Highland Railway Buildings

By Neil Sinclair

Published jointly by Lightmoor Press and the Highland Railway Society

A comprehensive survey of buildings erected by the Highland Railway and its predecessors, including station buildings and shelters, goods sheds, locomotive sheds, signal boxes and staff houses.  The book studies those buildings and explains how they were influenced by such factors such as construction materials available locally, the financial situation of the company erecting them and the social status of the local landowner.  Fully illustrated in colour and black&white with several drawings.  160 pages, 274 by 215mm hardback.  ISBN 9781915069047.  Cover price £27.50 or £31.50 by post.  Available to members for £20.00 or £23.50 by post.

No Way Through, Glen Glen Railway Schemes

By John McGregor

The Great Glen makes a ready route across northern Scotland.  Its railway history commences seriously with the Glasgow & Great Northern promotion of 1882-3.  Authorised in 1889, the West Highland Railway opened to Fort William in 1894.  But would it continue to Inverness?  The Glen inevitably became a battle ground, which the author examines in depth.  He explains how the Highland Railway, the North British, the Caledonian and even the Great North of Scotland were more or less ensnared by a succession of contests-all in the wider context of late 19th century transport development.  Attention ultimately fixes, as, it must, on the Invergarry & Fort Augustus Railway, the one Great Glen Line ever to have  been built.  Though the little line might have reached Inverness, it would remain in the end a hopelessly loss making West Highland branch.  128 pages, 274 by 215mm hardback, 78 illustrations and 17 maps.  ISBN 978-0-992731-12-0.  Cover price is £20.00 or £23.00 by post.  It is available to members for £12.50 or £16.50 by post.

Lairds in Waiting

By Anne-Mary Patterson

The Scottish Highland Lairds, with a few exceptions, welcomed the prospect of the railway passing through their estates as the Highlands were falling behind with developments that happening in other parts of Britain. In return for their cooperation they were able to ask for favours such as a private waiting room in their local station or even in a few cases a private station or platform. This book explores these facilities provided by the Highland Railway. Following a brief history of the family concerned, each chapter goes on to explore in a wider context the development opportunities that occurred by the arrival of the railway and ends with a description of the stations. The book is fully illustrated on glossy art paper and may be purchased from good bookshops for £9.90 or from the Society for £12.00 by post. It is available to members for £6.00 at shows or £8.00 by post. ISBN 9780 992731 14 4.

Aberfeldy's Railway

By C J Stewart

Aberfeldy is a long established town on the River Tay, eight miles west of the main route from Perth to Inverness.  A branch from the main line featured in early proposals for railways in the area and it was opened in 1865, only two years after the through route.  It served the town for nigh on a century, closing with many other rural lines in the 1960s.  Containing 64 pages and 46 illustrations plus 8 maps, the book is priced at £9.90 (£11.50 by post).  Members can obtain copies for £7 or £8 by post.  ISBN 978 095454856 8.

Black Isle Railway

By Jack Kernahan

The Black Isle Railway, from Muir of Ord on the main line north from Inverness to Fortrose on the southern shore of the Black Isle, served a rural community made prosperous by its good quality land.  The line was opened by the Highland Railway in 1894 and served the area for more than half a century.  Containing 112 pages and 95 illustrations plus 10 maps, the book is priced at £8.50 (£10.00 by post). Members can obtain copies for £6 or £7.50 by post. ISBN 978 095454859 9.

Blair Atholl's Railway

By Howard Geddes

The railway through Blair Atholl was opened 150 years ago when the main line from Perth to Inverness was completed. Over the years, the station and its locomotive shed played a significant part in the life of the village. No mere wayside station, its men and machines assisted long and heavy trains over Drumochter Pass, the highest main line on the Britain’s railways. Containing 112 pages and 93 illustrations plus 8 maps, the book is priced at £9.50 or £11.20 by post. Members can obtain copies for £7 or £8.20 by post. ISBN 978 095454858 2.

Inverness & Ross-shire Railway

By Keith Fenwick

Published to mark the 150th anniversary of the opeing of the line from Inverness to Dingwall, this book describes the building of the section of the Far North line to Bonar Bridge, now Ardgay. It includes a detailed description of all the stations and engineering work on the line and shows how the train services have evolved. Containing 64 pages and 74 illustrations plus maps, the book is priced at £7.90 or £9 by post. Members can obtain copies for £6 or £7 by post. ISBN 978 095454857 5.

Pioneers of the Highland Tracks, William and Murdoch Paterson, A Biography of two Railway Engineers

By Anne-Mary Paterson

William and Murdoch Paterson were two brothers who between them were responsible for the construction of much of the Highland Railway. This is their story woven into that of their families; the author is their great grand niece. The book is fully illustrated and printed on glossy art paper. and is available at for £9.90 or from the Society for £11.50 by post. Members can obtain copies for £6.00 or £7.50 by post. ISBN 978 095454855 .  Also available as an eBook ISBN 978-0-9927311-0-6

Lost Stations on the Far North Line, The Impact of the Railway Closures North of Inverness in 1960

By Keith Fenwick, Neil T Sinclair and Richard Ardern

Published to mark the 50th anniversary of the closure of a number of stations on the Far North line together with the Dornoch and Fortrose branches, this book draws on the memories of some of those who knew the line in the 1950s. It shows how the line was used in the 1950s and describes the impact of the closure. The book is well illustrated with views from the 1950s and may be purchased for £9.95 or from the Society by post at £12.00. The book is available to members for £6.00 or by post at £8.00. ISBN 978 095454854 4.

Directors, Dilemmas and Debt, published jointly by the Highland Railway Society and the Great North of Scotland Railway Association.

By Peter Fletcher

Popular histories of Scottish railways have tended to tell the story of one particular company or another. This book presents a different approach by exploring the inter-related development of the Great North of Scotland and the Highland Railways and their constituent companies in the three decades from the great railway mania of 1845 to the time when the railway finally reached the far north of Scotland. It may be bought for £12.50 or from the Society by post at £14.50. The book is available to members for £8.50 or by post for £10.00. ISBN 978 090234323 8.

Inverness & Aberdeen Junction Railway

Another in our series to mark 150th anniversaries, this A5 book describes the building of the line between Nairn and Keith to complete the through route from Inverness to Aberdeen and the south. The book is uniform in size and scope with our other histories. A5, 76 pages, colour and black and white illustrations. The price is £10.00 or £12.00 by post, and to members for £5.50 or £7.00 by post. ISBN 978 0954548537

Inverness & Nairn Railway

Produced to mark the 150th anniversary of the opening of the line to Nairn, this A5 book with colour and black and white illustrations describes in detail the history of the first part of the Highland Railway to be opened from its inception until it became part of its larger neighbour, the Inverness & Aberdeen Junction, in 1861. The book then describes how the line developed as part of the Highland Railway and its successors. This book will appeal to anyone who has an interest in the Highland Railway and to those with an interest in local history. The price is £6.00 or £7.50 by post, and to members for £4.50 or £5.45 by post. ISBN 978 095454851 3

Perth & Dunkeld Railway

A companion to the Inverness & Nairn Railway and in a similar format, this book describes in detail the early days of what later became the southern end of the Highland Railway main line from Perth to Inverness. The later history of the line is summarised. The book is fully illustrated and includes reproductions of OS maps of the stations on the line. The price is £6.00 or £8.00 by post, and to members for £4.50 or £6.00 by post. ISBN 978 095454852 0

Eastgate II

This 16 page A4 publication looks at the development of part of Inverness which was used by the Highland Railway for its locomotive shed and its goods sidings through to the present day when it is occupied by the Eastgate II shopping centre. There are some interesting comments on life in the town before the railway arrived. The price is £2.00 or £3.00 by post, and to members for £1.00 or £2.50 by post. ISBN 978 095454850 6

Reprints

The Society has produced a number of reprints of contemporary documents of interest to the railway historian. The titles currently available are :

Highland Railway Tours for 1880. A fascinating glimpse of the journeys operated for the benefit of tourists, price £2.50 (members) or £3 (non-members).

1880 Summer Working Timetable. 52 pages, price £2.50 (members) or £3 (non-members).

LMS Passenger Train Marshalling Arrangements -

• No.29a, Supplement from 1st June 1933. £4 (members), £5 (non-members).
• No.30, from July 3rd, 1933. £4 (members), £5 (non-members).

Society Occasional Papers

Station locations and dates - all the passenger and goods stations with opening and closing dates. £2.50

Locomotive and Coach Insignia - research findings and the methods used to produce the sheets available Fox Transfers. £3.00

Acts of Parliament - all the local acts relating to the Highland Railway. £2.00

Other Items

The Dornoch Light Railway - the story of a Highland Branch Line. A DVD produced in 2007, approximate running time 90 minutes. This includes 33 minutes on the history of the line, 18 minutes of recollections of those who worked and travelled on the line and 23 minutes showing the route of the line today shot from a microlight. Added to this is a short film of Sutherland in bygone days and shots of Dunrobin, the Duke of Sutherland's engine now back in the UK at Beamish Museuem, Co Durham. Price, including UK post and packaging, £19.95 (members £16.95).

Ordering

Some of these publications can be found in or ordered from good bookshops.  However, all can be bought at exhibitions where the Society has a stand (usually Model Rail Scotland in February and the Perth Show in June) or at our AGM in September.

Alternatively orders for posting can be arranged through Simon Howard e-mail sales@hrsoc.org.uk who can pass details for payment usually by cheque, bank transfer or PayPal.