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ALSO VISIT
About Dornoch
About
Sutherland
Gilchrist Family of
Ospisdale
Scottish Hill
Walking |
A journey in 1954
The Dornoch Light Railway, one
of the only two light railways built north of Inverness, was opened
for traffic on June 2nd, 1902. The line was worked right from the
outset by the Highland Railway Company at the actual operating cost,
the Highland Company hoping to obtain extra revenue from the large
hotel which they built at Dornoch when the branch was opened.
For the railway modeller this
is indeed a fascinating little railway, running, as it does,
alongside the shores of Loch Fleet, amongst some of the finest
coastal scenery in Sutherland, and having for its motive power one
or other of the last two Highland Railway locomotives to remain in
service. The line is laid almost entirely on the surface of the land
– except for the viaduct and embankment across the head of Loch
Fleet – for the whole 7¾ miles of its length from The Mound Junction
to Dornoch, the county town of Sutherland. The gradients are in many
places as severe as 1 in 50, notably from the Loch Fleet causeway up
to The Mound Junction on the Inverness to Wick & Thurso main
line and from Dornoch to the summit of the line near Embo. As one
approaches The Mound from Inverness the main line train takes the
"inshore" face of the V-shaped platform while, on the "seaward"
side, the Dornoch branch platform drops steeply towards Loch Fleet.
The main line platform face is used by passenger trains in both
directions, there being a goods loop and several sidings alongside
the platform line. On the branch platform side there is a run-round
loop for the branch engine. The branch line platform is made of
earth shored up with sleepers, in common with all other stations on
the branch except Dornoch.
In July, 1954, Dornoch Station
was being given a brick and concrete platform facing. Could this
mean that the branch may be operating for some time yet?
On leaving The Mound, the
branch train, usually comprising an H.R. 0-4-4T, a corridor 1st/3rd
brake compo and a heterogeneous assortment of trucks and vans plus
an ex-L.M.S. goods brake van, rumbles at a sedate 25 m.p.h. down the
steep gradient to the causeway across the head of Loch Fleet. On
this short stretch it passes over the only engineering feature of
note on the line, the girder viaduct across the mouth of the River
Fleet.
The line has now turned
sharply to the south and continues in this direction alongside the
public roadway on the embankment across the marshy land at the head
of Loch Fleet, immediately the train reaches the other side of this
causeway the brakes are applied, the guard descends and walks
forward to open the level crossing gates. The train then pulls
through and stops for the guard to remount his van before proceeding
on its leisurely way! As this occurs at six level crossings in all,
it will be appreciated that the journey takes some considerable time
– 46 minutes for 7¾ miles!
From here to Cambusavie Halt
the train runs along the shores of Loch Fleet. At Cambusavie and
again a mile or so further on, level crossings have to be
negotiated, but the slowness of the journey is more than compensated
by the magnificent views of the frowning mountains of Sutherland and
the fast-flowing Fleet estuary obtained from the windows of the
train.
Skelbo Station, some 3¾ miles
from The Mound, is, like Cambusavie, a small single platform
structure. Unlike Cambusavie, however, it boasts a waiting-room of
minute dimensions and a goods siding! From Skelbo the train, having
negotiated another level-crossing, runs inland on a down gradient to
milepost 4¾ from which point the little engine pants wearily uphill
at 1 in 55-60 to Embo station. Unlike the two places already
mentioned Embo is a fair-size fishing village. There is a little
passenger traffic between here and Dornoch and in the reverse
direction, The Mound. The station is slightly longer than Skelbo and
there is a goods yard at the Dornoch end. On leaving Embo the train
rumbles down at 1 in 52 to milepost 5¾ and then our ageing, but
nevertheless willing, little steed is faced with the steep climb of
fully ¾ mile at 1 in 115 to 1 in 50 to the summit of the line about
6½ miles from The Mound. Once over the top, our train drops down the
other side, also at 1 in 50, to the level crossing gates outside
Dornoch, affording passengers a magnificent vista of the sands and
the coastal scenery as it traverses the sand hills above the shore.
As the train approaches
Dornoch, we lose sight of the sea and pass through a short cutting,
over the level crossing and into Dornoch terminus. Dornoch Station
is a single platform structure with small wooden booking office,
waiting room and accommodation for an engine and three to four
coaches. There is a run-round loop adjoining the platform line and
quite commodious siding accommodation, including a small goods shed.
The one-track wooden engine shed is situated on a short turn-out in
a clump of trees just clear of the platform end.
The branch is worked on the "one
engine-in-steam" principle, the motive power being one of the two
Peter Drummond 0-4-4Ts built for the Highland Railway in 1905. These
little locomotives, Nos. 55051 and 55053, are the last Highland
engines remaining in service. When not required for the Dornoch
line, the spare engine acts as station or shed pilot at
Helmsdale.
CONTENTS
HOME
The Early
Years | Working the
Railway | Changing Times | Motive Power | The Route Described | A Journey in 1954
Last Loco | The Mound | Cambusavie | Skelbo | Embo | Dornoch | The
Dornoch Hotel | More Images
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