Inverness and Nairn Railway
Encyclopedia
The Inverness and Nairn Railway was a railway worked by, and later absorbed by the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway
Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway
Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway is an historic railway in Scotland.- History :It was authorised by an Act of Parliament on 21 July 1856 as an extension to the Inverness and Nairn Railway, the line was opened in stages:...

.

History

The line was opened in the year 1855 and connected the towns of Inverness and Nairn. Opening had been delayed from 1 August 1855 due to delays in the contractor's equipment arriving due to weather delays affecting the seaborne delivery. The line finally opened on 5 November 1855.

There were stations at Inverness
Inverness railway station
Inverness railway station is the railway station serving the Scottish city of Inverness.- History :Opened on 5 November 1855 as the western terminus of the Inverness and Nairn Railway, it is now the terminus of the Highland Main Line, the Aberdeen-Inverness Line , the Kyle of Lochalsh Line and the...

, Culloden (later Allanfearn), Dalcross, Gollanfield and Nairn
Nairn railway station
Nairn railway station is a railway station serving the town of Nairn in Scotland. The station is managed by First ScotRail and is on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line.- Services :...

. On 17 May 1861 it became part of the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway.
The line was later absorbed by the Highland Railway
Highland Railway
The Highland Railway was one of the smaller British railways before the Railways Act 1921; it operated north of Perth railway station in Scotland and served the farthest north of Britain...

, which in turn became part of the LMS
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...

 in 1923.

Locomotives and stock

On the opening of the line, the company had two small 2-2-2 locomotives known as the Raigmore class. These were known as Raigmore and Aldourie. These were found to be not compatible with the line's needs and were rebuilt as 2-4-0s. They lasted until 1901, when the Highland Railway
Highland Railway
The Highland Railway was one of the smaller British railways before the Railways Act 1921; it operated north of Perth railway station in Scotland and served the farthest north of Britain...

 scrapped them.

The dimensions of these locomotives in their original 2-2-2 form were:
cylinders: 15" by 20"
grate area: 12.25 sq ft
wheel diameters:
leading: 3 ft 6 in
driving: 6 ft 0 in
trailing: 3 ft 6 in
tender: 3 ft 6 in
wheelbase:
engine: 6 ft 10 in + 7' 4"
tender 8 ft 0 in
water capacity: 1,100 gallons
coal capacity 2.5 tons


There is not much known about the Inverness and Nairn Railway stock, but it is clear that the coaches were four wheeled and from Marshall and Brown
Midland Railway Carriage and Wagon Company
The Midland Railway Carriage and Wagon Company was a Birmingham, England, based manufacturer of railway carriages and wagons. It was not part of the Midland Railway.Its products also included trams and even military tanks....

 in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

. These would have been similar to early GNSR
Great North of Scotland Railway
The Great North of Scotland Railway was one of the smaller Scottish railways before the grouping, operating in the far north-east of the country. It was formed in 1845 and received its Parliamentary approval on June 26, 1846, following over two years of local meetings...

 types. It is also known that the company had a number of wagons and a brake van, all four wheel.

On the formation of the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway
Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway
Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway is an historic railway in Scotland.- History :It was authorised by an Act of Parliament on 21 July 1856 as an extension to the Inverness and Nairn Railway, the line was opened in stages:...

, all of the stock passed into their hands.

British Railways and after

When British Railways took control of the line, Dr Beeching ordered the closure of small country stations. The only surviving stations on this line were Inverness and Nairn. Goods facilities stayed for a further three years but were also eventually stopped.

Connections to other lines

  • At Inverness
    Inverness railway station
    Inverness railway station is the railway station serving the Scottish city of Inverness.- History :Opened on 5 November 1855 as the western terminus of the Inverness and Nairn Railway, it is now the terminus of the Highland Main Line, the Aberdeen-Inverness Line , the Kyle of Lochalsh Line and the...

     to the Inverness and Ross-shire Railway
    Inverness and Ross-shire Railway
    The Inverness and Ross-shire Railway was incorporated on 3 July 1860 with the aim to build a line to Invergordon. The line opened in stages:* 11 June 1862 - Inverness to Dingwall* 23 March 1863 - Dingwall to Invergordon...

  • At Inverness
    Inverness railway station
    Inverness railway station is the railway station serving the Scottish city of Inverness.- History :Opened on 5 November 1855 as the western terminus of the Inverness and Nairn Railway, it is now the terminus of the Highland Main Line, the Aberdeen-Inverness Line , the Kyle of Lochalsh Line and the...

     to the Inverness and Aviemore Direct Railway
    Inverness and Aviemore Direct Railway
    The Inverness and Aviemore Direct Railway was built by the Highland Railway to provide a direct route between Inverness and Aviemore.-History:...

     (part of the Highland Railway
    Highland Railway
    The Highland Railway was one of the smaller British railways before the Railways Act 1921; it operated north of Perth railway station in Scotland and served the farthest north of Britain...

    ).
  • At Nairn
    Nairn railway station
    Nairn railway station is a railway station serving the town of Nairn in Scotland. The station is managed by First ScotRail and is on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line.- Services :...

     to the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway
    Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway
    Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway is an historic railway in Scotland.- History :It was authorised by an Act of Parliament on 21 July 1856 as an extension to the Inverness and Nairn Railway, the line was opened in stages:...

     (I&AJR)

Current operations

The line is still open as part of the Aberdeen to Inverness service
Aberdeen to Inverness Line
The Aberdeen to Inverness Line is a railway line in Scotland linking Aberdeen and Inverness.-Current services:Passenger services are operated by First ScotRail. There is some limited freight traffic, with Elgin retaining a goods yard, whilst Keith, Huntly and Inverurie retain smaller, less...

 operated by First ScotRail
First ScotRail
ScotRail Railways Ltd. is the FirstGroup-owned train operating company running domestic passenger trains within Scotland, northern England and the cross-border Caledonian Sleeper service to London using the brand ScotRail which is the property of the Scottish Government...

. None of the intermediate stations remain in use, though a new station for Inverness Airport is proposed. http://www.highland.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/A759F448-020F-4A4C-B9D4-6E22CFE9D819/0/DalcrossA96MasterplanPlanningReport.pdf
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK