Beauly railway station

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For the proposed station in Essex, see Beaulieu railway station.

Beauly

Scottish Gaelic: A' Mhanachainn[1]
National Rail
Beauly A862.jpg
The short platform at Beauly, looking southeast
LocationBeauly, Highland
Scotland
Coordinates57°28′42″N 4°28′12″W / 57.4783°N 4.4699°W / 57.4783; -4.4699Coordinates: 57°28′42″N 4°28′12″W / 57.4783°N 4.4699°W / 57.4783; -4.4699
Grid referenceNH520457
Managed byAbellio ScotRail
Platforms1
Other information
Station codeBEL
History
Original companyInverness and Ross-shire Railway
Pre-groupingHighland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
11 June 1862Opened
13 June 1960Closed
15 April 2002Reopened
Passengers
2016/17Decrease 52,870
2017/18Decrease 51,522
2018/19Decrease 48,270
2019/20Decrease 46,510
2020/21Decrease 14,918
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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,[2] and it is the first intermediate station on the line.

History[]

Beauly station in 1961

The Inverness and Ross-shire Railway, which was to be a line between Inverness and Invergordon, was authorised in 1860, and opened in stages.[3] The first section, between Inverness and Dingwall, opened on 11 June 1862,[4] and Beauly was one of the stations built for the original line.[5] It had two platforms, a passing loop and a goods shed with sidings that was equipped with a 1½-ton crane.[6][7] The station was host to a LMS caravan from 1936 to 1939.[8]

The station closed a nearly a century later, on 13 June 1960,[5] along with all other stations between Inverness and Dingwall. This was due to increasing competition from motorbuses, particularly those of Highland Omnibuses Ltd.[9]

Following a local campaign, the station was reopened in 2002. A new single platform, shelter and car park were built in a £250,000 project.[10] The platform is the shortest in Great Britain: at the length of 15.06 metres (49 ft 5 in),[11] it is shorter than a single carriage of a Class 158 train that is usually used on this line. As a result, there is only one train door in operation at the station; announcements are made on the train as to which door this will be.

The original station building, located on the opposite side from the reopened platform, remains closed to the public; it is now used for offices and housing.

The reopening of the station led to 75% of local commuters switching from road to rail.[12] Beauly has therefore provided a boost to campaigns to open small basic local stations. In 2007/8, with its population of just 1,164, Beauly's usage-to-population ratio (36 annual journeys per head) ranked as one of the highest in Britain.

Plans to reopen nearby Conon Bridge railway station in a similar style[13] were fulfilled on 8 February 2013.[14] The platform at Conon Bridge is 15.08 metres (49 ft 6 in) long, just 2 centimetres (0.79 in) longer than that at Beauly.

Services[]

Beauly station is served by trains on both the Far North Line and the Kyle of Lochalsh line. On weekdays, there are approximately 12 trains per day southwest-bound to Inverness, while in the opposite direction trains run to Wick via Thurso (4 per day) or Kyle of Lochalsh (4 per day), and there are additional services that only run as far as Invergordon or Tain.[15]

The platform, looking northwest
Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Inverness   Abellio ScotRail
Kyle of Lochalsh Line
Far North Line 		  Muir of Ord
  Historical railways  
Clunes
Line open, station closed 		  Highland Railway
Inverness and Ross-shire Railway 		  Muir of Ord
Line and station open

References[]

  1. ^ Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. "Gaelic/English Station Index". Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
  2. ^ Brailsford 2017, map 18C.
  3. ^ Vallance, H.A.; Clinker, C.R.; Lambert, Anthony J. (1985) [1938]. The Highland Railway (4th ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 31. ISBN 0-946537-24-0.
  4. ^ Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 32
  5. ^ a b Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 30. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  6. ^ "Beauly station on OS 25inch map Inverness-shire - Mainland X.3 (Combined)". National Library of Scotland. 1893. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  7. ^ The Railway Clearing House (1970) [1904]. The Railway Clearing House Handbook of Railway Stations 1904 (1970 D&C Reprint ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles Reprints. p. 46. ISBN 0-7153-5120-6.
  8. ^ McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. p. 22. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.
  9. ^ Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 161
  10. ^ "Full steam ahead for Beauly Station". Highland Council. 15 April 2002. Archived from the original on 26 June 2002. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  11. ^ Milner, Chris (August 2013). "Size matters: Beauly has the shortest platform". The Railway Magazine. 159 (1, 348): 88.
  12. ^ "Railway link proposed for airport". BBC News. 17 July 2006. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  13. ^ "Inverness to Plockton". Great British Railway Journeys. Series 4. Episode 14. 24 January 2013. BBC. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  14. ^ "Conan Bridge (sic) station open after 50 years". Rail Technology Magazine. Cognitive Publishing Ltd. 12 February 2013. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  15. ^ ScotRail Train Times

External links[]

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