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 1864. It provided the basis for later extensions that eventually reached Thurso, forming the Far North Line. The Dingwall and Skye Railway branched off at Dingwall to reach the Kyle of Lochalsh. In 1862 it amalgamated with the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway and later became a constituent of the Highland  Railway. The line continues in use at the present day. First railways. Aberdeen obtained a railway connection to the south in 1850. The advantages to a community that had a railway service were already plainly visible, as were the serious disadvantages in not being so connected, and interested persons in Inverness started to think about their situation. At the time a railway heading directly south towards Perth was not technically feasible, and attention was given to reaching Aberdeen, and getting a connection southwards by that circuitous route. A first step in that direction was the opening of the Inverness and  Nairn Railway in 1855. This was described at the time as being only a beginning. The Nairn line was on easy terrain in the coastal strip, and any extension would be over more challenging ground. Thoughts in Inverness turned also to the possibilities of a northward railway. At first this was expected to be by ferry crossing from Nairn to the north side of the narrows of the Cromarty Firth; from there railways could extend on easier ground to Invergordon, Tain and Dingwall. Inverness and Ross-shire Railway authorised. In the years immediately following, confidence in engineering projects -- encouraged by  the local engineer Joseph Mitchell led to a more practical scheme from Inverness directly round the western extremity of the Beauly Firth and then northwards. Sir Alexander Matheson of Ardross was the driving force in ensuring the formation of a company to carry out this work, encouraged by the far-sighted engineer Joseph Mitchell, and a provisional committee met in Inverness in January 1859 to promote such a line. So it was that the Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Bill was unopposed in Parliament, and was given the Royal Assent on 3 July 1860, for a line from Inverness to  Invergordon, a distance of 31 miles. This included a crossing of the Caledonian Canal by swing bridge, considered by Ross to be a novelty at the time, and river crossings of the Beauly, Conon, Sgitheach, Allt Graad, and Alness Rivers. Authorised share capital was £215,000. Construction and opening. The Inverness station of the Nairn company faced east, and the Ross-shire line would approach from the west, so west facing platforms were built at the station; there was a by-pass line, originally provided as the Nairn company's approach to Nairn Harbour, on Shore Street. When the line  was opened it was referred to as the Rose Street Curve. On 10 June 1862 Colonel Yolland of the Board of Trade carried out an inspection of the first section of the line and approved it, and on 11 June 1862 the first section of the route opened, from Inverness to Dingwall. The remainder of the route was delayed by a dispute over land acquisition, but on 25 March 1863 the line was opened throughout to Invergordon. The extension to Invergordon was at first considered to be a feeder to the southward line, rather than a step towards the Far  North. Amalgamation. In the mean time, Parliamentary powers to amalgamate with the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway were sought, and duly obtained on 30 June 1862. The Inverness and Nairn Railway had already amalgamated with the Aberdeen Junction company, on 17 May 1861. Further north. A further extension, from Invergordon to Bonar Bridge was now planned, and was authorised by the Ross-shire Railway Extension Act of 11 May 1863. The Act gave the powers to the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway. The extension opened to Meikle Ferry on 1 June 1864. The ferry enabled onward road journeys to Dornoch  and beyond, although the station was not close to the actual ferry landing stage. The line was continued to Bonar Bridge, 57 miles from Inverness, on 1 October 1864. The Bonar Bridge station is actually at Ardgay, west of the Kyle of Sutherland and not conveniently situated for the community of Bonar Bridge. Formation of the Highland Railway. The railways based on Inverness were working in partnership. On 1 February 1865 Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway, the Inverness and Perth Junction Railway and the Inverness and Ross-shire Railway amalgamated, and on 29 June 1865 a change of name was  authorised: the enlarged company was to be called the Highland Railway Company. Still further north. The notion of a Far North Line was now gathering pace, and the independent Sutherland Railway was authorised in 1865, opening to Golspie in 1868. Further extensions took place, until Wick and Thurso were connected by rail on 28 July 1874. Inverness viaduct collapse. In 1989 the River Ness masonry arch viaduct in Inverness collapsed on 7 February due to turbulent conditions in the river. It was reconstriucted in a different form. The route today. The line is still open, being part of the Far  North Line. Locations. The onward route northward from Bonar Bridge was opened in 1868 by the Sutherland Railway.