Raven Rock Summit

Location type

Place

Name and dates

Raven Rock Summit (1870-)

Opened on the Dingwall and Skye Railway.

Description

This is one of two notable summits on the Kyle line, this being a summit of 458 ft (further west is Luib Summit of 646 ft). Many trains would require banking, a locomotive pushing in the rear to assist the climb, going west, from Dingwall. Also known as Raven's Rock Summit.

At this summit the line crosses from the Strath of the River Peffery to the Rogie Burn and Strath Garve.

The summit is on the route required by Sir William Mackenzie 9th Baronet, of Coul House to avoid his house and lands. From Fodderty Junction the line climbs hard to Raven Rock before dropping down to the shore of Loch Garve and Garve station. The original proposal was to take the line through Strathpeffer and Contin, it would pass through four miles of Mackenzie's property and close to his house. This route was also not without its challenges but would have better served the growing spa town of Strathpeffer than the distant Strathpeffer [1st] station and later Strathpeffer [2nd] terminus.

In 1925 a set of quarry sidings were opened for the local council to provide road material. The site had no road access. The sidings were served fro the west, located on the south side of the line just west of the cutting at the summit. This quarry closed in 1939 and the siding was taken out in 1952.

It is due to the deviation that today there is no Strathpeffer station.

The climb to the summit and failure to have a station in Strathpeffer continue to be challenges for the Kyle line.

Tags

Summit quarry sidings

Aliases

Raven^s Rock Summit



Nearby stations
Achterneed
Strathpeffer [2nd]
Garve
Dingwall
Conon Bridge
Alcaig
Muir of Ord
Lochluichart [1st]
Muir of Ord Market Stance Platform
Lochluichart
Lochluichart [2nd]
Foulis
Culbokie
Redcastle
Beauly
Blackwater Viaduct
Fodderty Junction Yard
Fodderty Junction
Luichart Power Station
Tourist/other
Raven Rock
Rogie Falls
Highland Hotel [Strathpeffer]
Elsick House
Coul House
Loch Garve
Knockfarrel Fort
Strathgarve Lodge
Ben Wyvis - An Cabar
Brae House
Ben Wyvis
Location names in dark blue are on the same original line.


Ben Wyvis Rack and Pinion Railway


A proposal was made in the 1970s to build a a rack and pinion railway northwards from an interchange near Raven Rock Summit to the summit of Ben Wyvis (3,432 ft).


Chronology Dates

  /10/1925Dingwall and Skye Railway
Raven Rock Summit quarry siding opens.
  /07/1939Dingwall and Skye Railway
Raven Rock Summit quarry closes.
  /03/1952Dingwall and Skye Railway
Raven Rock Summit siding removed.

Books


Highland Railway: People and Places - From the Inverness and Nairn Railway to Scotrail

History of the Railways of the Scottish Highlands: Skye Railway v. 5

Insider Rail Guide: Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh (The Insider Rail Guide)

OS Explorer Map (428) Kyle of Lochalsh, Plockton and Applecross (OS Explorer Active Map)

Rails to Kyle of Lochalsh: Story of the Dingwall and Skye Railway Including the Strathpeffer Branch (Oakwood Library of Railway History)

The Dingwall & Skye Railway: A Pictorial Record of the Line to Kyle of Lochalsh

The Highland Railway

The Highland Railway : The History of the Railways of the Scottish Highlands - Vol 2

The Kyle Line: An Illustrated History and Guide

The Kyle of Lochalsh and Far North Lines

The Kyle of Lochalsh Line: Great Railway Journeys Through Time