In January 1976, Britain’s expanding North Sea oil industry was already reshaping the nation’s railways — and nowhere was that impact clearer than in the Scottish Highlands.
An article published in The Railway Magazine that month revealed how the construction of offshore drilling platforms at Loch Kishorn was generating vital freight traffic for the Inverness–Kyle of Lochalsh line, helping to secure the future of a route that had been under threat of closure.
Photo: G. A. Watt
North Sea oil brings lifeline to Lochalsh line
Construction work at Loch Kishorn, led by Howard Doris Ltd, brought a surge in freight movements, including cement, aggregate and construction materials, much of it carried by rail. This additional traffic supported the continuation of a daily freight service on the Inverness–Kyle line, which at that time was running specifically to serve the needs of the oil industry.
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Materials were routed via Stromeferry terminal, operated by Howard Doris, which sat on a 44-acre site between Stromeferry station and Loch Carron foreshore. The facility included a large storage yard and four high-capacity cement silos, each holding 1,000 tons, served by extensive sidings and more than 4,000ft of track.
Locomotives and operations
Two Hudswells Clarke 0-6-0 diesel-mechanical locomotives were employed at the site, handling shunting and terminal operations. These locomotives, originally built in 1956, carried the numbers LM1 (Tribunit) and LM2 (Guinevere) and had previously worked for the North British Aluminium Company.
Cement was transferred either directly from rail wagons or via storage silos, with the terminal able to load vessels at up to 1,000 tons per day.
Daily freight movements into the Highlands
Each day at 06.49, a scheduled freight train departed Inverness for Stromeferry, delivering cement from the Cement Marketing Company plant at Oxwellmains, Dunbar. The same service also carried fly ash supplied by Pozzolanic Ltd of Chester, used in concrete production.
In a full year, around 50,000 tons of cement and 15,000 tons of pozzolanic material were expected to pass through Stromeferry, transported mainly in 20-ton Presflo wagons.
Wider rail investment driven by oil
Beyond Stromeferry, the oil boom was driving broader rail investment across northern Scotland. The Scottish Region was seeking £3.5 million of Government funding to improve the Perth–Inverness line, including double-tracking sections and adding passing loops to increase freight and passenger capacity.
These upgrades were designed to support the growing flow of oil-related traffic to and from ports such as Nigg, Ardersier and Invergordon, reinforcing rail’s role as a strategic transport link during Britain’s energy expansion.
A pivotal moment in railway survival
Looking back 50 years on, the article captures a crucial moment when industrial demand — rather than passenger numbers — played a decisive role in preserving remote railway lines. The North Sea oil industry didn’t just reshape Britain’s energy future; it also helped keep vital rail routes in operation during a period of widespread closures.
