Wick and Lybster Light Railway
| Wick and Lybster Light Railway | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Locale | Scotland |
| Continues as | London Midland and Scottish Railway |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1 July 1903 |
| Closed | 31 December 1922 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
The Wick and Lybster Light Railway was a light railway opened in 1903, with the intention of opening up the fishing port of Lybster, in Caithness, Scotland, to the railway network at Wick. Its construction was heavily supported financially by local government and the Treasury. It was worked by the Highland Railway.
The line was never heavily used and the anticipated expansion of the fishing trade did not take place. When a modern road to the south was built in the 1930s, transits from Lybster were considerably shorter and quicker by that means, and the railway closed completely in 1944.
The fishing village of Lybster lies 13 miles to the south of Wick, and up to the end of the nineteenth century was relatively inaccessible on land. As early as 1864 a railway from Wick through Lybster to Dunbeath had been proposed, but nothing came of the idea at that time.
The government passed the Light Railways Act 1896 with the intention of encouraging the construction of low-cost railways to serve such localities.
When a new light railway was proposed connecting Lybster to the main line railway network at Wick, considerable support was expressed locally. Wick was one of the northern termini of the Far North Line from Inverness, owned and operated at the time by the Highland Railway. An application was made for a Light Railway Order, Caithness County Council taking the lead in submitting it on 5 March 1896.
The order was granted on 27 November 1899. The capital of the railway company was £30,000, but the anticipated construction cost was considerably more; grants were anticipated from the County Council and the Treasury.
In the event the Duke of Portland, a substantial landowner in the district, subscribed £15,000, and the Highland Railway £1,000. Caithness County Council "advanced" £15,000, the Corporation of Wick £15,000 and the Corporation of Pultenytown (later absorbed into Wick) £1,000. The Treasury made a grant of £25,000. In fact £8,000 of shares remained unsubscribed at 28 March 1900.
The fees of the Board of Trade in granting the Order were £1,311. A contract was let to Wiliam Kennedy of Partick, Glasgow, for the actual construction.
The Highland Railway agreed to take charge of the construction, but they were clearly unwilling to let any shortfall in funding fall to them. Willam Whitelaw, the vice chairman of the Highland Railway visited Wick and stated that he required personal guarantees from the local directors; those directors were reluctant to accept the commitment, but after reflection the gave the required undertakings. However negotiation was successful in persuading the Treasury to increase its loan by £5,000 in 1900. A working agreement with the Highland Railway was finalised on 27 February 1901. The wrangle had cost a year in the construction timescale.
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