Georgemas Junction

Location type

Station

Name and dates

Georgemas Junction (1874-)

Station code: GGJ National Rail ScotRail
Where: Highland, Scotland
Opened on the Sutherland and Caithness Railway.
Open on the Far North Line.

Description

'The Georgemas' is the furthest north junction in Britain and is also a station. Here the lines to Wick and Thurso (accessed by reversal for a train from the south) divide. The station building remains standing, the ground floor formerly having been the offices and upper floor staff accommodation.

Only one platform now remains in use, the southbound platform having been removed to facilitate installation of a crane for loading nuclear material from Dounreay Power Station. The footbridge has also been removed. The northbound platform formerly extended partly down the Thurso branch, (cut back in the 1980s when the platform was extended in the Wick direction) and there was a bay platform for Thurso, out of use and trackless.

The southbound platform was an island platform, the outer face being accessed from the south an leading to sidings on the south side of the line, east of the station. These sidings have been used to unload containers for Safeway supermarket, unload pipes from the Hartlepool Rod Mill for Keiss, and load refrigerators manufactured by Norfrost into containers in recent years. It seems odd to have removed the southbound platform when these sidings exist with space to expand and lay further sidings.

The Safeway traffic was terminated when Morrisons took over the company. The Norfrost factory has closed.

In the V of the junction was the junction signal box and turntable, the pit of which remains, somewhat overgrown. To the south of the station, heading for Inverness was a trolley shed, served from the sidings, and, beyond that, a snow blower.

Water columns were provided on platforms.

There were two signal boxes. The Georgemas Junction box, as above, which opened with the station and was replaced in 1890 when an additional box, Georgemas North, opened (actually at the east or Wick end). Both boxes closed in 1985 with the introduction of RETB control from Dingwall.

The station is at Sibster. It is named for the Georgemas market - Georgemas Market Stance was around a mile to the north.

Tags

Station Junction snow blower blower



Nearby stations
Hoy
Halkirk
Bower
Scotscalder
Thurso
Watten
Bilbster
Altnabreac
Wick
Thrumster
Welsh^s Crossing Halt
Ulbster
Parkside Halt
Lybster
Mid Clyth
Georgemas Trolley Shed
Georgemas Snowblower
River Thurso Viaduct [Halkirk]
Spittal Mains Quarry
River Thurso Viaduct [Todholes]
Olgrinbeg Peat Powerstation (here?)
Thurso Shed
Balloch Railway Cottage
Scrabster Harbour
Tourist/other
Loch Watten
North Coast Visitors Centre
Thurso Bay
Dunnet Bay
Cnoc Freiceadain Long Cairns
St Mary^s Chapel Crosskirk
Location names in dark blue are on the same original line.


Chronology Dates

28/07/1874Sutherland and Caithness Railway
Line opened from Helmsdale (Duke of Sutherland's Railway) to Wick with stations at Salzcraggie (Private), Kildonan, Kinbrace, Forsinard, Altnabreac, Scotscalder, Halkirk, Georgemas Junction, Hoy, Thurso, Bower, Watten, Bilbster and Wick.
  /09/1995Sutherland and Caithness Railway
English, Welsh and Scottish Railway begins to carry south new fridges and freezers (manufactured by Norfrost near Georgemas) from Georgemas Junction to Leyland Business Park. Steel for the products is carried in the reverse direction.
06/04/2000English, Welsh and Scottish Railway Safeway
Safeway service extended to Georgemas Junction.
09/01/2003Safeway Morrisons
Safeway purchased by Morrisons, leading to the withdrawal of the container trains from Mossend Marshalling Yard to Inverness and Georgemas Junction.

News items

27/01/2022Further calls for Scotland-England timber traffic [RailFreight.com]
08/10/2021Rail freight plan to take 400 timber lorries off Caithness roads [John O Groat Journal]
16/08/2021Major train disruption and cancellations on line after signal fault [Strathspey and Badenoch Herald]
25/06/2021Freight trial at Georgemas was labour intensive but solutions being explored [John O Groat Journal]
16/06/2021Campaigners lose hope over freight trains plan for Far North line [Press and Journal]
17/02/2021Battle to clear railway snow drifts could be won today, ScotRail hopes [Inverness Courier]
16/02/2021Snow drifts continue to bring railway misery on Highland routes [Inverness Courier]
15/02/2021Snow drifts up to 50 metres long bury railway lines [Inverness Courier]
08/09/2020Timber freight scheme to take 250 lorries off A99 and A9 a week [John O Groat Journal]
06/08/2020£195k rail freight trial to remove 250 lorry journeys from Ross roads [Ross-shire Journal]

Books


Highland Survivor