Helmsdale_railway_station Knowpia

Helmsdale

Scottish Gaelic: *Bun Ilidh*^[1]
Helmsdale; Scottish Gaelic: Bun Ilidh
	158715 approaching the station in 2021
General information
Location	Helmsdale, Highland; Scotland
Coordinates	58°07′04″N 3°39′32″W / 58.1177°N 3.6590°W
Grid reference	ND023155
Managed by	ScotRail
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	HMS
History
Original company	Duke of Sutherland's Railway
Pre-grouping	Highland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway; British Railways
Key dates
19 June 1871	Opened as terminus
28 July 1874	Altered to through station
Passengers
2018/19	5,044
2019/20	5,086
2020/21	564
2021/22	3,168
2022/23	3,484
Listed Building – Category B
Designated	23 July 1987
Reference no.	LB7184
Notes
	Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Helmsdale railway station is a railway station serving the village of Helmsdale in the Highland council area, northern Scotland. It is located on the Far North Line, between Brora and Kildonan, 101 miles 40 chains (163.3 km) from Inverness.^[4] ScotRail, who manage the station, operate all services.

History edit

Looking south from Helmsdale in 2015

The Duke of Sutherland's Railway had opened between Dunrobin and West Helmsdale (near Gartymore) on 1 November 1870.^[5] Extensions of this line southward to Golspie and northward to Helmsdale were opened on 19 June 1871.^[6]^[7] The station buildings were designed by the architect William Fowler.

Another company, the Sutherland and Caithness Railway (S&CR), was authorised on 13 July 1871 to take over the powers of the projected Caithness Railway and link Helmsdale with that line at Georgemas Junction, and the S&CR opened on 28 July 1874.^[8]

The station master's house on the platform was abandoned in the 1980s. In 2013 it was refitted as self-catering holiday accommodation.^[9]

Accidents and incidents edit

On 29 April 1891 there was a collision between a down mixed train from Inverness which ran into an engine which had arrived earlier. Major Marindin of the Board of Trade investigated and found that the driver Robert Lindsay deliberately ignored the signals as he would have had difficulty in restarting the train on the rising gradient of 1 in 59.^[10]

Facilities edit

Both platforms have waiting areas and benches, whilst platform 2 also has a help point. Bike racks and a car park are adjacent to platform 2. There is step free access to platform 2 only; platform 1 can only be accessed via the footbridge.^[11]

Passenger volume edit

Passenger Volume at Helmsdale^[12]
	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	2021–22	2022–23
Entries and exits	3,972	3,513	3,514	4,456	5,348	5,646	5,680	5,656	6,086	5,828	5,778	5,096	6,204	5,768	4,636	5,044	5,086	564	3,168	3,484

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services edit

Mondays to Saturdays, there are four train each way that call here - southbound to Dingwall & Inverness and northbound to Wick via Thurso. Sundays see a single departure each way.^[13]

Preceding station	National Rail		Following station
Brora		ScotRail Far North Line	Kildonan
	Historical railways
West Helmsdale Line open, station closed		Highland Railway Duke of Sutherland's Railway Sutherland and Caithness Railway	Salzcraggie Platform Line open, station closed

References edit

^ Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. "Gaelic/English Station Index". Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
^ Deaves, Phil. "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
^ "HELMSDALE RAILWAY STATION INCLUDING FOOTBRIDGE AND SIGNAL BOX". Historic Scotland. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
^ 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. 103. ISBN 978 1909431 26 3.
^ Vallance, H.A.; Clinker, C.R.; Lambert, Anthony J. (1985) [1938]. The Highland Railway (4th ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. pp. 36, 176. ISBN 0-946537-24-0.
^ "Helmsdale Station". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
^ Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, pp. 36, 173.
^ Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, pp. 37, 175.
^ "Self Catering Accommodation on a working railway station in the north of Scotland". Helmsdale Station. Helmsdale Station CIC. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
^ "Helmsdale. Board of Trade Report". Aberdeen Evening Express. British Newspaper Archive. 15 June 1891. 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 25 December 2023.
^ eNRT December 2021 Edition, Table 219