Dunrobin Castle railway station

Dunrobin Castle
The station photographed in 1989
Location
Place	Dunrobin Castle
Local authority	Highland
Coordinates	57°59′09″N 3°56′49″W / 57.9859°N 3.9470°WCoordinates: 57°59′09″N 3°56′49″W / 57.9859°N 3.9470°W
Grid reference	NC849012
Operations
Station code	DNO
Managed by	Abellio ScotRail
Number of platforms	1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	299
2005/06	357
2006/07	357
2007/08	423
2008/09	572
2009/10	488
2010/11	594
2011/12	626
2012/13	628
2013/14	916
2014/15	822
History
Original company	Duke of Sutherland's Railway
1 November 1870[1]	Opened
19 June 1871[1]	Closed
?	Reopened
29 January 1965[1]	Closed
30 June 1985[1]	Reopened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Dunrobin Castle from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Dunrobin Castle railway station is a railway station on the Far North Line in Scotland.

Many timetables list it as being a "summer only" station, closing in late September.

It was originally a private station for the castle, the seat of the Duke of Sutherland. The Arts and Crafts style waiting room was constructed in 1902, and is a category B listed building.^[2] Dunrobin Castle is situated near the village of Golspie.

It was described in the Railway Magazine:

The Duke of Sutherland has a beautiful private railway station. As is well-known, his Grace owns a large proportion of the North of Scotland, and his famous seat of Dunrobin Castle in that district has its own station for the Duke and his household, called after the Castle, "Dunrobin." The station is one of those on the line of the Highland Railway, and lies between Brora and Golspie, in Sutherlandshire. The Duke has had the place made not only serviceable, but very picturesque in its design and finish.

The general outline seems to be that of a Swiss chalet, and this appearance is not lessened by the surrounding hilly district. The windows are latticed, and look very cosy, whilst all the waiting-rooms and other necessary adjuncts to such a station are well fitted up. With true patriotism his lordship determined that Scotch pine should be used as far as possible in the construction of his station, so that he had it built of that wood. Thus it is extremely strongly made, as it needs to be to resist the ravages of snow and wind that sweep so terribly across the Sutherland moors in winter.

As a rule the platforms of private stations are very small, but this one at Dunrobin is an exception. It is very long, for often the family at the Castle will entertain three or four hundred guests at a time, when important fêtes or events are taking place there.^[3]

References

1. Butt 1995, p. 86.
2. "Dunrobin Castle Station Waiting Room, Listed Building Report". Historic Scotland. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
3. George A Wade, Private Railway Stations, in Railway Magazine, November 1903

Sources

• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.

External links

• Train times and station information for Dunrobin Castle railway station from National Rail