Scotscalder railway station
Scotscalder 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 Scotscalder, Olgrinmore, Westerdale and Calder. The station is situated on the Far North Line, 143 miles 2 chains (230.2 km) down the line from Inverness, between Altnabreac and Georgemas Junction.[3] It has a single platform which is long enough to accommodate a four-carriage train.
 | |
|---|---|
 The platform at Scotscalder, looking southwest | |
| General information | |
| Location | Scotscalder, Highland Scotland |
| Coordinates | 58.4829°N 3.5521°W |
| Grid reference | ND096560 |
| Managed by | ScotRail |
| Platforms | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Station code | SCT |
| History | |
| Original company | Sutherland and Caithness Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Highland Railway |
| Post-grouping | LMS |
| Key dates | |
| 28 July 1874[2] | Open |
| Passengers | |
| 2016/17 |  200 |
| 2017/18 | 182 |
| 2018/19 |  238 |
| 2019/20 | 232 |
| 2020/21 | 18 |
| Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road | |
The station is managed by ScotRail, who operate all trains serving the station.
History
The station was opened by the Sutherland and Caithness Railway on 28 July 1874.[2][4]
In 1988 the station house was sold by the British Railways Board for conversion to a residential dwelling. Following the conversion, in 1994, the station house was sold again and renovated further, for which the owner won the Ian Allan Railway Heritage Award. The station house was used as a holiday home during this period, but was available to rent for short periods. It was also occasionally open to the public for viewings. Between 1994 and 2004, the owner purchased additional land to the North and South of the station house to prevent development.
In 2004 the station house and surrounding land was sold again to the present owners who have carried out extensive refurbishment. The station house is now a private residence and is no longer available to rent or open to the public.
Facilities
The station has minimal facilities, including bike racks, a help point and a small waiting shelter.[5] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.
Passenger volume
Owing to its geographical remoteness, limited services and lengthy journey times, Scotscalder's patronage is extremely low: the station has not seen more than 500 passengers in a year since at least the 2002–03 financial year. In 2017–18 the station only saw 182 passengers, making it the 12th least-used railway station in Britain and the least-used on the Far North Line. In 2018–19 the patronage increased to 238, making Scotscalder the second least-used station on the line (behind Kildonan) and the 15th least-used in Britain.
| 2002-03 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entries and exits | 208 | 187 | 212 | 142 | 212 | 256 | 184 | 246 | 214 | 460 | 376 | 388 | 294 | 200 | 182 | 238 | 232 | 18 |
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
Services
On weekdays and Saturdays, the service pattern from the station consists of four trains per day northbound to Wick via Thurso and three trains per day southbound to Inverness via Helmsdale, Golspie, Lairg, Tain and Dingwall. (There is a fourth train bound for Inverness but it is not scheduled to call at Scotscalder.) On Sundays there is just one train per day each way.[7]
This station is designated as a request stop. This means that passengers intending to alight must inform the guard in advance, and any passengers wishing to board must ensure they are in view of the train driver, and are required to use a hand signal to stop the train.
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altnabreac | ScotRail Far North Line |
Georgemas Junction | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Altnabreac Line and station open |
Highland Railway Sutherland and Caithness Railway |
Halkirk Line open, station closed | ||
References
- Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
- Butt (1995)
- Bridge, Mike, ed. (2017). TRACKatlas of Mainland Britain: A Comprehensive Geographic Atlas Showing the Rail Network of Great Britain (3rd ed.). Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. p. 104. ISBN 978 1909431 26 3.
- "The Sunderland and Caithness Railway". The Scotsman. British Newspaper Archive. 27 July 1874. Retrieved 14 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
- "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
- eNRT December 2021 Edition, Table 219
Bibliography
- 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.
- Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.