page_title: Highland Railway
section_title: East to Keith and Aberdeen
hierarchical_section_title: Highland Railway / History / Expansion / East to Keith and Aberdeen
caption_attribution_description: English: Nairn railway station, built by the Highland Railway
context_page_description: The Highland Railway 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 in 1865, absorbing over 249 miles of line. It continued to expand, reaching Wick and Thurso in the north and Kyle of Lochalsh in the west, eventually serving the counties of Caithness, Sutherland, Ross & Cromarty, Inverness, Perth, Nairn, Moray and Banff. Southward it connected with the Caledonian Railway at Stanley Junction, north of Perth, and eastward with the Great North of Scotland Railway at Boat of Garten, Elgin, Keith and Portessie.
  During the First World War the British Navy's base at Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands, was serviced from Scrabster Harbour near Thurso. The Highland Railway provided transport, including a daily Jellicoe Express passenger special, which ran between London and Thurso in about 22 hours. In 1923, the company passed on approximately 494 miles of line as it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.
context_section_description: The Great North and Highland had agreed in 1865 that traffic between the two railways would be exchanged at Keith, but in 1886 the GNoSR had two lines to Elgin that, although longer than the Highland's direct line, served more populous areas. The coastal route between Keith and Elgin was 87 ¹⁄₂ miles (140.8 km) long but had easier gradients than the 80 ³⁄₄ miles (130.0 km) via Craigellachie. The Highland's main line south from Inverness was via Forres and the GNoSR felt that the Highland treated the line to Elgin as a branch. In 1883 a shorter route south from Inverness was prompted by an independent company and the bill was defeated in Parliament only after the Highland promised to request authority for a shorter line. The following year, as well as the Highland's more direct line from Aviemore, the Great North proposed a branch from its Speyside Section to Inverness. The Highland Railway route was chosen, but the Great North won a concession that goods and passengers that could be exchanged at any junction with through bookings and with services conveniently arranged.
  In 1885 the Great North re-timed the 10:10 am Aberdeen service to reach Keith at 11:50 am with through carriages that reached Elgin via Craigellachie at 1 pm. This connected with a Highland service at both Keith and Elgin, until the Highland re-timed the train and broke the connection at Elgin. The Great North applied to the Board of Trade for an order for two connections a day at Elgin. This was refused, but in 1886 the Great North and Highland railways came to an agreement to pool receipts from the stations between Grange and Elgin and refer any disputes to an arbiter. The midday Highland train was re-timed to connect with the Great North at Keith and Elgin, and a service connected at Elgin with an Aberdeen train that had divided en route to travel via the coast and Craigellachie.
  However, the Highland cancelled the traffic agreement and withdrew two connecting trains in 1893, complaining that they were not paying. One of the trains was re-instated after an appeal was made to the Railway & Canal Commissioners and a frustrated Great North applied to Parliament in 1895 for running powers to Inverness, but withdrew after it was agreed that the Railway & Canal Commissioners would arbitrate in the matter. With no judgement by 1897, the Great North again prepared to apply again for running powers over the Highland to Inverness, this time agreeing to double track the line, but the commissioners published their finding before the bill was submitted to Parliament. Traffic was to be exchanged at both Elgin and Keith, the services exchanged at Elgin needed to include through carriages from both the Craigellachie and the coast routes, and the timetable had to be approved by the commissioners. The resulting 'Commissioners' Service' started in 1897 with eight though services, four via the Highland to Keith taking between ​4 ¹⁄₂ and 5 hours, and four with carriages exchanged at Elgin with portions that travelled via Craigellachie and the coast, two of these taking ​3 ¹⁄₂ hours. The 3 pm from Inverness to Aberdeen via Keith took 3 hours 5 minutes.
caption: Nairn railway station was built by the Highland in 1885–91, and is currently a Category B Listed Building.[61]
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