Scotscalder Request Stop

Found myself on the Far North Line in Scotland after completing Lands Ends to John O'Groats (video to follow), but it seemed rude not to do a request stop whilst there!
Say HELLO to Scotscalder, which is also Britain's 12th least used station, and maybe this will also count as a 'Least Used Station in Highlands' video, just as soon as I've worked out the best way to approach Scotland! In the meantime, it gets done as part of my Request Stop series ...

[@Andy-ju8bb]

Legend has it that the help point is still beeping

[@electrohalo8798]

Andy this is hilarious

[@thedumgamer2046]

Gonna ask my friend to check tommorow... is the legend true?

[@catfish552]

As the Beatles sang... Let it Beep

[@whitk034]

Please wait

[@WaltTFB]

It's connected to the one at Coombe Junction...

[@gordonmcmillan883]

It is only a question of time before you push the button on one of those help points, say "hello" and the person on the other end says; "Geoff? is that you Geoff?'

[@djlawlz4041]

I was just thinking the same thing.

[@martinswain2172]

“Railway Cottage, A brand new house”, Ha Ha Ha! It was brand new in 1874. Originally two separate railway workers cottages built in the same year that the railway opened. In 1988 the two semi-detached cottages were sold for private residential use by the British Railways Property Board and then during the early 1990's they were converted into one large cottage with the luxury of an indoor privy. How do I know this? Simples, I live in it and have the paper records!

[@guganesan.ilavarasan]

Oh my god, so that Mercedes is yours?

[@villevirtanen00]

And somewhere in India, a dedicated person is assigned to this help point only. He has had a relaxing job until this..

[@mrbojangles8133]

he hears a bleep and thinks, OK this means something

[@nightavenger375]

What do I do?

[@eddyk3]

The people in the house are being driven mad by the help point still ringing.

[@beeble2003]

After a couple of months, they took an axe to it and then burnt down the whole station for good measure. Didn't you see it on the news?

[@acnhsasha3085]

@@beeble2003 That’s bullshit sir

[@sabersz]

@@acnhsasha3085 it's a joke sir

[@olly5764]

Not a hanging basket Geoff, it's a Lamp Holder, rural stations with no mains gas, were often lit by portable oil lamps, lit and placed in the holder by the station staff if there were any, or the guard of the last train before sunset if not.

[@tgm9991]

The people in that station house were having a relaxing existence until the help point started beeping forever.

[@ianmcclavin]

21st October 2019 - just travelled through Scotscalder, and you'll be pleased to hear that the missing large old platform sign has been reinstated- I was travelling too fast to take a photo unfortunately..

[@gold76]

The help point is still ringing

[@joeturner1597]

When I worked the West Highland line, we didn't have a TimeTable. We ran by the stars.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

That help point reminds me of the one at Coombe Junction that kept saying “please wait”

[@MervynPartin]

They will probably change it to "Your call is important to us. Please Hold" (followed by several minutes of classical music, then repeat "Your call...etc.")

[@StubMyToe]

you are EVERYWHERE. EVEN ON SOME RANDOM VIDEO ABOUT SOME PLACE IN NORTHEN SCOTLAND. NO MATTER WHERE I GO I FIND YOU. WTF?!

[@patrickmclennan8871]

Gutted I missed this, was speaking with the guard today who told me you were on board on Friday.

[@geofftech2]

ah that was Lynn! she was brilliant yes. sry we missed you!

[@patrickmclennan8871]

Geoff Marshall fancy making a return trip today? I’m working that train today! 😂

[@satyris410]

Is it still beeping?

[@glasgowandwestdunbartonshi8934]

Geoff will you make a series called "Quiet Stations" and here's my list I've got:Anderston,Glasgow Central LL,Argyle Street,Bridgeton,Dalmarnock,Carfin,Kildonan,Drumchapel,Altnabreac and Newton.

[@postiephil48]

The wife & I like to get up to Caithness every year if we can Geoff....I love this video of yours, and plan to get over to Scotscalder to get a few snaps in while there of this amazing little BUS STOP STATUS station which is kept in IMMACULATE condition. The FAR NORTH line is an engineering masterpiece, and it's importance in these parts can NEVER be underestimated !!!

[@stepheng7586]

On Friday I decided to head out to Nethertown on the Cumbrian coast for the night to do some Beach fishing......what a location!! One of the reasons i decided to go was because when Geoff did All The Stations he took some amazing shots with the drone he had which helped me avoid any snaggy areas. Scenic railways combined with beach fishing....fantastic! Cheers Geoff!!

[@1994PaulF]

I live in Caithness - using these request stations to go on an adventure is a real hobby of mine! Altnabreac is well worth a visit!

[@TheRealDoctorBonkus]

I am so glad that Steve Mould made a video with you so I could find you. Such wonderful transportation videos.

[@GalvinGaming]

Legend says that it's still connecting to the one person who was assigned to this one beeping help point, who went on holiday because he thought no-one would call help

[@PeatCowman]

I happened upon this place last week. The investment continues, it now has a digital timetable and request button unit in the shelter.

[@whackingbadge]

I love that little stop! I mean, I’ve never been there, but I want to go! Remote places are super cool. It’s great that you’ve done a proper video on Scotscalder now though because I remember in ATS 2017, I was looking out for it and it wasn’t there. Great video anyways!

[@businessbuilding1]

Another great video Geoff. Great how well kept such a remote station is!

[@Domihork]

Geoff saying "just a single platform" as if it was something strange :D You definitely should come to Czechia and take one of the "local trains" (osobní vlak). Those have a lot of request stops and they stop at the tiniest villages.

[@HenrysAdventures]

Another great video! I love those stations so far from anywhere!

[@raymondokonski7018]

Thanks Geoff - I nearly chocked on my morning coffee - that preservation plaque you videoed, I used to work with Daniel Britain Caitlin in Glasgow at Scottish TV, we then went on to Westminster as a media researcher, And I don’t think he popped his clogs, so I’ve no idea why he got top billing over Bob Reid?!

[@TommyWylie]

I've whizzed through that station many times but never got out... but if I ever do, I'll let you know if that thing is still bleeping. Oh and the entire journey (both directions!) is on my channel! :)

[@sambeesley1]

Easy way to do Scotland would be to take the current districts and put the ones like North+South Lanarkshire/Edinburgh+West Lothian+Midlothian+East Lothian together. If you go with the old method - Strathclyde+Tayside etc. it's too big. In Wales I'd take the Gwent/Dyfed/Clwyd option

[@brammyd1]

Love the cutaway of you talking to a bin, Geoff !

[@tuc-dh4df]

Beautifully kept station!

[@davidstransportvideos]

Geoff you are the best youtuber and I saw you vids since 2016

[@Falloutman216]

What a quaint little station.

[@thatSteveSmith]

Just checked on the National Rail website, from Manchester Piccadilly to Scotscalder, I'd have to go from Manchester to Edinburgh, Edinburgh to Sterling, Sterling to Inverness then Inverness to Scotscalder. It'd take a little over 11 hours, assuming everything was on time.

[@davidcollins9512]

Whereas I would have to take the Coastal-Pacific from Christchurch to Picton, Inter-Islander ferry to Wellington then Northern Explorer to Auckland, followed by a 25hr flight between Auckland & London Heathrow. Then Heathrow to Reading, Reading to Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton to Edinburgh, Edinburgh to Perth, Perth to Inverness and finally Inverness to Scotscalder. Only problem is first train from Christchurch to Picton doesn't leave until 27 Sept... Departing at 7.00am on Friday 27th Sept I would arrive at 9.59pm Tuesday 1st Oct, a minute short of 111 hours 27 Sept Christchurch Dept 7.00am. Arr Picton 1.15pm (6h 15 min) Trans-Coastal train Picton Dept 2.15pm. Arr Wellington 5.45pm (3h 30min) Inter-Islander Ferry 28 Sept - no train - only runs every other day. 29 Sept Wellington Dept 7.55am. Arr Auckland (Strand) 7.58pm (12h 03min) Northern Explorer Auckland (Britomart) Dept 7.13pm. Arr Auckland International Airport 7.58pm (0h 45min - traffic permitting!) SkyBus Auckland International Airport Dept 10.45pm. 30 Sept Arr London Heathrow 11.45am (25h 00min) Air New Zealand flight NZ002 via Los Angeles 1 Oct Heathrow Central Bus Station Dept 06.40am. Arr Reading (Bus) 07.39am (0h 59min) Great Western Railway Reading Station Dept 08.15am. Arr Wolverhampton 10.13am (1h 58min) Cross Country Wolverhampton Dept 10.37am. Arr Edinburgh 2.17pm (3h 20min) Virgin Trains Edinburgh Dept 2.37pm. Arr Perth 3.55pm (1h 18min) Scotrail Perth Dept 4.17pm. Arr Inverness 6.26pm (2h 09min) Scotrail Inverness Dept 6.31pm. Arr Scotscalder 9.59pm (3h 28min) Scotrail

[@thebestspork]

Stirling.

[@thatSteveSmith]

@@davidcollins9512 wow, that's insane

[@s125ish]

I once did Glasgow to Thurso and back in a day. 9 hours there and back ha . Btw it's not sterling but Stirling

[@s125ish]

David Collins probably easier for you to get sleeper from London to inverness

[@djlawlz4041]

Such a cute little station!

[@safetyfirst5917]

A white dot matrix? Weirdly I’ve not ever seen one of those in England except at huge stations.

[@CarzorStelatis]

The rural stations only got departure boards in the last 6 months or so, are white ones maybe the latest kit?

[@martenkats6915]

I've traveled a fair bit on rural Scottish lines recently and I've seen them at quite a few stations.

[@oysterfarescentral]

There are quite a few on suburban lines in SE London. Crayford has both a white and a yellow one on platform 1.

[@GlensTransport]

Those ones are brand new, the stations that have had them slightly longer have orange LEDS.

[@CityLifeinAmerica]

White seems to be all the rage. Look at all new station signs and bus signs in the US, all white LEDs now, used to be orange.

[@perman17]

Scotscalder is definitely a least used station; probably least used station in the Highlands. For Scotland - I'd suggest going with the modern local authority areas. The historical boundaries will take you to disproportionately rural areas - the Far North Line will have three least used stations, and lots of the areas only have one station (eg Nairn). By contrast, I reckon the modern council boundaries would make for a good series with variety. If you really wanted to, you could still consolidate some of them together (eg Aberdeen City and Shire). But you'd get least used stations as rural as this one, and some more urban examples in the Central Belt. Could be an interesting series.

[@TheAnimystro]

Looks very well kept and modern. How they have the money to do that for a station that has 180 passengers a year while my local station, inside London, doesn't even have a working dot matrix is beyond me!

[@mirensummers7633]

really pretty old station, have moved up to Scotland for uni so maybe I'll visit it

[@declanpatrickgorman7107]

Which uni?

[@locomotiveresearchdepartme2358]

Nice vid Geoff 👍

[@steveflahavin9673]

beep beep.... beep beep ....still going...beep beep.... etc!

[@n4r032]

Yes! More videos!

[@GoranNewsum]

Least Used Scottish stations by Clan?

[@vincentalexander2985]

Least used scottish station by Ned?

[@seanny5472]

Least used Scottish station by fleeto

[@waltertomashefsky2682]

The footage of Geoff bent over talking to the litter bin is priceless.

[@nikinamaqsood7687]

Help me, Obi-Wan Marshall. You're my only hope.

[@edwilson5416]

Nice clock. I guess there's little vandalism to worry about there.

[@grahamcutress47]

But 2 CCTV cameras that record to where? Maybe in the house, or via wifi/ethernet Obviously a well known trouble hot spot lol

[@martinswain2172]

Not the original clock. The original clock was sent away to Aberdeen for repair about ten years ago and was “mislaid” and remains official missing despite Police enquiries. There is a similar clock outside the old station house at Lairg which some say is the original Scotscalder clock. The CCTV cameras were installed only last year and record video on to a DVD in a nearby cabinet. The DVD is replaced weekly by ScotRail maintenance staff.

[@CityLifeinAmerica]

Martin Swain A DVD? Not even a hard drive or USB, but a damn DVD?

[@martinswain2172]

Yes apparently so, and I am told by people who live at the station and have looked at stills from the videos, that picture quality is so bad that you can only just about make out the white line along the edge the platform.

[@Wriggs74]

When I stayed in Morchard Bishop a couple of years ago. My friend said when the train arrives to take you home you have to stick your hand out. It was a strange feeling like I was catching a bus.

[@TheMicksterdee]

I noticed a CCTV camera near to the waiting shelter. Perhaps this could be added to the list of station facilities in future station visits?

[@jahanlon]

i have absolutely no interest in trains whatsoever and yet here I am. Good video mate

[@hamishyoung3965]

Geoff that station is an holiday cottage ........... stayed there for my 50th birthday !! very cold but a great experience H

[@markgaughran4374]

That Bleep reminds me of the old dial tone when I dialled a number in the phone box

[@witzendoz]

I think the station sign and hanging basket have blown away.

[@garethbisgrove4482]

Very pretty little station.

[@READYTEDDYBEAR]

Oh so it was you who pressed that button! 4 bloody days that button was beeping for 24hrs a day! Hooligan! 😜

[@SoulSilverIV]

I passed through Scotscalder on my own trip up and down the Far North line on 27th April, and the old sign was still there albeit in a sorry state of repair! Wonder what's happened to it? I find it hilarious that Scotscalder seems to be far better maintained than my local station in the middle of Southampton!!!

[@boldford]

Perhaps that says something about some of the people in Southampton.

[@SoulSilverIV]

@@boldford Oof. But you're right. Southampton is a hole.

[@boldford]

@@SoulSilverIV I've been to far far worse places. P.S. Wasn't your trip "down" then "up" the Far North line?

[@SoulSilverIV]

@@boldford Brian, you are technically correct. The best kind of correct!

[@martinswain2172]

The station sign has been restored and was put back in place in mid July 2019.

[@carolinegreenwell9086]

Lovely station

[@CdPerth]

Love the look of the white dot matrix!

[@LeoStarrenburg]

Someone took the trouble of installing a clock in the waitingroom, great !

[@robc9845]

Leo Starrenburg which unfortunately Geoff never mentioned..

[@pauloconnor2980]

So you can watch the years go by!!!!

[@andrewpink3171]

Not an unused hanging planter but an unused lamp holder, surely?

[@bonersducks5648]

Oh, what a nice underrated channel. Lucky that i found it :P Really nice move with different angles.

[@IainG81]

Word has it at this very moment, the information point is still ringing waiting for a connection.

[@paulwheeler4283]

According to Scottish legend the help point is still beeping and it will carry on beeping until the end of time

[@billyshearer1]

Captured Caithness on a beautiful day!

[@robk23oxf]

Scotscalder is the least used station in the Highlands. In terms of how to divide up Scotland and Wales I'm using the current day divisions, that's council areas for Scotland and principal areas for Wales. When I visited Pontypool & New Inn yesterday I didn't realise I was visiting the least used station in Torfaen.

[@Alfie-cu4np]

Can’t get anymore Scottish names than this.

[@ThegrandtravelNerd]

Unfortunately Geoff the actual least used station in the highlands is called Lochluichart.

[@nickhiscock8948]

If you want a remote station that are "on request stops" try Darnick station on NSW Trainlink Broken Hill line. The train is weekly and is hundreds of kilometres from any towns. OR Give Duchess station a go on Queensland Rails Mount Isa line. The train is twice weekly and again is hundreds of kilometres from any towns.

[@Lolsus4u]

I wonder if the help point is still beeping

[@Nimmo1492]

Are you doing the Tyne and Wear Metro at any point?

[@travia6688]

Geoff should make a website with information about every least used station. E.g., does it have trash cans, how many tph

[@steverob5]

There was an Excel spreadsheet somewhere on Geoff's website detailing exactly those things, with points awarded for facilities (or lack of). I should know, because I originally drew it up with him during the Least Used Buckinghamshire video!

[@davidcollins9512]

He probably will - right after he has done the Isle of Wight

[@MalteSpieltYT]

hey at least it has a dot matrix

[@andreawoelke]

I was waiting to see if the train managed to stop so that the steps would like up with the door! Did they?

[@martinswain2172]

Nope, the train never stops in-line with steps. They are heavily weighted to stop them blowing away in the strong winds we get here, and you are most likely give yourself a double hernia if you try to lift them. Another big bad ScotRail joke.

[@send2gl]

Curious, how many cameras do you use? When you were in the waiting g room with main camera in the litter bin, there was also a view if you from outside the waiting room.

[@AchyutChaudhary]

How long will the help point beep for?!

[@craigr9881]

25th June 2019, still beeping, is someone able to check please?

[@g.groves616]

Honestly I’ve pressed several help points none of them usually work so I was completely shocked when I was at Long Preston station on the settle to Carlisle line and the customer service lady responded. I then had to make up a request while a man with two dogs stated me down in the opposite platfrok

[@spikeymike2191]

It would be interesting to discover why the overbridge is built for double track...

[@pwhitewick]

Spikey Mike companies often built infrastructure for double tracks as a just in case, but I'm guessing this station once had a loop?

[@hartstukken]

me too now that I've noticed i mean like... I'd understand if this was a few KM outside of a big city but really.

[@GlensTransport]

Like most stations on the Far North Line, originally there was a passing loop, two platforms and a goods siding.

[@kbtred51]

Disused platform edge 7:33 kzbin.info/www/bejne/poPbZ6N5pcZ_jsk

[@stanpatterson5033]

KbT Red, I'm pretty sure that's facing the direction the train will be travelling, and is the same side on which he'll be boarding.

[@Cestovatelix]

Can I ask you? Do you want come to Prague Czech Republic?

[@gh1851]

Scotscalder. Geoff says on 2.30-2.35 It's bordered by... Nothing! Looks very remote actually Geoff

[@tonybennett9964]

That station house was was refurbished by a chap who I think worked for the BBC he had blue and white crockery set out. I've used this station many times parked by car there when going to inverness.

[@TXnine7nine]

Some would say that the help point is still ringing.

[@JSGRanks]

Scotcalder and Coombe Junction Halt are related when it comes to the information points.

[@norbitonflyer5625]

Maybe when you press the button at one, the phone rings at the other. That's why it takes so long to answer.

[@highpath4776]

Thats a nice clock in the waiting room. Whats the Station with the less number of services (3 as opposed to 4 ! on the line?) . Did you mean Unitary Authorities (Unitarian ones would be some kind of dissenting christianish denomination)

[@mrscreamer379]

*Gets on train* ... "Did you push that f'ing button?"

[@chiagz7538]

The information help point is still beeping till today

[@jxck_xy]

Great

[@michaelboys2602]

I bet that help point is still ringing 😂😂😂

[@dennisjeffs4239]

The station was in a spotless condition, the Queen was doing a random visit!!

[@Nosregni]

Geoff is the Queen!?!

[@boldford]

Not so. There wasn't any small of fresh paint.

[@leighrawnsley2266]

What makes no sense to me is that they closed Halkirk Station which Halkirk has a population of about 900 people, yet the kept this one open; but it's a 5 mile walk to Halkirk from Scotscalder via a pathway which takes you completely 5 miles the opposite direction from where Halkirk Station used to be. The train line from Scotscalder to Halkirk is only 2.4 miles

[@googletookmyoriginaluserna4182]

That has to be sampled! It's the audio equivalent of the binbag in the wind!

[@robmontier3770]

Elton John song!

[@BlinkyTrigger]

clever cuts to you "talking to the camera" in the waiting room

[@tommercer1406]

Really unrelated to this, but do you know when Worcester Parkway is opening?

[@Brian3989]

Last information I saw was that construction will be complete in September, followed by training , etc.

[@tommercer1406]

@@Brian3989 ok cool

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

sorry, did I see correctly that some trains head up all the way to Kyle of Lochlash? I am guessing they go via Inverness, but I do wonder as to how that would work...

[@harleancarpenter8043]

No, Kyle line has separate train service, all services on Far North line go to Inverness. I think a long while ago some trains divided at Dingwall, but modern day trains mean that is harder to do. Thats the reason trains no longer divide at Georgemas Junction for Thurso/Wick, but run to Thurso, then back through Georgemas to Wick northbound, and vice versa southbound

[@markc8956]

We were supposed to get the Class 158s to run down here on the West Highland Line then Abellio massively backtracked and just refurbished our 156s instead,which are way too outdated.

[@norbitonflyer5625]

156s are not much older than 158s, and have bigger windows to admire the view.

[@Bahamas-rd8le]

You should go to the smallest train station in the UK (Damems)

[@jamesdavison1786]

45596 Bahamas he has. He’s been to all the stations, all of them

[@Bahamas-rd8le]

@James Davison - additional information: Damems is a station on a preserved railway. When he did all the stations, he did all the mainline ones. No preserved ones.

[@macstyle2012]

@@Bahamas-rd8le What is that tiny station just north of Inverness? Forget its name, but it is very short.

[@c0rtikoZteroids1]

@@macstyle2012 Beauly

[@perman17]

​@@macstyle2012 The others are right with Beauly, but Conon Bridge is another recently opened station with a similarly short platform. Apparently Beauly is only 2cm shorter.

[@lauraallard8999]

Maybe a random question, but on a station like this with only one platform, if there’s one of those automated voice things announcing trains then do you still hear “platform one”?

[@Trockenshampooleopard]

I don't know about the UK but can confirm that for Germany

[@gwishart]

Yes, they do. Live announcements sometimes just say "the platform".

[@lauraallard8999]

gwishart so sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t. Thanks 😊

[@gwishart]

@@lauraallard8999 The automated announcements ALWAYS say "platform one", the ones made live by a real person obviously vary depending on the whims and desires of the person making them.

[@rossmcqueen1317]

Can you do the tyne and wear metro?

[@charlesmartin2888]

Shoutout to the maintenance crew

[@n1thmusic229]

This station is one of the least used on the far north line I think second behind Kinbrace but it has a waiting shelter, Car park, Dot matrix indicators, a station house, a help point, a litter bin and a bike rack Also least used station in Caithness I'd say you can get the most videos out of historic counties as there are more of them so that's what you should do

[@geofftech2]

have a look at my map at: geofftech.co.uk/download/LeastUsedStations.pdf it shows the 10 least used stations in Scotland ... Kildonan is the next least used down the line.

[@n1thmusic229]

@@geofftech2 ah yeah my bad but did you see in the most recent statistics Scotscalder ended up tied with Altnabreac

[@markgaughran4374]

Wonder if the Help point is still bleeping

[@grantrennie]

Why are the comments disabled on your newest video? I wanted to mention that on your led matrix departure display the train shown is the Glasgow to Oban train service.

[@MalteSpieltYT]

so noone spoilers the answer

[@alexrobb]

Surprised that station even has a dot matrix!

[@GlensTransport]

They were installed at all stations on the Far North Line that didn't already have them earlier this year,

[@caw25sha]

You did least used London Underground stations by line so wouldn't it be logical to do National Rail the same way? I wonder how long it took the taxi driver to do The Knowledge in Scotscalder?

[@Trains_At_York]

I want to go up myself now to see if it is still bleeping. Beep, beep. Beep, beep. Beep, beep.

[@someamazingpenguin8531]

I made a map of Scotland with all the least used stations in each modern county, and you would be in the Highlands, where the least used station is Kildonian