The Highland Railway's Strathpeffer Branch

The featured image shows Strathpeffer Railway Station in 1928. Locomotive No. 16118, one of a class of three locos designed by William Stroudley. Built in 1869 at the Highland Railway’s Lochgorm works in Inverness, they became known as ‘Lochgorm Tanks’ and this loco carried the number 56 when first built and the name ‘Balanin’, and later ‘Dornoch’. All three passed to the LMS in 1923 when they lost their names and are widely believed to be the basis of the LBSCR Terrier design that Stroudley produced later in his career. This loco and sister No. 16383 were broken up in 1927, although the third lasted until 1932, © John Mann Collection, used with the kind permission of Nick Catford. [30]

Stanley Jenkins comments: “Situated at the head of a fertile valley some five miles inland from the Cromarty Firth, Strathpeffer was once famous as a health spa and fashionable holiday resort. Although the medicinal value of the local mineral springs had been known for many years, the village did not really develop until the Victorian era when the Countess of Cromartie was instrumental in creating a Central European-style spa in this remote part of Scotland.” [1: p53]

When the first section of the Dingwall & Skye Railway opened on 19th August 1870 the Strathpeffer area became much better connected. However, the new line ran well to the North of the village. The line had a station named ‘Strathpeffer’ but it was 2 miles from the spa and at a much higher level. The station ended up in that location because of the opposition of a local landowner to a far better route for the Dingwall & Skye line, which would have passed through the village. The result was a steeply inclined (1 in 50) line climbing to the summit at Raven Rock. ...

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