West Highland Line

Glasgow Queen Street – Oban / Mallaig
Station Taynuilt with locomotive Class 37 of the BR
Route length:	163/264 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Dual track :	No
Legend Glasgow Queen Street Queen Street Tunnel to Edinburgh and Dunblane Glasgow Ashfield Glasgow Possilpark & ​​Parkhouse Glasgow Gilshochill Glasgow Summerston Glasgow Maryhill Maryhill Line to Anniesland North Clyde Line from Edinburgh Westerton North Clyde Line to Milngavie North Clyde Line 16.1 Dalmuir North Clyde Line 26.6 Dumbarton Central Dalreoch North Clyde Line to Balloch North Clyde Line North Clyde Line to Helensburgh Central 41.0 Helensburgh Upper Rhu Faslane Junction, to Faslane Naval Base Shandon Faslane Platform 51.9 Garelochhead Whistlefield Glen Douglas 69.2 Arrochar and Tarbet Inveruglas 82.1 Ardlui Glen Falloch Platform 96.2 Crianlarich from Callander 104.2 Tyndrum Lower 123.5 Dalmally 127.9 Loch Awe 133.1 Falls of Cruachan only served in summer Crunachy siding 142.4 Taynuilt Achnacloich 153.3 Connel Ferry after Ballachulish 163.3 Oban to the Isle of Mull 103.8 Upper Tyndrum 116.3 Bridge of Orchy Gorton 141.2 Rannoch 152.9 Corrour Fersit Tulloch 169.0 Roy Bridge 183.5 Spean Bridge to Invergarry and Fort Augustus 197.5 Fort William to Banavie Pier 201.2 Banavie Caledonian Canal 202.8 Corpach Corpach Paper Mill Siding 207.6 Loch Eil Outward Bound 213.6 Locheilside Glenfinnan Viaduct 224.1 Glenfinnan 239.0 Lochailort 246.6 Beasdale 252.3 Arisaig 259.5 Morar 264.3 Mallaig to Skye

The West Highland Line is a non-electrified, continuously single-track, Scottish railway line , which runs from Glasgow to Oban or via Fort William to Mallaig and thus opens up the western Highlands region . The infrastructure is owned by Network Rail , and Abellio ScotRail is responsible for operations . Along with the Kyle of Lochalsh Line , which runs from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh , it is the only railway line that opens up the western part of the Highlands. In 2009 it was voted the most beautiful railway line in the world by readers of the British magazine Wanderlust . The greatest importance of the route is attributed to tourism.

course

The route begins in Glasgow's Queen Street terminus and leaves this with all Queen Street lines through the Queen Street Tunnel, which is left in the northern suburbs. After the routes to Edinburgh and Dunblane as well as the Maryhill Line have branched off, the West Highland Line joins the North Clyde Line at Westerton , one of the two partially underground west-east diameter lines of Glasgow. She leaves this in Dumbarton and then branches off to the right into the interior of the Highlands. At Loch Lomond by then reaches the node Crianlarich where the separation is accomplished in the two line branches. The section to Oban leads past Loch Awe and after a final ascent to the destination station, where ferry connections to the Isle of Mull and other Hebridean islands exist. The section to Mallaig leads through the Rannoch Moor to the terminal station of Fort William , then to the west via Glenfinnan , whose station houses a museum on the creation of the West Highland Line, and the 380 meter long Glenfinnan Viaduct to Mallaig . In Mallaig there are ferry connections to Skye , the "Small Isles" of the Inner Hebrides and boat connections to the Knoydart Peninsula .

history

British Rail Super Sprinter (Class 156 series) in Oban station

The line was expanded over a period of over 60 years by various railway companies , some of which also operated branch lines that are now closed. The first section was laid in the greater Glasgow area in 1842 as part of a connection to Edinburgh, Oban was reached in 1880, Mallaig in 1901. During the Second World War , a few branches to military bases were created, which were broken off again after the end of the war. It almost fell victim to the Beeching ax in the 1960s .

technology

Except for the suburban sections of Glasgow with the Maryhill Line and the North Clyde Line and Fort William station, which are electronically equipped, the railway line is equipped with the Radio Electronic Token Block signaling system, carried out by the signal box at Banavie station. The suburban sections are double-tracked and partially electrified; to the west of Dumbarton, the line has no contact wire and is continuously single-tracked with passing points (equipped with fallback switches ), which, however, only allow very thin operation. The operation is carried out with diesel trains of the type British Rail Class 156 .

business

passenger traffic

Abellio ScotRail operates the passenger three daily pairs of trains between Glasgow Queen Street and Oban or Mallaig that after Flügelzug run concept. The two parts of the train will be separated at Crianlarich station . Until the end of March 2015, the passenger transport was operated by First ScotRail , on April 1, 2015 the franchise switched to Abellio.

In addition, a pair of Serco- operated Caledonian Sleeper trains run between London Euston and Fort William every day except Saturdays . Between London and Edinburgh Waverley , the train will run jointly with the other two parts of the Highland Caledonian Sleeper to Inverness and Aberdeen , only to be split in Edinburgh.

In the summer months, the West Coast Railway Company, known as the operator of steam-powered charter trains, runs up to two pairs of trains per day on the museum train “ The Jacobite ” between Fort William and Mallaig. The Royal Scotsman , a luxury train , also operates regularly on the route as part of its rail cruise through Scotland.

Freight transport

The freight is limited to connecting trips to the aluminum smelter of Fort William and the paper mill Corpach.

Trivia

The railway line has some special features:

• The Glenfinnan Viaduct has already served as a backdrop in numerous film productions, including the Harry Potter series with the Hogwarts Express, which crosses the bridge .
• The maximum speed when crossing the Rannoch moor on the Mallaig branch is reduced to 30 miles per hour (around 48 km / h) due to possible damage to the route .
• The village of Tyndrum is the smallest parish in the United Kingdom with a population of 167 and is served by more than one train station. Tyndrum is about 7.5 km northwest of the separation of the two line branches and has a train station at each: Tyndrum Lower on the branch to Oban and Upper Tyndrum on the route to Mallaig are only about 600 meters apart.
• The Corrour railway station west of Loch Ossian on the northern edge of Rannoch Moor is not connected one of the most isolated stations in the world and a public road. At 408 meters above sea level, it is also the highest station in Great Britain. The station also got cinematic honors in Danny Boyle's film Trainspotting .
• Arisaig train station near Mallaig is the westernmost train station in Great Britain.
• The section between Fort William and Mallaig, opened in 1901, was one of the last main railway lines to be commissioned in Scotland.
• The station signs are written in both English and Gaelic.

Former branches

The West Highland Line had numerous now disused branch lines that were founded by various companies and serve some parts of today's WHL.

Callander and Oban Railway

Callander – Oban / Ballachulish
Legend from Dunblane Callander Strathyre Kingshouse Balquhidder to Comrie from Loch Tay Killin Junction Luib Crianlarich Lower West Highland Line WHL Tyndrum Lower West Highland Line Connel Ferry to Oban North Connel Benderloch Barcaldine Creagan Appin Duror Kentallen Ballachulish Ferry Ballachulish

Construction works and openings

The Callander and Oban Railway was founded in 1864 with the aim of connecting the cities of Callander and Oban. Callander had had a railway connection to Dunblane (which no longer exists today) since 1858 . Construction began in 1866 from Callander. The first station was Killin in 1870, three years later Tyndrum and in 1877 the section between Tyndrum and Dalmally , which is still in use today, was opened, including the Crianlarich Junction . While the Callander and Oban Railway was in operation, Crianlarich owned a second station, called Crianlarich (Lower) , analogous to the current situation in Tyndrum , the current one with the addition of Upper . 1880 Oban was achieved in 1903 was followed by the only expansion of the company's route network, the branch line from Connel to Ballachulish issued against Connel Loch Etive with the Connel Bridge , a surviving imposing Gerber girder bridge spanned. The branch line from Killin Junction to the city center and Loch Tay , opened in 1886, was built by private landowners under the name Killin Railway . As the operator, the Caledonian Railway took over the routes to Oban and Ballachulish, the Callander and Oban Railway only remained nominally independent. From 1923 the routes belonged to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway as a result of the Railways Act 1921 .

Shutdowns

The eastern part between Callander and Crianlarich, including the branch line in Killin, was prematurely shut down in the course of the Beeching Ax after storm damage on September 27, 1965 and the remaining section to Oban was assigned to the West Highland Line. The shutdown was originally planned for November 1st of this year. Since then, trains have been running between Glasgow and Oban via Dumbarton and Ardlui. Most of the former railway line has been converted into cycle paths. The rest of the route, especially between Killin and Crianlarich, was used to build the A85. The branching and overpass structure in Crianlarich is still completely intact, the tracks in the direction of Callander end in the open. Most of the stations were demolished, only the central platform of Killin Junction was retained, but it is almost overgrown with trees and other plants.

The western branch line to Ballachulish met the fate of the cessation of operations on March 28, 1966. The Connel Bridge and the Creagan Bridge are now used for road traffic, even if the Creagan Bridge was built from scratch in 1999.

Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway

Spean Bridge – Fort Augustus
Legend WHL from Glasgow Spean Bridge WHL to Fort William Gairlochy Invergloy Platform Invergarry Aberchalder Fort Augustus Fort Augustus Pier

opening

The Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway was a railway company that started operating the short branch line from Spean Bridge to Fort Augustus via Invergarry in 1896 . The motivation for the construction was to close the gap between the West Highland Line and the Highland Main Line along the three lakes Loch Lochy , Loch Oich and Loch Ness . However, the continuation from Fort Augustus to Inverness was never realized.

Change of ownership

In 1903, the previous operating company went bankrupt and the Highland Railway took over the line, they undertook to operate the line for ten years with an annual payment of 4000 pounds . As early as 1907, however, the Highland Railway limited itself to the infrastructure and handed over operational management to the North British Railway , which in turn ceased train services on October 31, 1911. However, it was resumed on August 1, 1913 and a year later the North British Railway Company took over the route entirely.

Shutdown

After the First World War , the North British Railway Company became part of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER), which gave freight traffic on the route more important than passenger transport. Passenger traffic was finally given up on December 1, 1933, the final shutdown took place on January 1, 1947. During the Second World War, it was mainly used for transport to the Royal Navy weapons depot in Fort Augustus. Numerous sections were used for road construction, bridges and tunnels are still visible and in good condition today. The Great Glen Way also runs over sections of the Invergarry & Fort Augustus Railway. A video documentation of the railway line is subtitled The Line that should never have been built ( The line that should never have been built ).

Web links

Commons : West Highland Line  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official site of the Jacobite Steam Train (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Highland train line best in world. BBC , February 6, 2009, accessed September 11, 2017 . 
2. ^ Glenfinnan Railway Station. In: road-to-the-isles.org.uk. Retrieved September 11, 2017 . 
3. ^ John Thomas: The West Highland Railway. 1965
4. ^ John Thomas: The Callander and Oban Railway. 1966
5. ^ Christopher Awdry: Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. 1990, p. 169
6. ↑ Route ride video
7. ^ Abellio ScotRail franchise launched. In: globalrailnews.com. April 1, 2015, accessed on September 11, 2017 . 
8. ^ Ewan Crawford: West Highland Railway. In: railscot.co.uk. April 2, 2012, accessed September 11, 2017 . 
9. ↑ ^{a b} Michael Uhr: The West Highland Line. In: schottland4fans.de. February 15, 2007, archived from the original on May 5, 2011 ; accessed on September 11, 2017 . 
10. ^ Keith Sanders, Douglas Hodgins: British Railways Past and Present No 31 - North West Scotland. 1998, p. 40
11. ^ Christopher Awdry: Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. 1990