Thank you. I once lived in Thurso, and this brings back sweet memories of the magnificent Flow Country. As you'll know, the journey is very different in midwinter! This was the last leg of the rail journey for thousands and thousands of servicemen during WW2, almost all of whom were going to Scapa Flow. Many had travelled from smaller towns in Southern England, and by the time they reached Thurso they were exhausted, but still faced a march to Scrabster to board a ferry over the turbulent Pentland Firth - one of Scotland's most dangerous channels. If you arrive at Thurso Station on a cold, windswept, wintry night, it is easy to imagine those men clambering off the train with their heavy kitbags, and gulping down welcome mugs of hot tea and cocoa, and thick jam pieces from trestle tables. I wonder how much of that ended in the waters of the Firth?! Unhappily, most tourists today still head straight for Orkney, and miss the many delights of Caithness. It is full of roundhouses, brochs, kist burials, and chambered cairns such as the magnificent ones at Camster. It has incredible cliffs, e.g. at Holborn Head with its De'il's Brig, the famous Whaligoe Steps, and Duncansby Head (which has a mind-blowing seabird colony in an incredible gully). Caithness has many hidden sea coves tucked into its shores, which are great to explore! You can drive, walk, and cycle directly beneath towering wind turbines, and Caithness has many forests perfect for mountain-biking. There are Girnigoe Castle, Wick Castle, and the Castle of Mey (the Queen Mother's favourite retreat), and several beautiful old stone-built water mills, which are a photographer's delight. I highly recommend a walk along the sea cliffs of Dunnet Head. Nothing beats visiting the northermost tip of the British mainland at sunset on a summer's day, to watch the sun sink below the far Atlantic horizon, with the cliffs of the Scottish coast and Orkney lit up. Winter can be special too, with the northern lights, and walks along snow-covered beaches. Linger a while in Caithness and ask the locals to let you into its secrets. You'll be amazed and grateful!
@@andrewdrummond1244 It is, but it is a secretive shire! I exercised by walking, and aimed to do this somewhere different every day. Even so, the locals were still able to introduce me to new spots at the end of my sojourn there. There are many sights that I reckon few people ever see, such as ruins left by the Highland Clearance that are being overgrown by forest, giving them an amazing haunting quality, and the old Viking church on the seashore near Reay. I was even lucky enough to spot a very rare Scottish wildcat in a remote area! The birdlife is mind-blowing. Caithness was glaciated flat, and so people do not associate it with what they expect from the Highlands, and Caithess also competes with Orkney. However, the gentle hills make Caithness ideal for cyclists and hikers. There is even a wonderful old quarry just off the main road to Thurso, where you can search for, and keep fossils of Devonian fish and plants, about 390 million years old - predating the dinosaurs!
A pleasant ride thru countryside. Good to find a train cab ride with NO music. Many of us prefer watching the scenery and listening to the sounds of the train. I've been on many rides-If I hear a note of music I disembark!
Agreed. I once gave feedback to an upload with muzak and was then barred. You have the same situation going on with narrowboat vlogs, the producers cannot resist the urge.
Aye, lads. Despite Sprinters plying practically all over Scotland, the journey on the Far North Line is spectacular. I love to travel up from Aberdeen to Thurso once a year in the Summer. It's a great journey. The Line from Georgemas to Thurso is slighlty longer than the 6 miles' long GNSR Branch from Tillynaught to Banff which I mind on so well from my teen years in the 1960s. Trains steam-hauled with Non Corridor Coaches. Great days. Charles Beaton (Charlie) Woodside, Aberdeen
Such lovely countryside, not spectacular but open, unspoilt and possibly the nearest thing to prairie in these islands. Some people have mentioned the West coast as being "better" but they miss the point I think, Scotland is so diverse.
I much prefer what 'Pro & Contra ....' calls the "old clickety-clack" (jointed) track. It has a catchy rhythm to it that highlights that you're travelling at SPEED -- which CWR (continuous welded rail) completely lacks. . Looking at this clip (old wooden sleepers, single track, low speed limit etc), this line to Thurso is obviously run on a shoestring -- one of the scores of lines around Britain that Network Rail & the politicians don't deem important enough to actually spend money on. Many thanks for this video. Also note the cow train spotter at 8:15!
In Australia the line is left to deteriorate to a bumpy wobbly ride until it is abandoned and converted to a bus. This is a premium line in comparison and runs at a good speed. Interesting you see this as a shoestring operation. I’m looking forward to coming to the UK after COVID.
I love the video, but why all the hate on the Class 158? I know, you can't lean out of the windows, and there is no diesel locomotive pulling you, but I took a 158 from Edinburgh to Inverness a few years back and it was quite enjoyable. The train was reasonably comfortable, quiet and the windows were nice and big. Maybe a loco-hauled train would have been more fun but this is still far better than a road bus.
I love 158 units ive been on the 158 and to thurso and georgemass junction lovely and weather smashing and the histroy intresting i bet the snow would make lovely pickies and turn them into xmas and new yr cards
The 158 is ' intercity class', in its interior design,I personally love them , I think they look ok the ride is smooth and reasonably quiet . Been on one that was doing it's top speed and it felt faster . The 170 would be better if it had the same interior without doors that let the cold in , however again they ride very well too, as the other comment above, the 158's have nice big windows. I've been in a few including one as a teen when they first appeared I was 17 and they wore the ' regional rail '. I have a few examples including new sound effect models on my 00 gauge layout ( under construction ) the new type models have even got the beeping doors, announcements and can connect to other units allowing four or six car formations . As for the video a huge thank you for posting. So nice to see.
@@dutchy777 no, but the railway act like driving a train is the same as piloting an aircraft 🤣 A 158 has two gauges to monitor and about 3 warning lights. Other than that it's just watching signals.
Thank you. I once lived in Thurso, and this brings back sweet memories of the magnificent Flow Country. As you'll know, the journey is very different in midwinter! This was the last leg of the rail journey for thousands and thousands of servicemen during WW2, almost all of whom were going to Scapa Flow. Many had travelled from smaller towns in Southern England, and by the time they reached Thurso they were exhausted, but still faced a march to Scrabster to board a ferry over the turbulent Pentland Firth - one of Scotland's most dangerous channels. If you arrive at Thurso Station on a cold, windswept, wintry night, it is easy to imagine those men clambering off the train with their heavy kitbags, and gulping down welcome mugs of hot tea and cocoa, and thick jam pieces from trestle tables. I wonder how much of that ended in the waters of the Firth?! Unhappily, most tourists today still head straight for Orkney, and miss the many delights of Caithness. It is full of roundhouses, brochs, kist burials, and chambered cairns such as the magnificent ones at Camster. It has incredible cliffs, e.g. at Holborn Head with its De'il's Brig, the famous Whaligoe Steps, and Duncansby Head (which has a mind-blowing seabird colony in an incredible gully). Caithness has many hidden sea coves tucked into its shores, which are great to explore! You can drive, walk, and cycle directly beneath towering wind turbines, and Caithness has many forests perfect for mountain-biking. There are Girnigoe Castle, Wick Castle, and the Castle of Mey (the Queen Mother's favourite retreat), and several beautiful old stone-built water mills, which are a photographer's delight. I highly recommend a walk along the sea cliffs of Dunnet Head. Nothing beats visiting the northermost tip of the British mainland at sunset on a summer's day, to watch the sun sink below the far Atlantic horizon, with the cliffs of the Scottish coast and Orkney lit up. Winter can be special too, with the northern lights, and walks along snow-covered beaches. Linger a while in Caithness and ask the locals to let you into its secrets. You'll be amazed and grateful!
You make it sound magnificent.
@@andrewdrummond1244 It is, but it is a secretive shire! I exercised by walking, and aimed to do this somewhere different every day. Even so, the locals were still able to introduce me to new spots at the end of my sojourn there. There are many sights that I reckon few people ever see, such as ruins left by the Highland Clearance that are being overgrown by forest, giving them an amazing haunting quality, and the old Viking church on the seashore near Reay. I was even lucky enough to spot a very rare Scottish wildcat in a remote area! The birdlife is mind-blowing. Caithness was glaciated flat, and so people do not associate it with what they expect from the Highlands, and Caithess also competes with Orkney. However, the gentle hills make Caithness ideal for cyclists and hikers. There is even a wonderful old quarry just off the main road to Thurso, where you can search for, and keep fossils of Devonian fish and plants, about 390 million years old - predating the dinosaurs!
A pleasant ride thru countryside. Good to find a train cab ride with NO music. Many of us prefer watching the scenery and listening to the sounds of the train. I've been on many rides-If I hear a note of music I disembark!
Agreed. I once gave feedback to an upload with muzak and was then barred. You have the same situation going on with narrowboat vlogs, the producers cannot resist the urge.
I can't think of a better job to have (as long as the weather's nice!)
Nice and relaxing video
Amazing video
Aye, lads. Despite Sprinters plying practically all over Scotland, the journey on the Far North Line is spectacular. I love to travel up from Aberdeen to Thurso once a year in the Summer. It's a great journey. The Line from Georgemas to Thurso is slighlty longer than the 6 miles' long GNSR Branch from Tillynaught to Banff which I mind on so well from my teen years in the 1960s. Trains steam-hauled with Non Corridor Coaches. Great days. Charles Beaton (Charlie) Woodside, Aberdeen
💚
Thurso station has had way too much money spent on it 😂 thanks for sharing
I've not taken the train "home" for a few months...time to book a jaunt to Thurso in July methinks.
Very nice, as a Bristol Train Driver I wonder if I'd be accepted as part of the crew in Wick depot?
Such lovely countryside, not spectacular but open, unspoilt and possibly the nearest thing to prairie in these islands. Some people have mentioned the West coast as being "better" but they miss the point I think, Scotland is so diverse.
Caithness is utterly beautiful.
I rode the line in 1980 on a Britrail pass. Not over scenic. . . . but other lines in Scotland ARE quire scenic.
What did you expect? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically across the plain?
Really interesting to watch and follow, it would enhance the video if there were some commentaries on the region...thank you for your video
I much prefer what 'Pro & Contra ....' calls the "old clickety-clack" (jointed) track. It has a catchy rhythm to it that highlights that you're travelling at SPEED -- which CWR (continuous welded rail) completely lacks.
.
Looking at this clip (old wooden sleepers, single track, low speed limit etc), this line to Thurso is obviously run on a shoestring -- one of the scores of lines around Britain that Network Rail & the politicians don't deem important enough to actually spend money on. Many thanks for this video. Also note the cow train spotter at 8:15!
In Australia the line is left to deteriorate to a bumpy wobbly ride until it is abandoned and converted to a bus. This is a premium line in comparison and runs at a good speed. Interesting you see this as a shoestring operation. I’m looking forward to coming to the UK after COVID.
I love the video, but why all the hate on the Class 158? I know, you can't lean out of the windows, and there is no diesel locomotive pulling you, but I took a 158 from Edinburgh to Inverness a few years back and it was quite enjoyable. The train was reasonably comfortable, quiet and the windows were nice and big. Maybe a loco-hauled train would have been more fun but this is still far better than a road bus.
I love 158 units ive been on the 158 and to thurso and georgemass junction lovely and weather smashing and the histroy intresting i bet the snow would make lovely pickies and turn them into xmas and new yr cards
The 158 is ' intercity class', in its interior design,I personally love them , I think they look ok the ride is smooth and reasonably quiet .
Been on one that was doing it's top speed and it felt faster .
The 170 would be better if it had the same interior without doors that let the cold in , however again they ride very well too, as the other comment above, the 158's have nice big windows.
I've been in a few including one as a teen when they first appeared I was 17 and they wore the ' regional rail '. I have a few examples including new sound effect models on my 00 gauge layout ( under construction ) the new type models have even got the beeping doors, announcements and can connect to other units allowing four or six car formations .
As for the video a huge thank you for posting. So nice to see.
4:35 Marsh Harrier? (guessing!!)
I wonder why he/she stopped short of the trainshed at Thurso.
Disability access. If you look closely the platform has been raised outside the trainshed for wheelchair access to the trains.
@@powerslide12 Ah right, understood. Missed that one!
What is a train station?
Is this line still open? Seams to go from nowhere to nowhere.
How did you get permission to do this??
permission from who? not exactly a state secret
@@dutchy777 no, but the railway act like driving a train is the same as piloting an aircraft 🤣
A 158 has two gauges to monitor and about 3 warning lights.
Other than that it's just watching signals.
@@underwaterdick Up there it's more like listening to signals - it's RETB controlled 😄
@@barrieshepherd7694 🤣 great point! Not exactly a high traffic area either...
@@underwaterdick You obviously have no idea what driving a train is like.
Sick video laddy
Oh no! What horrible tracks. Is this really the old "Clickety-clack"? Meaning there seems to be no continuous welded rail.
It's the Scottish Highlands! What would you expect?
@@c0rtikoZteroids1 I know, but come on! They should do something about it.
Pro & Contra Deutschland I agree
Oh dear lets get picky shall we?
@@tango6nf477 😂 True! Sorry!