Wick station was built by the Sutherland and Caithness Railway, opening with line in 1874. On 1 July 1903, the station became the junction with the Wick and Lybster Light Railway. The last trains to Lybster ran in 1944, although the line was not officially closed until 1951. The station remains in use, located at the far north of Britain's rail network, more than 1,100 kms (700 miles) from London.

The Duke of Sutherland's Railway was built by the Duke of Sutherland when the Sutherland Railway - which had powers to build north to Brora -stopped at Golspie. The Duke also built the next 11 miles to West Helmsdale, also known as Gartymore. The Duke ran the line from opening on 1 November 1870 until the extension to Helmsdale and north into Caithness when the Highland Railway took over the running of the line. West Helmsdale closed on 9 November 1871. The Highland Railway absorbed the line into their own network on 31 July 1884.

The Wick and Lybster Railway was a light railway worked by, and later absorbed by the Highland Railway in Caithness, Scotland following a coastal route south from Wick to Lybster. It was intended to profit from the fishery based in Lybster but the harbour declined not long after the line opened. It was built under the Light Railways Act 1896.Although the line was worked at cost by the Highland Railway, it remained independent until becoming part of the LMS in 1923. The line gained additional passenger traffic in the 1920s and 1930s when the people of Wick voted for prohibition of alcohol sales. Drinkers would travel to bars near to stations on the line. The last trains ran after a short life in 1944, and the line was officially closed in 1951.