The West Highland Line
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardlui Line and Station open | LNER | Crianlarich Line open; Station open | ||
Glen Falloch Halt | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Location | Between Ardlui and Crianlarich, Stirling Scotland |
| Coordinates | 56°20′28″N4°43′27″W / 56.341142°N 4.724205°W Coordinates: 56°20′28″N4°43′27″W / 56.341142°N 4.724205°W |
| Grid reference | NN31711986 |
| Platforms | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Status | Disused |
| History | |
| Original company | London and North Eastern Railway |
| Key dates | |
| 10 April 1946 | Opened [1] [2] |
| Circa 1948 | Closed |
Glen Falloch Halt railway station was a remote rural railway station in Glen Falloch, Stirlingshire, Scotland. Opened in 1946 by the LNER, it was located in Glen Falloch on the Ardlui side of the viaduct, but reported out of use by around 1948. [1]
The West Highland Railway opened the line to passengers on 7 August 1894; later it was operated by the North British Railway, until in 1923 it became part of the London and North Eastern Railway. In 1948 the line became part of the Scottish Region of British Railways following nationalisation.
Glen Falloch Halt or Platform had a single platform and was opened by the LNER in 1946, but it closed around 1948. Records show that it was not opened as a standard railway station for the general public and it was not listed in the 1948 British Railways (Scottish Region) timetable. [3] The RCAHMS refer to the halt as being temporary. [4]
Well built 'slab' of concrete construction and a gravel surface, the curved single platform remnants are still present. It had a name board reading 'Glen Falloch', a single lamp for lighting and a small shed was present as a shelter or store. [5] A footpath ran from the halt to the Drovers Inn at Inverarnan.
After World War II many German and Italian ex-prisoners stayed in Scotland, and it is recorded that a small prisoner of war (POW) camp had been located at Glen Falloch, where a lot of forestry work was carried out. German and Italian POWs had been involved in the early stages of the construction of the Sloy Hydro-Electric facility between Loch Sloy and Inveruglas, on the west bank of Loch Lomond. [6]
Construction at the Loch Sloy project began in May 1945, under the auspices of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board, and it was completed in 1949, dates that largely coincide with the known use of Glen Falloch Halt located near the old POW camp.
Glen Falloch Halt may have been used by men building the aqueducts and tunnels that collected water from the Glen Falloch burns and carried it to Loch Sloy. [7] The near by station of Inveruglas was a similar but larger station with sidings, a passing loop, etc and was built in connection with the Loch Sloy hydroelectric scheme.
The prisoners-of-war were carried from Faslane Platform near Faslane Junction and Whistlefield to Inveruglas or Glen Falloch. [8]
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardlui Line and Station open | LNER | Crianlarich Line open; Station open | ||
Loch Lomond is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Central Scotland and the Highlands. Traditionally forming part of the boundary between the counties of Stirlingshire and Dunbartonshire, Loch Lomond is split between the council areas of Stirling, Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire. Its southern shores are about 23 kilometres (14 mi) northwest of the centre of Glasgow, Scotland's largest city. The Loch forms part of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park which was established in 2002.
The Arrochar Alps are a group of mountains located around the head of Loch Long, Loch Fyne, and Loch Goil, near the villages of Arrochar and Lochgoilhead, on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The mountains are especially popular with hillwalkers, due to their proximity and accessibility from Glasgow. They are largely within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park and in part also extend into the Argyll Forest Park. Glens which go into the heart of the range include: Glen Croe, Hell's Glen and Glen Kinglass.
Arrochar and Tarbet railway station is a railway station on the West Highland Line in Scotland. It stands between the villages of Arrochar and Tarbet.
Ben Vorlich is a Scottish mountain situated between the northernmost section of Loch Lomond and Loch Sloy. It is one of the Arrochar Alps, though it lies separate from the other peaks in the range, as indicated by the large topographic prominence. It is the highest point of the historic county of Dunbartonshire.
Ardlui railway station is a rural railway station, serving Ardlui at the north end of Loch Lomond, in Scotland. The station is 51 miles (82 km) north of Glasgow Queen Street on the West Highland Line.
The West Highland Railway was a railway company that constructed a railway line from Craigendoran to Fort William and Mallaig. The line was built through remote and difficult terrain in two stages: the section from Craigendoran to Fort William opened in 1894, with a short extension to Banavie on the Caledonian Canal opening in 1895.
Ben Vane is a Scottish mountain situated in the southern Highlands. The underlying geology almost entirely comprises the Beinn Bheula Schist Formation - psammite and pelite with a Siluro-Devonian dyke prominent round the northern and eastern face. It is one of the Arrochar Alps and stands slightly separate from the other mountains of the group being connected on its western side to the neighbouring Beinn Ìme by a low col at 492 metres. Ben Vane itself just qualifies as a Munro reaching a height of 915 metres (3,002 feet) and is characterised by steep and rugged slopes which fall away to the Inveruglas Water to the east and the Allt Coiregroigan to the south; to the north the descent is more undulating going over the subsidiary top of Beinn Dubh before falling to the valley at the north end of Loch Sloy. Dense forestry cloak the mountain on its lower southern slope in Allt Coiregroigan. Also on these southern slopes by the Allt Coiregroigan is a disused quarry which provided crushed stone used for the construction of the Loch Sloy dam in the late 1940s. The dam wall lies two km to the north of the quarry and a conveyor belt was constructed to carry the crushed stone over the lower slopes of Ben Vane to the batching plant beside the dam.
Rhu is a closed railway station located in the village of Rhu, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, on the east shore of Gare Loch. It is located towards the southern end of the West Highland Railway.
Shandon is a closed railway station located at Shandon on the east shore of Gare Loch, in Argyll and Bute. It is located towards the southern end of the West Highland Railway.
The Faslane Branch was a standard gauge military railway built during World War II to serve "Military Port No.1" at Faslane, west of Glasgow in Scotland.
The Sloy/Awe Hydro-Electric Scheme is a hydro-electric facility situated between Loch Sloy and Inveruglas on the west bank of Loch Lomond in Scotland.
Inveruglas is a hamlet on the west shore of Loch Lomond, fairly near the north end of the loch and is within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. It is situated on the A82 trunk road, connecting Glasgow to Inverness. It is within the historic county of Dunbartonshire, and since 1996 it has been part of the Argyll and Bute council area.
The Inverarnan Canal was a short length of canal terminating at Garbal, close to the hamlet of Inverarnan, Scotland. This waterway once linked the old coaching inn, now the Drovers Inn, at Inverarnan, on the Allt Arnan Burn to the River Falloch and passengers could continue southward to Loch Lomond and finally to Balloch. From Inverarnan stagecoaches ran to various destinations in the north of Scotland.
Fersit Halt railway station named after the nearby hamlet of Fersit, was situated close to Tulloch railway station in Lochaber, Highland council area, Scotland. Fersit was a remote rural temporary private halt at the north end of Loch Treig where workers were housed who worked on the Lochaber hydroelectric scheme. The halt was opened in 1931 by the LNER, it was located near the site of a contractors railway ballast siding.
Glen Douglas Halt railway station was known as Craggan in the line's construction reports, also Glen Douglas Siding, Glen Douglas Platform (Private), Glen Douglas (Private) and finally Glen Douglas Halt. Opened by the North British Railway in 1894 or 1895 its status has changed several times along with its official name. The form Glendouglas was also sometimes used, such as on the platform name board.
Inveruglas was a remote temporary private railway station near the hamlet of Inveruglas, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Opened in 1945 by the LNER, it was built in connection with the construction of the Sloy Hydro-Electric facility and was located on the Ardlui side of the Inveruglas Viaduct and recorded to be out of use by around 1948.
Whistlefield, later Whistlefield Halt, was a minor station on the West Highland Line 10.30 miles from Craigendoran Junction railway station near the hamlet of Portincaple on Loch Long, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Opened in 1896 by the West Highland Railway, it was built on a single track section without a passing loop in between Garelochhead and Glen Douglas and closed by the British Railways Board in 1964.
Faslane Platform railway station or Faslane Junction Platform railway station was a temporary private railway station located near the Stuckendoff PoW camp, Shandon, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Opened in 1945 by the LNER in connection with the construction of the Loch Sloy Hydro-Electric facility and was located on the Shandon side of the Chapel Burn and recorded to be out of use by around 1949 in the British Railways era.
The Three Lochs Way is a 55-kilometre (34 mi) long-distance path in Argyll and Bute in Scotland that links Balloch and Inveruglas. The path crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, which divides the Scottish Highlands from the Lowlands, and is named for the three major lochs linked by the route: Loch Lomond, the Gare Loch and Loch Long. About 1,500 people use the path every year, of whom about 300 complete the entire route.
