The Cromarty and Dingwall Light Railway was a never-completed

light railway A light railway is a railway built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail": it uses lighter-weight track, and may have more steep gradients and tight curves to reduce civil engineering costs. These lighter standards allow ...

linking

Cromarty Cromarty (; gd, Cromba, ) is a town, civil parish and former royal burgh in Ross and Cromarty, in the Highland area of Scotland. Situated at the tip of the Black Isle on the southern shore of the mouth of Cromarty Firth, it is seaward from ...

in the

Black Isle The Black Isle ( gd, an t-Eilean Dubh, ) is a peninsula within Ross and Cromarty, in the Scottish Highlands. It includes the towns of Cromarty and Fortrose, and the villages of Culbokie, Jemimaville, Rosemarkie, Avoch, Munlochy, Tore, and ...

, Ross and Cromarty,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

to the

Highland Railway The Highland Railway (HR) was one of the smaller British railways before the Railways Act 1921, operating north of Perth railway station in Scotland and serving the farthest north of Britain. Based in Inverness, the company was formed by merger ...

system at

Conon Conon ( el, Κόνων) (before 443 BC – c. 389 BC) was an Athenian general at the end of the Peloponnesian War, who led the Athenian naval forces when they were defeated by a Peloponnesian fleet in the crucial Battle of Aegospotami; later he c ...

History

Although the southern coast of the Black Isle had been served since 1894 by the Highland Railway's

Fortrose Branch The Fortrose Branch, also known as the Black Isle Railway, was a railway branch line serving Fortrose in the Black Isle, in the north of Scotland. It was built by the Highland Railway as a tactical measure to exclude a rival railway company and to ...

, the northern portion was left "somewhat off the beaten track." A light railway running from

Dingwall Dingwall ( sco, Dingwal, gd, Inbhir Pheofharain ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest cas ...

was proposed in 1897, as part of a wider programme to expand the Highland's network, to remedy this situation. The original scheme crossed the

River Conon The River Conon ( gd, Conann) is a river in the Highlands of Scotland. It begins at Loch Luichart, and flows in a south-easterly direction to be joined by the River Meig at Scatwell before passing through Loch Achonachie. It is joined by the B ...

via "a bridge of considerable size" at Alcaig. However, a "fierce discussion" arose over whether the line should instead join the Highland Railway at Conon, avoiding the cost of the bridge. The dispute was resolved in favour of the Conon option when the Light Railway Commission "refused all assistance" if the Alcaig bridge were adopted. A Light Railway Order was obtained on 1 August 1902. However, further delays had arisen while the line's promoters negotiated with the Highland Railway to enable trains to continue over its tracks from Conon Bridge to Dingwall, and this situation was not resolved until after the order was issued. Construction eventually began from the Cromarty end, rather than from the junction, due to "considerable difficulty in the acquisition of certain lands." Moreover, progress was slow, and Extension of Time Orders were obtained in 1907 and 1910. By 1914, about six miles of track had been constructed at the Cromarty end, and works, including a "substantial bridge" at Cullicudden Farm, were well advanced on an additional two miles, although work had not commenced on the remaining 11 miles. Work was suspended at the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the track lifted "about a year later" for use elsewhere. No further action was taken to complete the line. Stations were planned at Cromarty, Newhall, Drumcudden, Culbokie and Alcaig.Jowett, Plate 14

Connections to other lines

Inverness and Ross-shire Railway The Inverness and Ross-shire Railway was a Scottish railway company formed in 1860 to build a line from Inverness to Invergordon. It opened in 1862 as far as Dingwall and in 1863 to Invergordon. It was extended to a Bonar Bridge station in 186 ...

Notes

References

* * * Pre-grouping British railway companies Early Scottish railway companies Standard gauge railways in Scotland Light railways Black Isle Railways authorised but not built in the United Kingdom {{Scotland-rail-transport-stub