D.J. Henderson's photos

Looking across the remaining track at Dingwall, the old water tower survives too and is host to some pretty impressive ivy, which probably ain't doing it any good. The shadow cast by the recently cleaned-up canopy creates a very odd illusion; if you squint a bit, the platform looks like a big, black water bed. Look at it for long enough and the waves start moving. Weird☺

The waves aren't so obvious in this shot. I wonder why Dingwall gets all the fancy bike storage, while all the stations on the Kyle Line just have hoops. Lots of bike-thieves in Dingwall, or is it to do with the rainfall?

Tricky things to photograph, footbridges. After numerous attempts, I think I've got it just about straight. In this light, the botched paint job isn't too obvious; remember, it was only painted in 2015.

Looking at the shape of the station, it's easy to imagine the place when it had four platforms. The wooden structure on the Up side served the island platform while, at the far end of the Down platform, a north-facing bay was used by terminating trains from Strathpeffer and Kyle. The platform still tapers at the end, where the Up Loop diverged from the main line, and the existence of the loop explains the width of the road overbridge.

It isn't always this quiet. Over 80,000 used the station in 2015/16, making Dingwall the busiest station on the Kyle Line, unless you count Inverness.

This would be a nicer photograph without the badly-erected metal fencing in the old goods yard. The scene is dominated by the Dingwall & Strathpeffer Free Church, to give it it's full title, one of the several substantial churches in the town. Dingwall closed to all goods traffic in August 1983, but the sidings had already dwindled before then. Apart from the four or five in the goods yard itself, there were four sidings beside the north-end bay, a couple beyond the loop platform, and a single, long siding running south beside the main line. The long siding ran past the goods shed, continuing towards Pitglassie, and served the former Ferintosh Distillery. It survived into the 1990s and what remains of it forms the headshunt for the engineers' siding, which is still in use today.

Looking through the station towards Dingwall Jct, the sheriff court is off to the right. Above the courthouse roof, one of the floodlights at Ross County's stadium can just be seen. Victoria Park, also known as the "Global Energy Stadium" for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seated ground, which can hold over 6.500 - the population of Dingwall, is about 5,500. The largest ever attendance was reported as 8,000, for a Scottish Cup game against Rangers in 1966. The income from that game helped to fund construction of the aptly-named "Jail End" terracing.

About three years have passed since the previous shot was taken, and the paintwork looks a bit more "lived-in". Another fine day at Dingwall too.☺

158703 departs Dingwall, bound for Inverness with 2H84, the 13:46 from Kyle.

Having worked from Kyle with 2H84, the 13:46 to Inverness, 158703 pauses in the summer sunshine at Dingwall.

158703 calls at Dingwall with 2H84, the 13:46 Kyle - Inverness. Nearly all the 158s have now received Scotrail's "Saltire" livery, which has smartened them up considerably. 158703 emerged from Springburn, looking very fresh, on 10th Feb 2017.

31601 is all set for departure. On the far end of the train, 31602 is choking the seagulls, as nice, blue clag fills the night sky. Both machines are operated from the leading cab. The white building, beyond the leading loco, serves as both the harbourmaster's office and the lifeboat station.

One by one, the directional lights are switched on, as departure time draws nearer. Booked away from Kyle at 21:51, the train's slightly late arrival will delay departure a bit, as the driver's hours are strictly controlled.

31601's driver starts his "pre-flight checks", preparing the loco to work back to Inverness with 1Q06. Slightly unusual for a pair of 31s, both locos are named. 31601 was named "Gauge '0' Guild 1956-2006" on 30/09/2006, and carried these plates until 30/04/2015. It has since been renamed "Devon Diesel Society", christened on 22/05/2015 at Buckfastleigh.

Powering up the bank outside Achnasheen, the track inspection train passes the 28½ milepost (from Dingwall) as 31602 and 31233 top+tail 2Q88, the 08:00 Inverness - Kyle - Inverness.

Another year, another "Royal Scotsman" season. An immaculate 66746 stands at Strathcarron with 1H80, the 08:33 Keith - Kyle "Royal Scotsman", the first trip of the 2017 season. The 2017 timings are virtually identical to last year's, a couple of small tweaks have been made, to allow an extra couple of minutes at Plockton.

66746 awaits the arrival of an eastbound unit at Strathcarron, standing at the head of 1H80, the 08:33 Keith - Kyle. The loco was repainted into Belmond livery at the start of last season, closely followed by classmate 66743. The whole train was immaculate. The stock is kept clean throughout the season but always looks best on the first trip of the year.

Looking pristine, GBRf's 66746 waits at Strathcarron with 1H80, the 08:33 Keith - Kyle. For the last couple of years, the train has had a booked half-hour stop here, waiting to cross the 13:46 from Kyle.