The Highland Railway (HR) was one of the two smallest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping, operating north of Perth railway station in Scotland and serving the farthest north of Britain. Based in Inverness, the company was formed by merger in 1865, absorbing over 249 miles (401 km) of line. It continued to expand, reaching Wick and Thurso in the north and Kyle of Lochalsh in the west, eventually serving the counties of Caithness, Sutherland, Ross & Cromarty, Inverness, Perth, Nairn, Moray and Banff. Southward it connected with the Caledonian Railway at Stanley Junction, north of Perth, and eastward with the Great North of Scotland Railway at Boat of Garten, Elgin, Keith and Portessie.Conolly 2004.
During the First World War the British Navy's base at Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands, was serviced from Scrabster Harbour near Thurso. The Highland Railway provided transport, including a daily Jellicoe Express passenger special, which ran between London and Thurso in about 22 hours. In 1923, the company passed on approximately 494 miles (795 km) of line as it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. Although its shorter branches have closed, former Highland Railway lines remain open from Inverness to Wick and Thurso, Kyle of Lochalsh, Keith (as part of the Aberdeen to Inverness Line), as well as the direct main line south to Perth.
History
Origins The Highland Railway was formed in 1865 by a merger of two companies centred on Inverness: the Inverness & Aberdeen Junction Railway extending to the east; and the Inverness & Perth Junction Railway to the south.
Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway
The first proposals for rail links to Inverness were made in 1845. These were the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) between Inverness and Aberdeen and so link up with the railways to the south; the Perth & Inverness Railway, proposing a direct route over the Grampian Mountains to Perth; and the Aberdeen, Banff & Elgin Railway, with a route that followed the coast to better serve the Banffshire and Morayshire fishing ports. The Aberdeen, Banff & Elgin failed to raise funds and the Perth & Inverness Railway was rejected by Parliament because the railway would be at altitudes that approached and needed steep gradients. The Great North of Scotland Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. ciii) received royal assent on 26 June 1846, authorizing a route needing few major engineering works. Two years later the railway mania bubble had burst and the necessary finances could not be raised. Construction eventually began in November 1852, albeit only to Huntly, and this line was officially opened on 19 September 1854. An extension to Keith, halfway between Aberdeen and Inverness, opened on 11 October 1856.
Meanwhile the Inverness and Nairn Railway had been given permission for a line between Inverness and Nairn, together with a branch to Inverness Harbour, on 24 July 1854./http://www.railbrit.co.uk/location.php?loc=Inverness%20Harbour The line opened ceremonially on 5 November 1855 when a train of thirty vehicles, mainly goods wagons fitted with seats, made a return journey. Intermediate stations opened at Culloden (later ), , Fort George (later ) and . Initially three trains a day ran between Inverness and Nairn, horse-drawn coaches providing a link to Keith and thereby Aberdeen via the Great North of Scotland Railway. The Inverness & Nairn planned an extension as far as Elgin; between Elgin and Keith the River Spey needed to be crossed. The GNoSR offered £40,000 towards a bridge and the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway (IAJR) was given authority for a line from Nairn and Keith in July 1856. A temporary station at Dalvey, west of the River Findhorn, opened on 22 December 1857, to close when the line extended to on 25 March 1858. , and the GNoSR, was reached on 18 August 1858. Three services a day ran between Inverness and Aberdeen, Aberdeen being reached in between 5 hours 55 minutes to 6 hours 30 minutes. The Spey Bridge was unfinished when the line opened, so initially passengers walked across the adjacent road bridge as the locomotive was detached and crossed before the carriages were hauled over by ropes. The Inverness and Aberdeen Junction absorbed the Inverness & Nairn in 1861.
The Morayshire Railway had opened a line between and Elgin on 10 August 1852, public services starting the next day. Permission was granted to the Morayshire to run over the IAJR to Orton and to build a branch to Rothes. The IAJR opened the line on 18 August 1858 and the Morayshire started running services on 23 August. Conflict soon arose between the IAJR and Morayshire Railway, and the directors of the Morayshire responded with plans to build their own line between the two stations. The Great North sponsored the new line and offered to provide services after the lines had been physically connected. Permission was granted on 3 July 1860, goods were carried from 30 December 1861 and passengers from 1 January 1862. The Morayshire was operated by the Great North of Scotland from 1866 and was absorbed in 1881.
Between Forres and Elgin two branches opened, the first being from to ; long this operated independently from 18 April 1860 before being taken over by the IAJR in 1862. The IAJR also opened a branch from to on 22 December 1862.
Inverness and Ross-shire Railway
The Inverness and Ross-shire Railway was given permission on 3 July 1860 to build a railway the from Inverness to Invergordon. After the section to was complete and given the necessary permission by the Board of Trade on 10 June 1862, the line opened to traffic the following day. The terminus at Inverness was not situated to allow through traffic, so additional platforms were built on the west side and the layout arranged as a Y. The Rose Street curve joined the two lines, and most arriving trains would take this curve past the station and then reverse into the platforms, allowing easy interchange and through carriages. The line to Invergordon opened on 25 March 1863, delayed due to conflict over the line crossing the Ferry Road at Findon. The original plans were for a level crossing, but following protests a bridge was built.
Within a month of opening, on 30 June 1862, the Inverness and Ross-shire Railway was absorbed by the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway. Initially there were four services a day, connecting with trains from Keith at Inverness, and averaging 1 hour 40 minutes for the , and one train a day on Sundays, the mail train.
A extension to Bonar Bridge (later ) was authorised by the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway (Bonar Bridge Extension) Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. xxxii) on 11 May 1863. The line opened as far as Meikle Ferry on 1 June 1864 and to Bonar Bridge on 1 October 1864. Initially connections to the ferry were provided from , but these began to serve Bonar Bridge soon after the station had opened, and Meikle Ferry station closed in 1869.
Inverness and Perth Junction Railway
Although in 1860 Inverness had a rail link to the south, the route via Aberdeen was circuitous and involved a change between two railway stations over apart. Passengers were conveyed between the termini by omnibus, paid for in the through fare and with forty five minutes being allowed for the transfer. The GNoSR refused to hold its trains to connect with trains arriving at Guild Street. The mail train would be held until the Post Office van had arrived and the mail was on board, but the station locked at the advertised departure time to prevent connecting passengers further delaying the train. A more direct long route south to Perth, bypassing Aberdeen, was planned. This left the Inverness & Aberdeen Junction at Forres on a steeply graded line, before heading south to a summit at Dava, then to Grantown and the River Spey to Kingussie, before another climb to a summit at the Pass of Druimuachdar, at the highest in Britain. The line then descended to Birnam, from Perth and linked to Perth by the Perth & Dunkeld Railway since 1856. Although a similar route had been rejected in 1845 because of the high altitudes and speed gradients, there had been sufficient advance in locomotive design to satisfy the fears of the parliamentary committee, and authority was given in 1861. A long girder bridge crossed the River Tay near Dalguise and a viaduct crossed the River Divie near Dunphail. North of Dunkeld was a long tunnel and with through the Pass of Killiecrankie. The line was initially single track with passing loops at stations, the IAJR doubling the track for between Inverness and in 1864.
Work started in 1861, and the 13 miles from Dunkeld to opened on 1 June 1863. To allow access to the new line from both Keith and Inverness a new triangular station was built at Forres south of the old line, which was retained for goods traffic. The line from this new station to opened on 3 August, the complete line opening on 9 September 1863. Initially two through trains a day ran between Perth and Inverness, taking about six hours. These were supplemented by additional mixed slow services from Perth to and from Inverness to . Additional services ran after 1866; only the mail train ran on Sundays.
A branch from to was also authorised, and this opened on 3 July 1865. The Inverness & Perth Junction Railway absorbed the Perth & Dunkeld in 1864.
Genesis
The Inverness and Aberdeen Junction and the Inverness and Perth Junction Railway were merged on 1 February 1865, and became known as the Highland Railway after the passing of the (28 & 29 Vict. c. clxviii) on 29 June 1865. The railway owned of line and operated over the of Scottish North Eastern Railway (SNER) line from Stanley Junction to Perth. Apart from this line and that between Inverness and Dalcross, this was all single track railway. Andrew Dougall, who had been founding General Manager of both railways, became its first General Manager. William Barclay had been locomotive supervisor for both constituent railways, resigned in 1865, and the first Highland Railway locomotive supervisor was William Stroudley.
Far North Line
Sutherland Railway
The Sutherland Railway received permission in 1865 for a extension of the Highland Railway from Bonar Bridge to Brora. The route followed the Kyle of Sutherland inland for 3 miles, before crossing over to the north shore with the five masonry arches and girder span of Invershin Viaduct. The Highland contributed £15,000, but only of line were built, the railway opening as far as Golspie on 13 April 1868. Either side of the viaduct across the Kyle are Culrain and Invershin stations, apart. The Highland provided two services a day north of , with through carriages to Perth on the mail train.
Duke of Sutherland's Railway
The 3rd Duke of Sutherland planned an extension of the line from Golspie to Helmsdale, passing Dunrobin Castle, his family seat. Work had already started when authority was obtained in 1870, and the section from Dunrobin to about short of Helmsdale was complete that autumn. The duke purchased a locomotive and some carriages, and the line was opened by Princess Christian on 1 November 1870. Two trains a day ran until 19 June 1871, when the line was connected up with the Sutherland Railway at Golspie and the Highland extended its services to Helmsdale.
Sutherland and Caithness Railway