"Pyromancer" <pyromancer@beeching.stormshadow.com> wrote >
> Back
> in the days of locomotive haulage, the trains divided at Georgemas, the
> front portion going forward to Wick, while another loco coupled on to
> the other end of the rear portion and took it to Thurso.
When I travelled on the early morning train from Inverness, the formation
was:
Loco
Wick vans
Thurso vans
Thurso passenger coaches
Wick passenger coaches.
The train stopped with the Wick passenger coaches short of the Thurso
points, and these coaches were uncoupled. The rest of the train then moved
forward until the Thurso passenger coaches were in the platform. The Wick
passengers at this point were looking out of the windows, and looked as
though they thought they were being abandoned. The Thurso loco was in the
branch part of the platform, and came out and coupled on to the rear of the
Thurso coaches. It then took the Thurso portionn away. The Wick vans were
then backed on to the Wick passenger coaches, coupled up, and proceeded in
an orderly fashion to Wick.
On one occasion, on arrival at Thurso, and after passengers had alighted,
the train was backed out of the station, one van detached, and the rest of
teh train returned to the platform. That van was then allowed to run by
gravity into the bay platform.
At Thurso the loco ran forward into the headshunt, and picked up a van that
was stabled there. The loco and this van then ran round, and backed the
train up to the buffers. One van was then left in the headshunt for
attachment to a later train.
After Sprinterisation there was one timetable after the Ness bridge collapse
when one train ran Dingwall - Thurso - Wick - Dingwall, though the timetable
suggested that passengers to Wick or from Thurso should alight at Georgemas
and wait there while the train went to and from the other terminus.
Peter
Far North Line 
