FROM THE ARCHIVES: Rail was a central part of city life
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Not to be confused with Millburn Roundhouse, the Lochgorm Locomotive Works were established by the Inverness and Nairn Railway in 1855.
Use was continued under its successors, the Highland Railway Company
The main block of workshops consists of three long bays of differing spans and heights, the carriage sheds being 34 bays long with round-headed, cast-iron window frames. The other substantial building on the site is a two-storey, 14-bay woodworking shop with a circular-section brick chimney.
The workshops consisted of several different buildings and included machine shops, an erecting shop and roundhouse which had a massive turntable to allow engines to be quickly mobilised. The works were to the north of Inverness train station and south of the harbour. The Lochgorm Locomotive Works produced many steam engines with local names such as ‘Clachnacuddin’ and ‘Strathpeffer’.
The jobs that the expansion of the railway brought to Inverness also led to an expansion of housing. Many of the railway workers lived in close proximity to the railway. The 1901 census shows this as workers such as porters, engine drivers, engine fitters and engine cleaners lived in Victoria Square. The porters, engine drivers and workers from Lochgorm often lived in the tenements near the centre of Inverness.
In 1906 a threat to railway jobs in Inverness came when the Highland Railway proposed amalgamation with the Great North of Scotland Railway. There was concern over the Lochgorm works as the Great Northern Scottish Railway had built new workshops in Inverurie in 1901. Ultimately, this merger did not go ahead as 42 per cent of shareholders did not vote. The company eventually merged with the London Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923.
From time to time, the coke ovens of the railway were used to burn the old, tattered banknotes of the Caledonian bank, which had been taken out of circulation.
Some of the bank’s directors were always present at the burning ceremonies to make sure no notes were stolen, but other railway employees would always keep an eye on the chimney stack just in case the odd note made it out.
The works were expanded as the number of lines from Inverness increased, with the building of the Inverness locomotive shed in 1863 to coincide with the opening of the Inverness and Perth line. The southern portion of the Lochgorm works was for carriage assembly and repairs and the northern area for locomotives due to its higher roof. Production of locomotives ceased in 1906 and the works closed in 1959. From 1960 the works became a diesel depot before becoming the main locomotive shed. Lochgorm Works is now a listed building, with later alterations and addition.
Noted as one of the best surviving examples of its type, the Lochgorm works is particularly notable for its long carriage shed and the retention of its original fenestration. The Highland Archive Centre holds many collections relating to The Highland Railway including registers of works, administrative papers, projects, plans and diagrams.
