Georgemas Junction railway station

Georgemas Junction Scottish Gaelic: Snaidhm Georgemas[1]
The platform and freight terminal at Georgemas Junction, looking west
Location	Georgemas, Highland Scotland
Coordinates	58°30′49″N 3°27′06″W / 58.5135°N 3.4518°W / 58.5135; -3.4518Coordinates: 58°30′49″N 3°27′06″W / 58.5135°N 3.4518°W / 58.5135; -3.4518
Grid reference	ND155592
Managed by	Abellio ScotRail
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	GGJ
History
Original company	Sutherland and Caithness Railway
Pre-grouping	Highland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway British Railways
Key dates
1874	Opened
Passengers
2016/17	1,502
2017/18	1,320
2018/19	1,576
2019/20	1,570
2020/21	234
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Georgemas Junction railway station is a railway station located in the Highland council area in the far north of Scotland. It serves several rural hamlets in the historic county of Caithness, including Georgemas, Roadside and Banniskirk. It is also the nearest station to the village of Halkirk, which lies approximately 1.6 miles (2.6 km) west of the station.

Georgemas Junction is the penultimate station on the Far North Line from Inverness to Wick, 147 miles 20 chains (237.0 km) down the line from Inverness.^[2] Immediately to the west of the station lies a junction of the same name, where the branch to Thurso spurs off northwards; mileages on this branch are measured from the station.^[2] This junction is the northernmost railway junction in the United Kingdom.

The station has a single platform which is long enough to accommodate a six-carriage train.^[2]

History[]

Georgemas Junction station in 2007, before removal of the footbridge and second platform in connection with provision of a new freight handling facility

The station was built by the Sutherland and Caithness Railway (S&CR). The station buildings were designed by Murdoch Paterson and it opened on 28 July 1874^[3] and on that date the Highland Railway absorbed the S&CR and operated the newly completed line from Helmsdale to Thurso and Wick. A wrought-iron turntable of 45 feet (14 m) diameter built by the Railway Steel and Plant Company of Manchester was installed at the station.^[4]

In 1902, Donald Mackenzie, station master was appointed first station master of Dornoch railway station.^[5]

From 1 January 1923 the station was operated by the London Midland and Scottish Railway.

At the end of February 1937 trains were stranded at Georgemas Junction because of heavy snow. A goods train from Inverness got stuck in a drift 9 feet (2.7 m) deep. An engine with a snow plough was also stuck at the same location.^[6]

The station used to have two platforms until 2012, when Direct Rail Services constructed a new freight terminal at Georgemas, which led to the removal of the former westbound platform and footbridge. This has been used by trains taking nuclear material from Dounreay to Sellafield.^[7]

Facilities[]

158717 standing at Georgemas Junction bound for Wick

Facilities at this station include a payphone that accepts card and coins, a waiting room and designated seating area, a cycle rack with 10 spaces, and a free car park with 2 spaces. The nearest bus stop to the station is located 850 metres (0.53 mi) to the north.^[8]

Operation[]

Until diesel multiple unit trains were introduced by British Rail in the early 1990s, all trains on the Far North Line were locomotive-hauled, initially by Highland Railway steam locomotives, then by LMSR steam locomotives and latterly by British Railways steam and finally Class 37 diesel locomotives. Northbound passenger trains would divide at Georgemas Junction, with the rear portion for Thurso and the front portion for Wick. A locomotive was stabled at Georgemas Junction to haul the Thurso carriages.

Following the introduction of Class 156 diesel multiple units on the line, trains were always composed of two trainsets (four cars) and at Georgemas, these would split in half with the front portion heading to Wick, the rear to Thurso.

This practice was halted with the introduction of Class 158 sets which operate as single sets. On arrival at Georgemas Junction from Inverness, trains reverse to reach Thurso, and then reverse again from Thurso back to Georgemas Junction (stopping a second time) and on to Wick. An easement to the National Routeing Guide allows passengers for Wick to stay on the train between Georgemas Junction and Thurso, which would otherwise technically be off-route.^[9]

Georgemas Junction station has been used for several freight services. In the early 2000s, EWS operated a freight train for Safeway supermarket, running from Mossend to Georgemas. Containers were unloaded at Georgemas, then transported by road to Wick and Thurso, and by ferry to Orkney.^[10]

In 2012, the former platform 1 was removed as part of a scheme to construct a new freight terminal on the site.^[7] As this platform was located on a passing loop which did not connect directly to the Thurso branch, it was very little-used by passenger trains, since all services through the station run to or from Thurso.^[11] The purpose of the passing loop dates back to the era of loco-hauled trains which divided/attached at the station – an Inverness-bound train from Wick would loop around the Thurso portion standing on the second (remaining) platform, and attach to it from behind.

Services[]

On weekdays and Saturdays, there are four trains per day each way between Inverness and Wick.^[11]

After arriving at Georgemas Junction, services towards Wick reverse at the station and travel along the branch line to Thurso first, before reversing again and continuing via Georgemas Junction to Wick. Similarly, services towards Inverness first run to Thurso, reverse there and come back to Georgemas Junction before reversing again to continue to Inverness. As a result, all trains call at the station twice per journey, and the net daily service frequency is four trains per day to/from Inverness, four per day to/from Wick, and eight per day to/from Thurso.^[11]

On Sundays, the frequency is reduced to one train per day each way. Since all services call twice as above, this gives one train per day to/from both Inverness and Wick, and two trains per day to/from Thurso.^[11]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Scotscalder or Forsinard		Abellio ScotRail Far North Line		Thurso
Wick
	Historical railways
Halkirk line open, station closed		Highland Railway Sutherland and Caithness Railway		Bower line open, station closed
Hoy line open, station closed

References[]

Notes[]

Sources[]

• Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Georgemas Junction railway station.

• RAILSCOT page on Georgemas Junction
• ScotRail North Highlands Timetable