Railway - Ardchattan Parish Archive

Railway

Ardchattan Parish Archive » Transport » Railway

The railway really changed the whole community.
Before it was built travel into and out of the parish was mainly by boat, across the lochs and by sea to Oban and beyond.
The railways main purpose was to bring slate from the quarries at Ballachulish to the main line, but it affected many other parts of our community activities.

The first significant effect was the huge influx of men from all over the country during the years of the construction of the railway line and of Connel Bridge in the latter years of the 1900s.

It was opened in late summer of 1903.

Archives of the Caledonian Railway - http://www.crassoc.org.uk
The railway brought people into the area for work, and took people away to new opportunities.
The people who worked on the railway - PDF file from CRASSOC

(a new national railway resource Railway Work, Life & Death project
It was originally built for trains only.
1/4/1896 or 7/8/1896 Callander and Oban Railway (Ballachulish Extension) Act passed.
The line was built by Robert McAlpin

1914 they was adapted to accommodate both road and rail traffic. As it was too narrow for both simultaneously the road traffic was halted when the trains passed.

Youtube Railway playlist : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZVVML-eCXjXcSiOwhMkiv_dyJzX7I0vT

1941 War office maps have good detail of the line in our area

3 maps north to south - https://maps.nls.uk/view/189661675 https://maps.nls.uk/view/189661672 https://maps.nls.uk/view/189661654

14/6/1965 Ballachulish line closed to freight
26 March 1966 the railway was closed and the bridge set to road traffic only.
several websites with significant detail and many images of the railway
http://www.unseensteam.co.uk/News-spotlight/Ballachulish-closure
https://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/01/01/the-ballachulish-railway-line-part-1/
https://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/01/05/the-ballachulish-railway-line-part-2/
https://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/01/05/the-ballachulish-railway-line-part-3/

The Ballachulish line¹
The Connel Ferry bridge is the second largest cantilever bridge in the world. Beneath the bridge is the Falls of Lora, a tidal phenonmena caused Loch Etive meeting the sea in a narrow channel with a sudden change in depth. A "standing wave" occurs here when the tide is running at its fastest.
A charabanc which formerly operated between Clarkston (on the East Kilbride Line) and Eaglesham was converted to run on rails and operated a service over the bridge for a few years.
For a time the railway ran a car carrying service ran over the bridge and a ramp was built at either end for loading cars. The ramp at the south end remains. Today the bridge here carries only cars. The road is single track and traffic lights control the flow.