Lochaber narrow-gauge railway
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 Lochaber Bridge No. 15
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| Route length: | 40 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 914 mm ( English 3-foot track ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Lochaber narrow-gauge railway was a 40 km long works railway with a gauge of 914 mm (3 feet ). It was for the construction and maintenance of a 15 km long water tunnel leading from the hole Treig to Lochaber - hydroelectric power station at Fort William in Scotland built the power for aluminum production of the British Aluminum Company generated. It was known colloquially as the Old Puggy Line .
construction
The construction company Balfour Beatty used the railway line during the tunnel construction for the transport of construction workers and goods. The railway line should only be operated temporarily. After the inauguration of the tunnel, however, a decision was made to keep the railway operating for the maintenance of the tunnel.
Route
The depot was in an industrial area that was initially called 'Base Camp', where there were sheds for the locomotives and trolley cars . There were three- rail tracks with 914 and 1435 mm gauge, among other things .
Pier Railway
The 1.75 km long Pier Railway led from the 'Base Camp' to a pier at Loch Linnhe , where the building materials were transferred from ships to the narrow-gauge railway. She crossed the West Highland Railway and the Mallaig Extension Railway of the LNER on different bridges east of Mallaig Junction, as today's Fort William Junction was then called.
Later it was used to transport aluminum oxide and to transport aluminum ingots. It was moved to a new route in 1927 to make way for the village of Inverlochy and to build a bridge over the A82 instead of the level crossing .
An originally planned electrification was never carried out. In addition, the line remained single-track, although the bridges and embankments had already been dimensioned for double-track operation.
Upper Works Railway
The 19 km long Upper Works Railway ran from Base Camp to the valve shafts at Loch Treig . Over the first 4.25 km there was a steep ascent of 1:30 or even 1:25. There were about 90 bridges on the route. Most of the scaffold pier bridges were initially made of wood, but were then converted into steel bridges using appropriate scrap parts from the factory. Approximately in the middle of the line was a triangle where trains could turn.
Portal Incline Railway
The Portal Incline Railway was a short turn near the base camp. It led to a height of 167.6 m above sea level . The trains were pulled over the steep section with an electric winch.
Junction to the tunnel 10
The 0.75 km long junction to tunnel 10 ( Adit 10 ) branched off from the Upper Works Railway .
Branch to shaft 7
The 0.5 km long junction to shaft 7 ( Shaft / Intake 7 ) branched off from the Upper Works Railway .
Treig-Laggan Railway
Built in 1930, the 3.25 km long Treig-Laggan Railway branched off from the Upper Works Railway to Laggan Dam on Loch Laggan . It crossed the West Highland Railway at Fersit on a wooden trestle bridge with 26 yokes , which was gradually poured into a railway embankment.
Branch to shaft C
The 0.8 km long junction to Shaft C branched off from the Treig-Laggan Railway .
Shutdown
In October 1971, heavy rain washed away part of the Upper Works Railway , which destroyed the track over a length of 21 m, so that restarting was called into question. Since then, two locomotives and two draisines have been stuck on the shorter section of the route. At that time the Forestry Commission was building access roads in the area. So it was decided that more roads should be built instead of repairing the track. Nevertheless, the railway operation was maintained for several years while the road was being built. The railway line was finally shut down in 1977.
remains
After the closure, the tracks were dismantled, but the steel bridges largely remained in place. Some track sections have even been preserved, especially on the longer bridges. Consideration is being given to putting the railway line back into operation as a tourist attraction .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bringing the "Puggy" back to Lochaber . The Oban Times . March 18, 2005. Accessed October 17, 2009. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 56 ° 49 ′ 8.4 " N , 5 ° 6 ′ 36" W.