PICTURES: Happy birthday Wick Railway Station! Plaque unveiled at 150 years celebration
The great and the good gathered together at Wick Railway Station on Saturday afternoon to celebrate its 150th birthday.
The event kicked off at noon and, showing that it was still very much a working station, some of the staff present were readying themselves for the next scheduled service to Inverness.
Ian Budd convenor of the rail pressure group Friends of the Far North Line (FoFNL) unveiled a commemorative plaque, provided by Network Rail, along with the group’s president Jamie Stone MP. “I’m absolutely delighted and especially that the railway is still here as it’s been threatened several times in its life,” said Mr Budd.
He shared how he became involved with the rail group and said it all started when he was an orchestral player working in Inverness back in 1995. He saw pictures of trains on the wall of the bed an breakfast he was staying in and the landlord shared information about the rail group he would eventually become convenor of.
“I had nothing to do with railways at all and I became an enthusiast for there being railways. This line shows you parts of Scotland you can’t see from the road such as the Flow Country, which is unique.”
Jamie Stone MP had travelled up from his home in Tain to unveil the commemorative plaque and reminisced about the Far North Line. “It’s quite emotional because I was the wee boy who was brought up at the side of the railway line just north of Tain. So the trains heading to Wick came past me and were part of my childhood.
“I have the honour of being here to unveil the plaque for the 150th anniversary of the opening of Wick station and it’s really, really special. It was a leap of faith to open the railway when they did and it revolutionised transport. Still today, it’s the most efficient and environmentally friendly form of transport.
“It’s a great joy to be here today and I hope we can build on the railway and use it far more in year’s to come.”
Wick and East Caithness councillor Raymond Bremner said: “I’m a big supporter of the Far North Line and a big supporter and use it as often as I can.
“It can often be a safer form of transport especially early in the morning and late at night. Going through the Flow Country, it’s one of the most scenic lines you can find.
“I’m also able to do a lot of work while sitting on the train that I wouldn’t be able to do when I’m driving or on a coach. You have the Wi-Fi and power points on it – it’s just like a little office on wheels.”
Eann Sinclair, Caithness and Sutherland area manager from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) said: “It’s wonderful and really good to see how many different people have turned up. It’s easy to forget what a transformational project this was.
“As HIE we have had our board up in Caithness and Sutherland talking about transformational projects like offshore wind and the future of transport in the north like the airport. These are all transformational projects just like this one was.
“It’s a transitional phase we’re in here and it’s good to be here to remind ourselves of that.”
The widow of ScotRail’s late managing director, Alastair McPherson, had travelled from Perthshire with her children Eilidh and Jack to be at the event.
Sara McPherson said: “Alastair died on February 28, 2014 and he was the managing director of ScotRail from April 1997 when it was privatised and was based in Glasgow. He did the 125th anniversary of the line with Jamie Stone.
“I think Alastair would think it’s lovely that everyone is here celebrating 25 years on from when he did it and I think he’d be super proud that his kids are here too.”
Catering was provided by Wick’s Home Bakery and there was an exhibition of historic images from the Far North Line that had recently been on show at the North Coast Visitor Centre in Thurso.
