SAPT was one of 5 organisations involved in putting together a photographic exhibition to mark the 150th Anniversary of the completion of the Far North Line. The others were:
- The Friends of the Far North Line fofnl.org.uk
- The Highland Railway Society hrsoc.org.uk
- The Highlands & Islands Transport Partnership hitrans.org.uk
- The Far North Line Community Rail Partnership fnlcrp.co.uk
This pop-up exhibition was displayed for 4 days at the North Coast Visitor Centre in Thurso, where it attracted good attendances. It was set up again a few weeks later at Wick Station during the afternoon of a plaque unveiling ceremony.
Jamie Stone MP had unveiled the 125th anniversary plaque at Wick in 1999, and returned again to unveil the 150th anniversary plaque to accompany the previous one. He jokingly commented that he might not be able to make it to the next significant anniversary of the line! The audience was a mixture of the public and invited guests, including the Leader of the Highland Council. Ian Budd of FoFNL gave an introductory speech outlining the history of the line and prospects for the future. He marvelled at the achievements of those who built 60 miles of railway across difficult terrain in only 3 years to complete the last section of the line in 1874. The track, bridges and stations were all constructed for a cost of roughly £10 million at today’s prices. This budget would only be enough to build about half of one station today!
The Far North Line was opened in stages from south to north as follows:
- From Inverness to Dingwall in 1862
- From Dingwall to Invergordon in 1863
- From Invergordon to Bonar Bridge (Ardgay) in 1864
- From Bonar Bridge to Golspie in 1868
- From Golspie to Helmsdale in 1871
- From Helmsdale to Thurso and Wick in 1874
The map from 1916 shows the number of stations which were open at that time, many of which were closed during the 1960s. There has since been several reopenings in the southern part of the line. What was the Sutherland & Caithness Railway between Helmsdale and Wick and Thurso now only has intermediate stations at Kinbrace, Kildonan, Forsinard, Altnabreac, Scotscalder and Georgemas Junction. Note that Altnabreac station has been closed for about a year, pending resolution of an access dispute.
An excellent book ‘Completing the Far North Line’ has recently been published by the Highland Railway Society. This is the latest of a series of books covering the history of the line.
