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Thurso railway station

Coordinates:58°35′24″N3°31′40″W/ 58.5900°N 3.5278°W/58.5900; -3.5278
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Thurso

Scottish Gaelic:Inbhir Theòrsa[1]
National Rail
158701departing Thurso bound forInverness
General information
LocationThurso,Highland
Scotland
Coordinates58°35′24″N3°31′40″W/ 58.5900°N 3.5278°W/58.5900; -3.5278
Grid referenceND112679
Managed byScotRail
Platforms1
Other information
Station codeTHS[2]
History
Original companySutherland and Caithness Railway
Pre-groupingHighland Railway
Post-groupingLMS
Key dates
28 July 1874Opened
Passengers
2018/19Increase39,974
2019/20Decrease39,702
2020/21Decrease6,474
2021/22Increase25,200
2022/23Increase31,446
Listed Building– Category B
Designated28 November 1984 (amended 15 December 1998)
Reference no.Historic Scotland Building ID 42035
Notes
Passenger statistics from theOffice of Rail and Road

Thurso railway stationis arailway stationlocated inThurso,in theHighlandcouncil areain the far north ofScotland.It serves the town and its surrounding areas, along withferry serviceslinking the mainland withStromnesson theOrkney Islands.

The station, opened in 1874 by theSutherland and Caithness Railway,is the terminus of a branch line off theFar North Line.It is not the terminus for passenger services on the line, which instead extend toWick.It is the northernmost station on theNational Railnetwork and is managed byScotRail,which operates all services to the station.

Location and facilities

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The station is situated at the end of a short branch line off theFar North Line.It is 6miles50chains(10.7 km) down the line from the start of the branch atGeorgemas Junction,and 153 miles 70 chains (247.6 km) fromInverness.[3]

Thurso has a single platform, which is long enough to accommodate a nine-carriage train.[4]It is fully wheelchair-accessible and has a part-time ticket office. There is also a small car park, waiting rooms, and toilets.[2]

History

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The disused goods line, seen in 2007

There were plans for a railway to Thurso as early as the 1860s, but funding could not be obtained for its construction. In 1870, a survey was conducted and land was offered in Thurso, to begin the funding process.[5]The station was built and opened with the rest of theSutherland and Caithness Railwayon 28 July 1874 after a special train ran to inspect the station and the line on 25 July.[6][7]Despite being the northernmost station on the line, Thurso was not built as the terminus for passenger services, with trains instead reversing and continuing further east toWick.This was necessary due to the difficult terrain, including a hill and a valley, which would have been encountered if the railway decided to take the most direct route to Wick by following the existing road.[8]

Thurso was built with a single platform, a goods line at the rear platform face, and a small goods yard and engine shed.[9]: 679 A wrought-ironturntable,45 feet (14 m) in diameter, was built at the station by the Railway Steel and Plant Company of Manchester.[10]

Along with passenger services, the station has also seen some goods traffic. Its connection to the Orkney Islands played an important role in bothWorld War IandWorld War II,with trains carrying soldiers and goods bound forScapa Flow.[9]: 680 Before theDounreay nuclear sitewas constructed, Thurso station was surveyed for the possibility of extending the line towards the site. However, an extension was considered more likely to originate fromForsinard,which is off the Thurso branch line. The extension was never built, and materials were transported to Thurso station instead.[11][9]: 680 

The turntable was removed in the mid-1950s, and the engine shed was removed prior to the introduction of diesel services in May 1961.[9]: 680 The station roof was refurbished in 1999, prior to the introduction of services operated byClass 158trains.[12]

Services

[edit]
A passenger train at the station

As of the December 2023 timetable, the station is served by eight trains per day toGeorgemas Junctionon weekdays and Saturdays, of which four continue toInverness(viaHelmsdale,Golspie,Lairg,TainandDingwall), and four continue toWick.On Sundays the frequency drops to two trains per day to Georgemas Junction, of which one goes to Inverness and one to Wick.[13]

Preceding station National RailNational Rail Following station
Georgemas Junction ScotRail
Far North Line 		Georgemas Junction
Historical railways
Hoy
Line open, station closed 		Highland Railway
Sutherland and Caithness Railway
Thurso Branch
 Hoy
Line open, station closed

References

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  1. ^Brailsford 2017,Gaelic/English Station Index.
  2. ^ab"Thurso Station".ScotRail.Retrieved3 February2024.
  3. ^Bridge, Mike, ed. (2017).TRACKatlas of Mainland Britain: A Comprehensive Geographic Atlas Showing the Rail Network of Great Britain(3rd ed.). Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. p. 104.ISBN978-1909431-26-3.
  4. ^Brailsford 2017,map 20E.
  5. ^Thomas, John; Turnock, David (1989).A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain.Vol. 15: North of Scotland. Atlantic Transport Publishers. p. 248.ISBN9780946537037.
  6. ^"To John O' Groats By Railway".Shields Daily Gazette.29 July 1874.Retrieved1 February2024– viaBritish Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^"The Sutherland and Caithness Railway".The Scotsman.27 July 1874.Retrieved1 February2024– viaBritish Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^"The Caithness Railway".Dundee Courier.28 July 1874.Retrieved1 February2024– viaBritish Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^abcdColeford, I. C. (November 1994)."Highland Branches of the Far North"(PDF).Steam Days.Retrieved1 February2024.
  10. ^"The Caithness Section".John o' Groat Journal.9 July 1874.Retrieved1 February2024– viaBritish Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^"Railway May be Run to Dounreay".The Scotsman.26 April 1954.Retrieved2 February2024– viaBritish Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^Farr, Keith (September 1999). "Far North 125".The Railway Magazine.p. 63.
  13. ^"North Highlands Timetable Dec 2023".ScotRail.December 2023.Retrieved2 February2024.

Bibliography

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  • Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987].Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man(6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps.ISBN978-0-9549866-9-8.
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