D.J. Henderson's photos with the keyword: Dingwall

Viewed from the station footbridge, 158703 arrives at Dingwall with 2H73, the 14:50 Inverness - Invergordon. The small groundframe still sees a bit of use, mostly by P-way machinery, but the occasional failure gets put in there.

With the "Points Set" Indicator lit in the distance, 158722 will shortly depart Dingwall with 2H57, the 14:00 Inverness - Wick. The bright orange aspect will light, hopefully, after the driver hits the plunger on the platform. This selects the route that the train will take at Dingwall Jct, either to Kyle, or the Far North. The indicator confirms that the points are correctly set and, without the light, the train can go nowhere.

158722 arrives at Dingwall with 2H57, the 14:00 Inverness - Wick. I seem to photograph this unit at Dingwall every five years - weird. This time, the set is carrying the new Saltire livery, which it acquired in February 2016. The "Night Blue" paint job isn't quite as loud as First Group's "Barbie" colours.

Another unit now in the Saltire livery, 158718 calls at Dingwall with 2H85, the 13:35 Inverness - Kyle. Repainting of the Inverness-based 158s has, pretty much, been completed. The new look 158718 was outshopped from Glasgow Works in January 2017.

158716 runs into a wet Dingwall station with 2H82, the 12:08 Kyle - Inverness.

Crossing the Dingwall Canal on Bridge 47, 158707 approaches Dingwall Jct with 2H60, the 06:20 Wick - Inverness. The short canal was never much of a success and, when the railway was built, it seems that no-one insisted on a swing bridge, so the canal fell into disuse from January 1890.

The right unit for the job, 158707 "Far North Line 125th Anniversary" approaches Dingwall Junction, from that very line, with 2H60, the 06:20 Wick - Inverness. Like most of Scotrail's named class 158s, this set lost its nameplates when re-liveried, early in 2017 in this case. 158720 is now Scotrail's only named 158.

Still in NatEx livery, 158724 leaves Dingwall with 2H81, the 08:53 Inverness - Kyle. The "Mallard" road van is continuing a long tradition of vehicles using the Down platform at Dingwall. Post vans were common and anyone picking up (or dropping off) a heavy parcel would drive right onto the platform.

If you're going to derail a 158, you might as well put all the wheels in the ballast and do it at the throat of a junction station. Joking aside though, and the most important thing, there were no serious injuries.

Looking south from the Down platform at Dingwall and, although the station is still in a bit of sun, a thunderstorm is fast approaching. A few minutes earlier, fluffy white clouds were wafting across bright blue skies and, a few minutes later, monsoon season had arrived in style. It's often said that, in the Scottish Highlands, you can experience the four seasons in a single day - this is not an exaggeration.

158714 arrives at Dingwall with 2H62, the 12:34 Wick - Inverness. Following a gap of 4½ hrs between trains from Invergordon, two have now arrived in the last 16 minutes. Despite sounding like the result of disruption, these are timetabled trains, and it happens six days a week. Sundays are different; the service is reduced but at least makes some sense.

After a brief stop, 158714 departs Dingwall with 2H62, the 12:34 Wick - Inverness. You wait 4½ hours and then two come along....... is that not just for buses? ☺

158713 pulls into Dingwall with 2H72, the 15:50 Invergordon - Inverness.

158713 calls at Dingwall with 2H72, the 15:50 Invergordon - Inverness. The light from this angle clearly shows the state of the footbridge, covered in rust, to the extent of dripping it all over the platform. Network Rail don't have a great track record when it comes to bridges. Even if we ignore the farce at Lamington , other examples are not hard to find. The station footbridge at Shettleston had to be demolished and replaced, because of corrosion.

158713 departs Dingwall with 2H72, the 15:50 Invergordon - Inverness.

Looking across the remaining track at Dingwall, the old water tower survives too and is host to some pretty impressive ivy, which probably ain't doing it any good. The shadow cast by the recently cleaned-up canopy creates a very odd illusion; if you squint a bit, the platform looks like a big, black water bed. Look at it for long enough and the waves start moving. Weird☺

The waves aren't so obvious in this shot. I wonder why Dingwall gets all the fancy bike storage, while all the stations on the Kyle Line just have hoops. Lots of bike-thieves in Dingwall, or is it to do with the rainfall?

Tricky things to photograph, footbridges. After numerous attempts, I think I've got it just about straight. In this light, the botched paint job isn't too obvious; remember, it was only painted in 2015.