?), pier construction is well advanced by this time. Wagons can be seen again on the incline. This photograph shows the contractors railway lines running from close to the hopper to the end of the pier. There is an additional temporary line leaving that line and running towards the left side of the hopper, © Public Domain, courtesy of the Munro Daughters. [1: p38]

Perhaps it is worth noting here that the wagons used on the network were known as ‘hutches’. They were 5ft long overall, the body being 4ft long x 3ft wide and 2ft in height. Wheels were 1ft in diameter (1ft 2in over the flanges) and the axles were centred 1ft 6in apart. The overall height was 3ft 7in above rail height. [1: p65]

The hutches “were assembled from kits in the top of the crusher. They were pushed by hand initially, and were stiff until they were greased. … 4 wheels and 2 axles weighed 1 hundredweight 1 quarter 14 pounds (70kg). 200 sets were ordered on 28.4.13 and a further 100 on 5.6.14, so the mine must have had at least 300 hutches.” [1: p66]

Looking Southeast along the coast of Raasay at Suishnish showing the reinforced concrete pier with the hills of Skye and Scalpay, and perhaps the Scottish mainland beyond. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

A view of Skye from the landward end of the Suisnish Pier. [Google Streetview, November 2021]

Looking North-northeast from the landward end of the pier. The large Calcined ore hopper remains are just to the right of centre. The offices and workshops are to the left of the image. Just above the hopper the line of kiln remains can be seen (camouflaged by the lie of the land. [Google Streetview 2021]

Looking North-northeast from the base of the incline, the route of which can clearly be made out, © Anne Burgess and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [9]

A view of the ironworks site and pier from the Northeast. [Google Streetview, June 2009]

A view across the reinforced concrete pier from the incline towards Skye. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

The offices and workshops seen from the incline. From left to right these were: a general office; a store (With a boiler underneath); a joiner’s workshop; a blacksmith’s workshop; and an engineer’s workshop. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

Looking Southeast from the incline, through the remaining bases of the kilns. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

Just to the East of the incline looking North through the concrete foundations of the conveyor gantry. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

From a point a little further North on the incline, the two concrete blocks in the foreground are two of the bases on which the enclosed gantry and conveyor were built. Beyond the blocks are the bases of the kilns. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

At the North end of the series of concrete foundation blocks looking North, uphill into the remains of the crusher house. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

The Hauler House at the top of the lower incline, seen from the incline, © John Alan and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [11]

“The Pier Haulage Road was in 3 sections. The lower one, at a gradient of about 1 in 4.5, extended for 67 metres, the middle one at about 1 in 10 for 25 metres, and the upper one at about 1 in 4 for 83 metres. At the bottom of this incline the track was diverted around a huge L-shaped concrete block designed to catch runaways. … The hauler house … was used solely for haulage on the incline above the pier.” [1: p63]

The railway was, apart from the lower section, the Pier Haulage Road, largely double track. It was multi-level in the vicinity of the processing plant and the incline to the Outcrop Site was single track. Rails were 30lbs/yard, spiked into sleepers. Where there was traffic across the rails an inverted U-shaped bridging rail was used. [1: p65]

The track plan of the rails around the processing plant provided by the Drapers shows a complex arrangement with some very tight radius curves. It is not surprising that the ‘hutches’ needed to have a short wheelbase.

Track layout in the vicinity of the Crusher House. [1: p66-67]

The same building, the Hauler House, seen from further North on the second incline. The mountains of Skye sit beyond the Sound of Raasay. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

L. & P. Draper tell us that the extensive system of narrow gauge lines were 2ft 3in gauge. The main line “extended in a straight line … from the pier root up an incline, the ‘Pier Haulage Road’, to a level ore storage area above the crusher and on to the No 1 Mine entrance at a distance of 2.6 kilometres. … At a distance of 1.4 kilometres from the pier a straight spur, 0.9 kilometre in length, left the main line … to No 2 Mine. … The junction layout is shown [below].” [1: p63]

The incline climbs to the North. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

This telephoto shot shows the incline continuing to the North and shortens the distance to the mountain in the distance, which is Dunn Cana (Caan). [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

Looking back towards Skye from within the shallow cutting in the previous pictures. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

Further North and looking North, the incline remains relatively clear of vegetation. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

Railmaponline.com shows the line continuing North. [10]

Continuing North. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

And again, further North and looking North. Dun Caan has dropped below the horizon as we continue the climb. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

Railmaponline.com shows the location of the junction between the lines toMine No.1 to the North and Mine No. 2 to the Northwest. Just to the South of the junction, the remains of the Hauler House for the line to Mine No. 2 can be seen. [10]

Approaching the location of the junction from the South: the remains of the Hauler House sit close to the centre of the image. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

The railway junction between the line to/from Mine No. 2 and the main line which ran between the pier and Mine No. 1. [1: p40]

Looking Southeast along the line of the railway built to serve Mine No. 2. The line passed under that serving Mine No. 1. The bridge was between the camera and the Hauler House. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

Heading North from the junction, the route of line to Mine No. 1 now runs through a protected area where deciduous native trees have been planted among sparce examples of older trees.

The route of the incline is a waymarked path. For the most part it is a relatively easy walk. A section of the line crosses what is now a plantation protected from deer to allow newly planted native trees to mature. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

The route of the old railway continues North through the plantation. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

Railmaponline.com’s satellite imagery shows the line serving Mine No. 1 continuing North-northeast on the same alignment as the line South of the junction. The planted area can be made out at the bottom of this image. It is also possible to make out the line of the stream valley that the line had to cross. It runs diagonally from the bottom-centre of the image to the left side of the picture. [10]

The line continued North towards the location of the viaduct. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

The remains of the viaduct come into view as the land begins to drop away. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

The Southern abutment of the three span viaduct which carried the line to Mine No. 1 over the valley of a tributary of the Inverarish Burn.

A view North from the top of the Southern side of the valley. The two tall concrete columns remain in place but the bridge deck is long gone. Note the steep, stepped path on the North side of the valley. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

The Northern abutment of the viaduct remains in place but it has lost the westernmost pilaster. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

Apart from minor cuttings and embankments to maintain the design gradient on the incline and the structures immediately around the junction, there were only two significant structures. Both were viaducts: that on the main line carried it over a ravine formed by a tributary of Inverarish Burn, that on the line to Mine No. 2 carried it over Inverarish Burn and Fearns Road. The Drapers tell us that these viaducts were “of iron girders with a decking of timbers measuring 12in x 6in in section. They had iron railings on each side, and the one to No. 2 Mine had steel-plate sides to prevent ore accidentally falling onto the road below.” [1: p65]

This photograph of the viaduct carrying the line to Mine No. 1 appears in L&P Draper’s book courtesy of John MacLeod. [1: p64]

North of the viaduct on the line serving Mine No. 1, the railway continued in a North-northwest direction towards the mine, continuing to climb towards the mine buildings.

North of the Viaduct the line continued in a North-northeast direction. Leaving the plantation area on its way North. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

The old mine buildings can now ne made out ahead. A narrow lane converges on the line of the old railway, this is the road to Fearns. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

Looking down to Raasay Sound from the upper reaches of the incline. The ferry can be seen on the right of the image. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

Railmaponline.com’s satellite imagery shows the remaining mine buildings towards the top-right of this extract. The line heading Northeast from the remains of the mine buildings enters the mine. That running approximately East is a separate single-track incline which links the outcrop of the iron ore at the surface back to the mine buildings. [10]

The final approach to the mine buildings at Mine No. 1. The last length of the railway incline was in cutting. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

The bridge carrying the narrow road to Fearns over the old railway. The entrance to the mine can just be made out to the immediate right of the bridge parapets. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

The bridge carrying Fearns Road, seen this time from the North with the mine buildings on the right, © Richard Dorrell and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [13]

At the northern end of the railway incline, the line from the pier extended into the mine entrance of No. 1 Mine. It first passed under the road to Fearns before also passing under a separate incline which connected the facilities at the mine entrance to the surface workings where the iron bearing strata was exposed at ground level – the outcrop site. L. & P. Draper produced the drawing below which is based on the historic Ordnance Survey mapping.

Mine No. 1 and the Outcrop Site. [1: p46]

This extract from the railmaponline.com satellite imagery shows the full length of the single track incline notes above. [10]

The arrangement of the two rail lines is illustrated in the photograph below. …

The entrance to Mine No. 1. Two rail lines can be seen entering the mine. One of these lines has what appears to be a loaded wagon (hutch) sitting just outside the mine entrance. The bridge built to carry the incline serving the Outcrop Site can be seen in the foreground. The construction of that line has clearly only recently reached the tracklaying stage (the rails are incomplete). The diagonal line on the right of the image is a blemish/fold on the original. Towards the top of the fold it partially obscures the mine’s fan house. [1: p50][British Geological Survey: BGS C 2178]

Mine buildings: the two visible in this photograph are the checker’s office and the Compressor House. The road overbridge is just off the picture to the left. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

Further mine buildings: on the left, the Checker’s Office; in the centre, the Weighbridge Office; and behind, the Hauler House [7th May 2025]

Mine No. 1’s fan house, high on the hill above the mine buildings and mine entrance, © Public Domain. [b3tarev3, 7th May 2012][12]

One of two information boards at Mine No. 1. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

A closer view of the panel in the bottom-right of the above image. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

The left side of the information board shows what is claimed on the board to be the world’s first caterpillar digger. This machinery was used at the Outcrop where minerals could be accessed from the surface without the need for a mining adit. This Bucyrus steam dragline was imported from the USA and arrived on Raasay in 1917. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

The interior of Mine No. 1, © Public Domain. [b3tarev3, 6th May 2012][12]

Having covered the full length of the main line to Mine No. 1, we turn to the branch line serving Mine No. 2.

We did not walk the route of the line which served Mine No. 2: the first part of. its route is shown on this extract from railmaponline.com’s satellite imagery. The purple line on this map extract stops short of Fearns Road and Inverarish Burn. The line continued North-northwest across the road and the burn on a three span viaduct. The abutment of the viaduct remains but the bridge decking was removed for scrap some decades back. The viaduct was of the same design as that on the line to Mine No. 1 with additional steel panels attached to the deck parapets over Fearns Road to prevent accidental spillage onto people using the road. [10]

This extract from railmaponline.com’s satellite imagery extends the lilac line across the valley of the Inverarish Burn to a terminus at the location of Mine No. 2. Fearns Road is shown running across the image with the Burn at its North. The Valley was crossed by a three-span viaduct to a very similar design to the viaduct on the line to Mine No. 1. Its location is marked by the three parallel lilac line. [10]

Only the abutments and piers of the viaduct carrying the line serving Mine No. 2 remain. The four images below show this remains.

The southern abutment of the viaduct. [Google Streetview, November 2021]

The first pier to the North of Fearns Road. [Google Streetview, November 2021]

The second pier. [Google Streetview, November 2021]

The northern abutment, the camera lens has a drop of water just at the critical location! [Google Streetview, November 2021]

Another view of the piers of the viaduct on the line to Mine No. 2, © Public Domain. [b3tarev3, 7th May 2012][12]

Mine No. 2 only saw very limited use and closed relatively quickly after it opened. L. & P. Draper are of the opinion that, “because of severe faulting there was virtually no production from No 2 Mine, which must have been an expensive white elephant considering the cost of constructing the high viaduct, hauler house and other mine-head buildings. However, it was not entirely unused, as Baird’s built a sawmill by No 2 Mine, and all timbers used in the mine, for pit props, railway sleepers, power poles and other purposes were sawn there and transported by rail.” [3: p153]

The two entrances to Mine No. 2, circa 1917, as sho0wn on the information board at the location of Mine No. 2, © Public Domain. [My photograph, 7th May 2025][British Geological Survey: BGS C 21…]

The interior of Mine No. 2, © Public Domain. [b3tarev3, 7th May 2012][12]

The fan house for Mine No. 2, © Public Domain. [b3tarev3, 7th May 2012][12]

Part of the public information board at Mine No. 2. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

A closer shot of part of the information board. Mine No. 2 was the ‘mine that never was’: The infrastructure for Mine No. 2 was put in place but severe geological faults meant it could never be used. Only the railway viaduct, hauler house and giant fan house remain. Forestry workers later built a sawmill on the site in the 1950s. [My photograph, 7th May 2025]

The remains of the sawmill which was built at the location of Mine No. 2. [My photograph, an extract from the public information board. 7th May 2025]

The view into the site of Mine No. 2 from the public road. The information board can be made out near the centre of the image. [Google Streetview, November 2021]

References

Laurence Draper & Pamela Draper; The Raasay Iron Mine: Where Enemies Became Friends; L. & P. Draper, Culbokie, Dingwall, Ross-shire, 1990.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p029zg20#:~:text=Listen%20now-,Isle%20of%20Raasay%2C%20Scotland:%20Raasay%20Iron%20Ore%20Mine,majority%20returned%20to%20their%20homeland, accessed on 7th May 2025.
Laurence Draper & Pamela Draper; The Iron Ore Mine on the Hebridean Island of Raasay, North West Scotland: Where the labour force consisted largely of German prisoners
of the First World War [PDF]; Der Anschnitt 51, 1999, H4, p146-156; via https://www.bergbaumuseum.de/fileadmin/forschung/zeitschriften/der-anschnitt/1999/1999-04/anschnitt-4-1999-laurence-draper-pamela-draper-the-iron-ore-mine-on-the-hebridean-island-of-raasay.pdf, accessed on 7th May 2025.
Calcination is a process which involves a controlled burn of crushed ore mixed with imported coal. It is specifically designed to draw off water and unwanted minerals from the iron ore but without heating it to a temperature which would result in the production of metallic iron.
Alexander Nicolson; Handbook to the Isle of Skye and Adjacent Islands; Archibald Sinclair, Celtic Press, Glasgow, 1936.
https://geoscenic.bgs.ac.uk/asset-bank/action/browseItems?categoryId=1118&categoryTypeId=1, accessed on 13th April 2025.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5761169, accessed on 13th April 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/74400582, accessed on 18th May 2025.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5759597, accessed on 18th May 2025.
https://www.railmaponline.com/UKIEMap.php, accessed on 19th May 2025.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/746790, accessed on 20th May 2025.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/b3tarev3/albums/72157629614668258/with/7165934136, accessed on 27th May 2025.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2097118, accessed on 27th May 2025.
Not used.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/b3tarev3/albums/72157629614668258/with/7165952142, accessed on 8th May 2025.

A New Commandment: John 13: 31-35 – 18th May 2025

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Dolly Parton first sang, ‘Love is like a butterfly’, in the Summer of 1974:

“Love is like a butterfly, as soft and gentle as a sigh,

The multi-coloured moods of love are like its satin wings,

Love makes your heart feel strange inside, it flutters like soft wings in flight,

Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing.”

Jesus said: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.” His words seem to be at odds with our culture. In our society, love isn’t something you can command, love is something that you feel. Love is something that you fall into and fall out of. Love is as much about sexual attraction and desire as it is about anything else. When we say, ‘I love you’, to the love of our life – we are talking about deep feelings not about something that we feel we have much control over.

And yet Jesus says: ‘I command you to love one another’.

We know that love is so much more than sexual desire. We feel love for our parents, our children – we even feel some kind of love for the football team we support, for our friends and our work colleagues. But even in these relationships love can be so temporary or dependent on events and our emotions.

Love is just like a butterfly, made up of multicoloured moods, flitting here and there, dependent on circumstance and passion.

The love Jesus commands, the love that Jesus often talks about, is just not like that. Love, as Jesus sees it. Love modelled on the love of God, is constant and committed love, unwavering in its strength and focus, determined to be there for the one who is loved no matter what they do. Determined to love, even when it seems as though that love is rejected.

In English we have one word for love. The New Testament uses four different words for love.

Eros – for romantic and sexual love

Storge – genuine affection for someone

Philio – for brotherly love or fellowship

Agape – the love God has for us and the depth of love he calls on us to have for each other. A committed, divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active love, generously and freely given with no thought for the self, only for the other. It is this word ‘Agape’ that is used in our Gospel reading.

The King James bible translated ‘agape’ as ‘charity’. In today’s world ‘charity’ means something different. It has lost the emphasis on God’s self-sacrificial love for humankind. It has become something that often people do not want to receive, demeaning to their sense of honour. Or, it is the name of a kind of organisation that has some sort of good purposes. We need hold onto the word ‘love’ rather than the word ‘charity’ in today’s world if we are to begin to understand the meaning of the Greek word ‘agape’

C. S. Lewis, in his book The Four Loves, uses ‘agape’ to describe what he believed was the highest level of love known to humanity – a selfless love, a love that was passionately committed to the well-being of the other. It is ‘agape’. It is this kind of love that Jesus commands us to show, not erotic love, not even brotherly or sisterly love, not affection.

In last week’s Gospel (Easter 4), Jesus talked about a love that will not let us go.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”

“No one,” says Jesus, “will ever snatch you out of my hands.” It is not a sense of charity that God feels towards each of us, not a sense of charity that he feels for humankind. It is a love that give its all. No holds barred. A love that throws itself away in order to rescue those who are lost. A love that celebrates over every single person who returns to be enfolded by that love. It is that kind of love which we are commanded to show. Christ calls on us to decide to love others in the same way as God loves us.

Please, allow yourself to hear again that God loves and cares for you. And remind yourself again that God calls you not to love that is flighty or buffeted by circumstance, but to a love which is self-giving, committed and strong.

The Highland Railway – Part 6 – The Fort George Branch

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The featured image above shows Highland Railway No. 29 at Fort George Railway Station in Ardersier in charge of a train of four wheel coaches. Staff at the station seem to be included in the photograph. The locomotive was built in October 1863 as a 2-2-2 and originally called ‘Highlander’. She was rebuilt as a 2-4-0 in August 1871 and renamed ‘Forres’. She was withdrawn in 1898 which means that the annotation under the photograph is a little inaccurate. The locomotive is seen in the image above in its latter guise, so the image was probably produced between 1872 and 1898. The picture was shared on The Highlanders’ Museum Fort George Facebook Page on 23rd February 2014. [12]

The Disused Stations Website has full details and photographs of Fort George Railway Station, here. [1]

AmBaile also has a number of photographs which can be found here. [2]

The full length of the Fort George Branch is shown on the extract from the 25″Ordnance Survey from the turn of the 20th century below. …

The Fort George Branch of the Highland Railway at the turn of the 20th century. Gollanfield Junction Station and the Highland Railway’s main line between Inverness and Forres appears in the bottom right of the map extract. [3]

Fort George Railway Station in Ardersier was built in the 1890s and named after the first station on the Inverness-Nairn line, called Fort George Station, which had been built to serve the Fort to the North. The station on the Inverness-Nairn line was then renamed Gollanfield Junction Station. The station at Ardersier opened 1on 1st July 1899. It closed to passengers and goods on 5th April 1943. [4][5]

The same area in the 21st century as recorded on the ESRI satellite imagery from the NLS. [4]

These two images show bungalows on the station site in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2021]

Looking Northwest along the line or the old railway towards the terminus. [Google Streetview, August 2021]

Just to the South of the station throat the line bridged the junction of two roads. These became the B9006 and the B9092.

The railway bridged the junction of two roads a short distance South of the railway station throat. [6]

The same area in the 21st century. The trees mark the line of the old railway. [6]

The location of the railway bridge, seen from the Southeast. The B9006 was an old military road. [Google Streetview, August 2021]

The location of the railway bridge, seen from the Northeast. The trees are on the line of the old railway embankment. [Google Streetview, August 2021]

The same location seen from the Northwest. [Google Streetview, August 2021]

The line ran across open fields with no more structures than a few culverts to carry water from drainage ditches, until it curved to the East into Gollanfield Junction Railway Station.

Gollanfield Junction Station as it appeared on the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1904, published in 1905. It was opened in 1855 by the Inverness and Nairn Railway and initially named Fort George after the military base nearby. In July 1899, the Highland Railway opened the direct branch to Fort George (sited in the village of Ardersier). With the opening of the branch, the station was renamed Gollanfield Junction. Passenger services on the branch were withdrawn in 1943 and it closed to all traffic in August 1958. The following year, the station was renamed Gollanfield by British Railways. [7][8]

The same location in the 21st century. Goods traffic at the station ceased in May 1964 and it was closed to passenger traffic on 3rd May 1965. Most of the buildings were subsequently demolished after closure, but the station house remains standing and is used as a private residence. [8][9]

It is interesting that this short branch was deemed worthwhile as an investment. It brought the railhead only a short distance closer to Fortrose George.

Vallance tells us that, “The original line from Inverness to Nairn had provided a station to serve the military post of Fort George. This was only Fort George in name, as the depot itself was some 3½ miles to the north, at the end of a sandy tongue of land jutting out into the Moray Firth. It was felt that the fort should be made more accessible by rail, and powers were granted on 4th July 1890 for the construction of a branch, 1½ miles long, from the existing Fort George station to the village of Ardersier, which lies some two miles south of the depot proper. The terminus of the new line was to be called Fort George. … The surrounding country is level and sandy, and no difficulties were experienced in the construction of the line, which was opened for traffic on 1st July 1899. The junction station was renamed Gollanfield Junction, from the farm of the same name in the neighbourhood.” [10: p46]

David Ross has little to add to this apart from a few fleeting references, primarily to Fort George rather than its railway station, other than to note the construction of the branch line. [11: p95]

References

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/f/fort_george/index.shtml, accessed on 2nd May 2025.
https://www.ambaile.org.uk/gd/search/?searchQuery=Fort+George+Station, accessed on 2nd May 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=14.5&lat=57.56062&lon=-4.02161&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=100, accessed on 2nd May 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17.0&lat=57.56885&lon=-4.03421&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=100, accessed on 2nd May 2025.
https://canmore.org.uk/site/14417/ardersier-fort-george-station, accessed on 2nd May 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=18.0&lat=57.56520&lon=-4.03137&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=100, accessed on 2nd May 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/82886853, accessed on 2nd May 2025.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gollanfield_Junction_railway_station, accessed on 1st May 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15.7&lat=57.55161&lon=-4.01035&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=0, accessed on 1st May 2025.
H. A. Vallance; The Highland Railway (2nd. Ed.); David & Charles, Dawlish, and Macdonald, London, 1963, (First edition published in 1938).
David Ross; The Highland Railway; Tempus, Stroud, Gloucestershire, 2005.
https://www.facebook.com/share/16Q5xYKfH7, accessed on 3rd May 2025.

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