Dingwall station

158703 calls at Dingwall with 2H84, the 13:46 Kyle - Inverness. Nearly all the 158s have now received Scotrail's "Saltire" livery, which has smartened them up considerably. 158703 emerged from Springburn, looking very fresh, on 10th Feb 2017.

Having worked from Kyle with 2H84, the 13:46 to Inverness, 158703 pauses in the summer sunshine at Dingwall.

158703 departs Dingwall, bound for Inverness with 2H84, the 13:46 from Kyle.

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.

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 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? ☺

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

About three years have passed since the previous shot was taken, and the paintwork looks a bit more "lived-in". Another fine day at Dingwall too.☺

Looking through the station towards Dingwall Jct, the sheriff court is off to the right. Above the courthouse roof, one of the floodlights at Ross County's stadium can just be seen. Victoria Park, also known as the "Global Energy Stadium" for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seated ground, which can hold over 6.500 - the population of Dingwall, is about 5,500. The largest ever attendance was reported as 8,000, for a Scottish Cup game against Rangers in 1966. The income from that game helped to fund construction of the aptly-named "Jail End" terracing.

It isn't always this quiet. Over 80,000 used the station in 2015/16, making Dingwall the busiest station on the Kyle Line, unless you count Inverness.