Highland freight at Lochdubh…

The branch-line, if you can describe sixty odd glorious miles as such, that traces the shores of Loch Carron for over a quarter of its wonderful journey didn’t see much freight in the 1980s…

The Friday morning mixed, which lasted until 1984 and the end of the McRats reign, was carrying just parcels and fuel by the end. The glory days of a bustling rail served harbour long gone, the tracks which extended both sides of the island platform onto the pier rusty and severed from the tentacles of British Rail. However, occasional loads appeared at the Highland Terminus in the mid 80s using ‘modern’ air braked wagons. These trains worked as extras to the working timetable, there were occasional deliveries such as here, where the forestry commission needed large quantities of bagged fertiliser. Other notable freight trains were the timber trials, which despite being well loaded have always come to nothing (though there is rumour again that a new trial for the Norwood plant at Inverness is imminent, perhaps we’ll see WCRC 37s at Lochdubh on something other than rail tours in the coming years).

These photos here though, depict 37418 shunting an empty ‘fertilser’ train in 1988. Bulk bags were carried in open air braked wagons, easily removed with a front loader on the old loading dock alongside the run around loop at the station. Whilst 37s were familiar both these freight trains and the type would soon disappear as 156s were introduced following the reopening of the Ness Viaduct in 1990.

Of course, this is Lochdubh, a tiny slice of make believe heavily inspired by Kyle of Lochalsh with a liberal helping of Hamish McBeth, modelled in N scale. Have a good day, until next time more soon…

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