The Wick and Lybster Light Railway was a light railway opened in 1903, with the intention of opening up the fishing port of Lybster, in Caithness, Scotland, to the railway network at Wick. Its construction was heavily supported financially by local government and the Treasury. It was worked by the Highland Railway.
The line was never heavily used and the anticipated expansion of the fishing trade did not take place. When a modern road to the south was built in the 1930s, transits from Lybster were considerably shorter and quicker by that means, and the railway closed completely in 1944.
History
A 1909 Railway Clearing House map showing (right) part of the Wick & Lybster Railway (violet) and the junction at Wick
The fishing village of Lybster lies 13 miles (21km) to the south of Wick, and up to the end of the nineteenth century was relatively inaccessible on land. As early as 1864 a railway from Wick through Lybster to Dunbeath had been proposed, but nothing came of the idea at that time.
The government passed the Light Railways Act 1896 with the intention of encouraging the construction of low-cost railways to serve such localities.
When a new light railway was proposed connecting Lybster to the main line railway network at Wick, considerable support was expressed locally. Wick was one of the northern termini of the Far North Line from Inverness, owned and operated at the time by the Highland Railway. An application was made for a Light Railway Order, Caithness County Council taking the lead in submitting it on 5 March 1896.[1]
The order was granted on 27 November 1899. The capital of the railway company was £30,000, but the anticipated construction cost was considerably more; grants were anticipated from the County Council and the Treasury.
In the event the Duke of Portland, a substantial landowner in the district, subscribed £15,000, and the Highland Railway £1,000. Caithness County Council "advanced" £15,000, the Corporation of Wick £15,000 and the Corporation of Pultenytown (later absorbed into Wick) £1,000. The Treasury made a grant of £25,000.[note 1][2][1] In fact £8,000 of shares remained unsubscribed at 28 March 1900.[1]
The fees of the Board of Trade in granting the Order were £1,311. A contract was let to William Kennedy of Partick, Glasgow, for the actual construction.
The Highland Railway agreed to take charge of the construction, but they were clearly unwilling to let any shortfall in funding fall to them. William Whitelaw, the vice chairman of the Highland Railway visited Wick and stated that he required personal guarantees from the local directors; those directors were reluctant to accept the commitment, but after reflection they gave the required undertakings. However negotiation was successful in persuading the Treasury to increase its loan by £5,000 in 1900. A working agreement with the Highland Railway was finalised on 27 February 1901. The wrangle had cost a year in the construction timescale.[1]
Construction started on 1 April 1901 to the plans by William Roberts, engineer-in-chief to the Highland Railway.[3] The line was subject to an interim inspection by Major Druitt on 20 August 1902 when he surveyed the first 10 miles (16km) of the line in a fish-wagon propelled by one of the light engines.[4]
After an inspection by Major Druitt, the Board of Trade Inspector, the line opened on 1 July 1903. On the opening day, the first train left Wick at 11.00am. The engine, christened Lybster, was decorated with bunting, and flags were displayed throughout the town.[5] Mrs. Miller, wife of the chairman signalled the departure of the first train. She was presented with a gold whistle as a memento of the occasion. The inaugural train ran non-stop to Lybster in around 30 minutes.
Three trains ran each way every weekday, the journey occupying 40 minutes. The maximum permitted speed was 25mph (40km/h).[2]
The financial performance of the line was always poor, with the dividend never exceeding 1.5%.
When the burgh of Wick voted to prohibit the sale of alcohol, some passenger traffic was generated by drinkers who travelled to Lybster to do so.[1]
The Wick and Lybster Light Railway Company was simply a financial shell, receiving the working charge from the Highland Railway. The Railways Act 1921 was passed with the aim of grouping the railways of Great Britain; the Highland Railway was a constituent of the new London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) but the W&LLR was simply absorbed; the LMS exchanged £100 ordinary shares in the W&LLR for £12 10s cash; the company was valued at £42,515.[1]
In 1903 an 0-4-4 tank locomotive that had been working on the Strathpeffer branch was transferred to work the Wick and Lybster Light Railway. It had been built in 1890 by David Jones as a saddle tank; it was given a second-hand boiler, and in 1901 it had been altered to a side-tank configuration.
Topography
The line was 13miles 39chains (21.7km) in length, and was single; there were no passing places.
A new bay platform for the branch trains was provided at Wick station, on the north side of the line. (The main Highland Railway line approaches from the west.) The Lybster line started at a junction just outside the station and curved to the south; it then ran south one mile (1.5 kilometres) or so inland, then curving west with the coast and converging with it at the terminus, Lybster. Intermediate stations were at Thrumster, Ulbster, Mid Clyth and Occumster.[2]
The terrain is rocky and hilly, and gradients on the line were stiff. From Wick the line rose almost continuously, with a ruling gradient of 1 in 50, to a summit 100 metres (328ft) above sea level just before the 7 milepost (i.e. 11km). Undulations followed with equally severe gradients, and the final mile descended into Lybster station, which was at a higher elevation (65m or 214ft) than Wick (12m or 38ft). The station was located at the north end of the main street and was some distance from the harbour.
The construction of a modern road over the Ord of Caithness in the 1930s was a boost to the area but it spelt the end of the railway; the distance from Lybster to Helmsdale by rail via Wick was 74 miles (119km), but by the new road it was just over 20 miles (32km). The line closed completely after the last train on 1 April 1944.[6] John Skene who drove the first train on the opening day of the railway in 1903 started the engine for the last trip on 1 April 1944.[7] A large party of people gathered at Lybster station for the last train which was decked with flags for the occasion. By September the Ministry of Transport had begun the process of dismantling the line.[8]
Notes
↑ These figures from the contemporary report in the Railway Magazine; Ross says Wick subscribed £1,500, and Pulteneytown £1,500, and the Treasury grant was a loan.
Related Research Articles
Caithness is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland.
The Highland Railway (HR) was one of the smaller British railways before the Railways Act 1921, 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.
The Far North Line is a rural railway line entirely within the Highland area of Scotland, extending from Inverness to Thurso and Wick. As the name suggests, it is the northernmost railway in the United Kingdom. The line is entirely single-track, with only passing loops at some intermediate stations allowing trains to pass each other. Like other railway lines in the Highlands and northern Lowlands, it is not electrified and all trains are diesel-powered.
Watten is a small village in Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland, on the main road (A882-A9) between the burgh of Wick and the town of Thurso, about twelve kilometres west of Wick and close to Wick River and to Loch Watten. The village is on The Far North railway line but trains stopped calling at the village in 1960. The railway station is now a private house.
Altnabreac railway station is a rural railway station in the Highland council area of Scotland. It serves the area of Altnabreac – a settlement in which the station itself is the main component – in the historic county of Caithness. The name Altnabreac derives from the Scots Gaelic Allt nam Breac, meaning "the stream of the trout".
Lybster is a village on the east coast of Caithness in northern Scotland. It was once a big herring fishing port.
Helmsdale railway station is a railway station serving the village of Helmsdale in the Highland council area, northern Scotland. It is located on the Far North Line, between Brora and Kildonan, 101 miles 40 chains (163.3 km) from Inverness. ScotRail, who manage the station, operate all services.
Kildonan railway station is a railway station near Kildonan Lodge in the Highland council area in the north of Scotland. It is located on the Far North Line, between Helmsdale and Kinbrace, 111 miles 5 chains (178.7 km) from Inverness, and has a single platform which is long enough for a three-coach train. All services are operated by ScotRail, who manage the station.
Forsinard railway station is a railway station serving the village of Forsinard in the Highland council area in the north of Scotland. It is located on the Far North Line, 125 miles 69 chains from Inverness, between Kinbrace and Altnabreac. The station is managed by ScotRail, who operate the services at the station.
Georgemas Junction railway station is a railway station located in the Highland council area in the far north of Scotland. It serves several rural hamlets in the historic county of Caithness, including Georgemas, Roadside and Banniskirk. It is also the nearest station to the village of Halkirk, which lies approximately 1.6 miles (2.6 km) west of the station.
Thurso railway station is a railway station located in Thurso, in the Highland council area in the far north of Scotland. It serves the town and its surrounding areas, along with ferry services linking the mainland with Stromness on the Orkney Islands.
Wick railway station is a railway station located in Wick, in the Highland council area in the far north of Scotland. It serves the town of Wick and other surrounding areas in the historic county of Caithness, including Staxigoe, Papigoe and Haster. The station is the terminus of the Far North Line, 161 miles 36 chains from Inverness. It is managed by ScotRail, who operate all trains serving the station.
The Sutherland and Caithness Railway was a Scottish railway company that built a line from Helmsdale, the terminus of the Duke of Sutherland's Railway to Wick and Thurso in Caithness, giving the northern towns access to Inverness. It was driven through by the efforts of the 3rd Duke of Sutherland and the engineer Joseph Mitchell in the face of apathy from interests in Wick.
Thrumster was a railway station located at Thrumster, Highland, Scotland between Wick and Lybster. The station building can still be seen alongside the main road in Thrumster.
Lybster was a railway station located on the Wick and Lybster Railway in the Highland area of Scotland. The station building now serves as the clubhouse for the Lybster golf course
The Dornoch Light Railway was a branch railway in Scotland that ran from The Mound on the Far North Line to Dornoch, the county town of Sutherland.
Strathpeffer railway station was a railway station serving the town of Strathpeffer in the county of Ross and Cromarty,, Scotland. The first station was located some distance from the town, on the Dingwall and Skye Railway line, and was opened in 1870.
The Far North Line was built in several stages through sparsely populated and undulating terrain within the Highland area of Scotland. Extending to 161 miles (259 km), it runs north from Inverness to Wick and Thurso in Caithness, and currently carries a regular passenger train service.
William Roberts J.P. M.Inst. C.E. was Engineer-in-Chief to the Highland Railway based in Inverness, Scotland.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
