- Source: Beauly railway station
Beauly railway station is a railway station in the village of Beauly, in the Highland council area of Scotland. Located on the Far North Line, it is 10 miles 12 chains (16.3 km) down the line from Inverness, and is the first intermediate station on the line, before reaching Muir of Ord. ScotRail, which manages the station, operates all services.
History
= Original station
=The Inverness and Ross-shire Railway, which was to be a line between Inverness and Invergordon, was authorised in 1860, and opened in stages. The first section, between Inverness and Dingwall, opened on 11 June 1862, and Beauly was one of the stations built for the original line. It had two platforms, a passing loop and a goods shed with sidings that was equipped with a 1½-ton crane. The station was host to an LMS caravan from 1936 to 1939.
The station closed nearly a century later, on 13 June 1960, along with all other stations between Inverness and Dingwall. This was due to increasing competition from motorbuses, particularly those of Highland Omnibuses Ltd.
= 2002 reopening
=Following a local campaign, the station was reopened on 15 April 2002. A new single platform, shelter and car park were built in a £250,000 project. The platform is the shortest in Great Britain: at the length of 15.06 metres (49 ft 5 in), it is shorter than a single carriage of a Class 158 train that is usually used on this line.
Facilities
There is a small car park at the station, in which there are cycle racks and lockers. On the platform, there is a modern waiting shelter, in which there is a payphone. As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.
Passenger volume
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
Services
As of the May 2022 timetable, on weekdays and Saturdays, the station sees 11 trains northbound (3 to Wick via Thurso, 4 to Kyle of Lochalsh, 1 to Dingwall, 1 to Invergordon, 1 to Ardgay and 1 to Tain), and 13 trains southbound to Inverness. On Sundays, the station sees 6 trains northbound (1 to Wick, 1 to Kyle of Lochalsh, 1 to Invergordon and 3 to Tain), and 6 trains southbound.
References
Bibliography
Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508
McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Foxline.
Quick, Michael (2022). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: A Chronology (PDF) (5th ed.). London: Railway and Canal Historical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
Vallance, H. A.; Clinker, C.R.; Lambert, Anthony J. (1985). The Highland Railway (4th ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-946537-24-0.
External links
Train times and station information for Beauly railway station from National Rail
Inverness and Ross-shire Railway - RailScot
Beauly Station on navigable 1947 O.S. map