The Sutherland and Caithness Railway was a Scottish railway company that built a line from Helmsdale, the terminus of the Duke of Sutherland's Railway to Wick and Thurso in Caithness, giving the northern towns access to Inverness. It was driven through by the efforts of the 3rd Duke of Sutherland and the engineer Joseph Mitchell in the face of apathy from interests in Wick.

Thurso is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Great Britain. From a latitudinal standpoint, Thurso is located further north than the southernmost point of Norway and in addition lies more than 500 miles (800 km) north of London.