The end of the line

Have you ever stood in a station and wondered where the tracks go. If you just got on the train and kept going where would you end up? Probably Thurso if you were heading at all north as its Britain's most northerly railway station and only a street away from the coast so you couldn't really go any further if you wanted to. There is something about the seaside terminus, especially the rural Scottish one that really attracts me. Standing there and seeing those buffers which represent the railways limits is something that shouldn't be undertaken without a little thought about the journey you have just taken. When I arrived in Thurso most passengers hurried out of the Station as quickly as possible. It was a cold day and a long journey so who can blame them? But it left me on my own in this remote outpost of the British rail network with the sun coming through the rafters to keep me company on a quiet afternoon. Thurso is one of my favourite stations for the very reason that it is the end of the line. Its remote, quite and has the atmosphere of a long journey having been completed. I have come somewhere very different to my home. I have attached a couple of other pictures of the Station so you can see its architectural merits. In an age where train stations are more often bus shelters it is nice to arrive at a substantial stone building with ticket office and comfortable waiting room. A building that says the railway is important. It may not be the lifeline that it once was, but its here in town and I hope will remain so for a long time to come.
Talking of the waiting room I came accross this even more exotic item on the wall - a picture of a Union Pacific steam locomotive. UP is an American railroad so I'm not sure what it was doing up in Thurso. If anyone know's drop me a line, I'd love to find out. UP is the world's only mainline railway which has a steam locomotive that it has never retired. It now joins a co locomotive in providing the UP steam program, a rather clever marketing tool for the railway company.
My own visit to Thurso was for a careers event where I was representing my college. Perhaps an event which requires a couple of display stands, plenty of literature and some goodies to give away on top of my own luggage might not seem like the obvious occuasion to use the train, but with a bit of thought it worked out really well. If I did have too much to carry you can always courier the extra at less cost than taking a car anyway. The careers event went really well with over forty people coming up to ask about our courses. Before it started though, and after I had set up, I had the chance to have a look round Thurso. Most people on holiday are probably taking the train to Thurso in order to catch the ferry to Orkney. Having had a look around I was not blaming them, Thurso didn't seem to be the most interesting of towns. But when I left the exhibition hall I was greeted with the most amazing view of these huge cliffs behind the town. Obviously I had gone up hill more than I had realised. I went down to the beach to get a better view and came accross my second surprise of the visit - the sea was filled with surfers! It was good fun watching them for a bit so I can only imagine taking part must be even more fun. Thurso it seems is one of Britain's surf capitals. California it might not be but if you like riding the waves maybe you should be taking a trip up here too.

The next day I took the train back and enjoyed one of the most scenic journeys in Britain. It doesn't matter how many times I take this train, it always seems to get yet more interesting as the seasons and lighting add variety to every journey.