This line is open. It ran from Inverness to Bonar Bridge before being extended north by several companies. Passenger services are provided by ScotRail from Inverness to Thurso and Wick. This line was the first in the chain of lines now known as the Far North Line. The line is supported and promoted by the Friends of the Far North Line .
03/07/1860 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Act received; line to be built from Inverness to Invergordon. Engineer : Joseph Mitchell. Contractor (Inverness to Dingwall) : Meakin. |
19/09/1860 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway First sod cut. |
/03/1861 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Dingwall to Invergordon contract awarded to MacDonald & Grieve. |
/12/1861 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Keystone of the Ness Viaduct inserted by Miss Mitchell, the engineer Joseph Mitchell's daughter. |
/ /1862 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Invergordon station built to Joseph Mitchell's plans |
11/06/1862 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Inverness to Dingwall opened. (Connection made from Inverness Harbour line to new platforms in Inverness station, new railway makes connection with the harbour line. The Harbour line is becomes known as the Rose Street Curve). Stations opened at Bunchrew, Lentran, Beauly, Muir of Ord, Conon and Dingwall. |
30/06/1862 | Inverness and Ross-shire RailwayInverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway Inverness and Ross-shire Railway absorbed by Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway. |
/ /1863 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Clunes opened. |
23/03/1863 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Dingwall to Invergordon opened. Stations opened at Fowlis, Novar, Alness and Invergordon. |
11/05/1863 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Ross-shire Extension Act passed authorising Invergordon to Bonar Bridge. |
01/06/1864 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Invergordon to Meikle Ferry opened. |
01/10/1864 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Line extended from Meikle Ferry to Bonar Bridge. |
01/04/1868 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Clachnaharry station opened. |
13/04/1868 | Sutherland Railway Bonar Bridge (Inverness and Ross-shire Railway) to Golspie opened with stations at: Invershin, Lairg, Rogart, The Mound and Golspie. |
/ /1869 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Parkhill [IandRR] renamed Kildary to save confusion with Parkhill on the Formartine and Buchan Railway. |
/ /1869 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Meikle Ferry station closed. |
/ /1901 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Line between Clachnaharry and Lentran doubled. |
/ /1909 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Clachnaharry Swing Bridge replaced over the Caledonian Canal. |
/ /1911 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Loop installed at Conon. |
/ /1913 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Clachnaharry station closed. |
/ /1915 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Authorisation (retrospective?) to double the line between Clachnaharry and Clunes. |
/11/1922 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Muir of Ord's station buildings burn down. |
/ /1924 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Gauntleted junction at Clachnaharry station replaced by a turnout slightly further north. |
13/06/1960 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Beauly station closed. |
13/06/1960 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Alness station closed. |
07/05/1973 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Alness station re-opened. |
/ /1986 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Invergordon Aluminium Smelter sidings closed. |
07/02/1989 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Ness Viaduct, Inverness, collapses, separating the Thurso, Wick and Kyle of Lochalsh lines from the rest of the network. Dingwall becomes the southern terminus, Muir of Ord closes (although served by a minibus) and becomes a train maintenance depot. Buses operate between Inverness and Dingwall while a new bridge is built. Oil traffic to Lairg is suspended (it does not restart until 2001). |
11/02/1990 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Girders of the new Ness Viaduct installed from the 11th to the 14. |
30/11/2001 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Due date for the opening of the new £247,000 Beauly station is delayed by Rail Inspector due to the short platform. |
/ /2002 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Railtrack repairs to road bridge at Clachnaharry result in a single lane A862 and traffic lights. |
15/04/2002 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Beauly station re-opened, a 15 metre portion of platform rebuilt and raised (along with a small car park) for the opening at a cost of £247,000. |
17/02/2004 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Experimental re-opening of Beauly station extended for a further year. |
/10/2006 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway
Dingwall and Skye Railway
Sutherland Railway
Duke of Sutherland's Railway
Sutherland and Caithness Railway Landslips and flood damage close the Far North and Kyle lines between Dingwall and Garve, at Helmsdale, at Ardgay and Watten . |
20/06/2011 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Extra services run between the 20th and 24th during the closure of the Kessock Viaduct (road) for repairs. |
These locations are along the line.
This is a seven platform terminus for services to and from locations to the south such as Glasgow Queen Street High Level, Edinburgh Waverley and London, and locations north and west such as Kyle of Lochalsh, Thurso and Wick.
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This junction was formed in 1862 with the opening of the Inverness and Ross-shire Railway as far as Dingwall. The new line connected with the Inverness Harbour branch of the Inverness and Nairn Railway of 1855.
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This junction was east of the Clachnaharry Swing Bridge and west of the Ness Viaduct. It was the start of the short branch south to Muirtown Basin. Both the main line and branch were single track. A signal box was present from opening in 1877. This was replaced with a ground frame before closure. Closure was either in 1969 or 1970.
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This 126 ft girder railway swing bridge crosses the Caledonian Canal near Inverness where the canal passes between Muirtown Basin (to the south) and Clachnaharry Sea Lock. The railway crossing over has the former Clachnaharry station to the west and former Canal Junction [Inverness] to the east.
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This station was west of Clachnaharry Swing Bridge. It was a single platform with the platform on the south side of the single track line. Clachnaharry was not just the station for the small village and nearby sea lock of the Caledonian Canal but was also the ticket platform for Inverness for trains arriving from the north.
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This intermediate loop was installed between Bunchrew (to the west) and Clachnaharry (to the east) in 1902 to increase line capacity. There were two signal boxes, both on the south side of the line at either end of the loop. The box to the west was the 'north' box and to the east was the 'south' box.
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This was, latterly, a two platform station. For much of its existence it was a single platform with a siding at the east end.
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This was a two platform station. The main station building was on the westbound platform and there was a goods yard at the west end, served from the west.
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This was a two platform station with the main building on the westbound platform. For much of its existence it was a single platform station until the line was doubled to the east.
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This is a single track girder viaduct over the River Beauly. The girders were by Findlay of Motherwell. The length is about 445 ft.
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This station is in the south of the town of Beauly. It has a very short platform. It was formerly a two platform station. The new platform uses a short section of the former northbound platform. There is a car park.
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This is a two platform station. The main station building was similar to that at Dalwhinnie but with a canopy with end screens. It was on the down (northbound) platform. It was, like that at Dalwhinnie, a replacement for a building which burned down (in 1922). It has been demolished.
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This is a single platform station in the south of the village of Conon Bridge. It has a short platform and a small car park.
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This is a single track skewed five arch masonry viaduct over the River Conon. Each span is 73 ft. The overall length is 429 ft. The engineer was Joseph Mitchell.
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This was a timber two road locomotive shed south of the station on the west side of the line. It was approached by a headshunt to the north which made its connection to the railway at the south end of the station loop. Approach to the shed crossed over a turntable, the single siding splitting into the two shed roads just to the south.
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This is a two platform station on the Far North Line which opened in 1862. It has a fine station building on the northbound platform with a large glazed canopy. There is a car park and a lattice footbridge over to the southbound platform.
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This junction is north of Dingwall station. This is where the line from Inverness divides into portions running west to Kyle of Lochalsh on the west coast and Thurso and Wick on the north coast. Both lines are single track. Just to the south is the north end of the loop through Dingwall station. There is a pedestrian level crossing and the former Dingwall Canal passes ...
More detailsThis was a single platform station with the platform to the south of a level crossing and a siding to the north on the west side of the line, approached from the south.
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This was a two platform station with a passing loop. The main station building was on the northbound platform.
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More detailsThis single track five arch stone viaduct crossing the Alness River is west of Alness station. The viaduct is 82 yds long overall.
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This is a single platform station. There is a car park and platform shelter. It is in the south of Alness itself.
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This is a two platform station with a passing loop and car park. The main station building remains standing on the southbound platform. It retains a platform canopy. The platform side features a mural 'The Long Goodbye', by Tracey Shough, commemorating the 4th battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders. The waiting shelter on the northbound platform still stands. Unfortunately the footbridge has been ...
More detailsThis was a single platform station. The platform was on the south east side of the line. At the north end was a level crossing and to the south a siding approached from the south. There was a signal box on the platform by the level crossing.
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This was a two platform station with the main station building on the northbound platform. There was a loop, the line being single track. There was a goods yard to the south, on the west side of the line, accessed from the south.
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This single track masonry bridge, 50 ft long and 35 ft high, which crosses the Balnagown River just north east of the site of the former Kildary station.
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This was a single platform station. It was located at a level crossing with the B9175, the road to the Nigg Ferry for Cromarty.
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This is a one platform station, the former southbound platform. The loop line is lifted and northbound platform out of use.
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This was a two road shed to the south of Tain station. It was approached from the north and was on the east side of the line.
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This is a two platform station with a passing loop on the Far North Line. The main station building, with an 'H' plan and located on the northbound platform, has been renovated and is now host to the restaurant 'Platform 1864 '. The lattice footbridge between the platforms remains.
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This siding was north west of Tain and served the Glenmorangie Distillery. The siding was on the south west side of the line and approached from the Inverness direction. There was a loading bank and the siding had a long headshunt.
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This was briefly the end of the line, until it was extended to Bonar Bridge (now Ardgay). It closed not long after the line was extended and the ferry route probably lost much traffic when the Sutherland Railway opened in 1868 extending the line to Golspie, after which the ferry was probably not on the preferred route north. The station building has remained, complete with its name marked ...
More detailsThis was a two platform station with a passing loop on a single track line. The main station building was on the northbound platform.
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This was a short lived station, now long closed. The site was probably on the Fearn Lodge estate.
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This is a two platform station with a passing loop on the Far North Line. The northbound platform retains its two storey station building with a platform awning supported by pillars, now a house, and a goods yard exists to the south, west side of the line, currently in permanent way maintenance use. The station had refreshment rooms to the north of the station building. Platforms are linked by ...
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