In colour 219: the cathcart circle lines

It was sometime in the early to mid-1960s when Sanquhar stationmaster Herbert James Wilson said to me “Douglas, come in and see this.” So, what was this? I was about to find out, and ‘this’ proved to

ABOVE: One of the classic locations on the Kyle of Lochalsh line is when the train passes Duncraig and heads towards Plockton, affording this wonderful view of Loch Carron, and on June 10, 1988, 37421

Heading south, a WD 2-8-0 passes Newburn Junction with loaded coal, circa 1967. The oldest of the two routes in view is coastal, dates back to 1840 and first ran across a wide expanse of water known a

One of the most picturesque inland waterways in the world, the Caledonian Canal is a magnet for leisure boating, cycling and walking. It stretches diagonally across the Scottish Highlands, linking som

Sixty years ago this month, on March 6 1966, the Western Region achieved two major goals with the end of both steam power and the Somerset & Dorset route – bringing a mighty era to a rather grubby end.

When I had last spent time in the area in August 1963, most passenger services and just a few longer distance freight trains had started to be diesel-hauled, with local freight trip working still a st