Kentallen railway station

Kentallen
Hotel and restaurant on the site of Kentallen station, in 2005
General information
Location	Highland Scotland
Coordinates	56°40′29″N5°14′38″W / 56.6747°N 5.2439°W / 56.6747; -5.2439
Grid reference	NN013583
Line(s)	Ballachulish branch line
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Callander and Oban Railway
Pre-grouping	Callander and Oban Railway operated by Caledonian Railway
Post-grouping	LMS
Key dates
24 August 1903	Opened
25 May 1953	Closed
24 August 1953	Re-opened
28 March 1966	Closed

Kentallen was a railway station at the head of Kentallen Bay, which is on the southern shore of Loch Linnhe in the Highland council area of Scotland. It was on the Ballachulish branch line that linked Connel Ferry, on the main line of the Callander and Oban Railway, with Ballachulish.

History

This station opened on 24 August 1903. ^[1] It was laid out with two platforms, one on either side of a crossing loop. There were sidings on the east side of the line.^{[ citation needed ]}

The station was temporarily closed from 25 May to 24 August 1953 when flooding washed away a bridge. ^[2] It was then closed by the British Railways Board in 1966, when the Ballachulish Branch of the Callander and Oban Railway was closed. ^{[1] [3]}

The station had been the location of a LMS caravan in 1935 and then two caravans from 1936 to 1939. ^[4] A camping coach was also positioned here by the Scottish Region from 1953 to 1965. ^[5]

Following closure the station buildings were converted into a hotel and restaurant.

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Duror Line and station closed		Callander and Oban Railway Ballachulish Branch Caledonian Railway		Ballachulish Ferry Line and station closed

Signalling

Throughout its existence, the Ballachulish Branch was worked by the electric token system. Kentallen signal box was located on the Up platform, on the east side of the railway. It had 24 levers.^{[ citation needed ]}

References

Notes

1. Butt (1995), page 130
2. "Railway Reopens". Dundee Courier. 19 August 1953. p. 4. Retrieved 13 July 2020. – via britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk (subscription required)
3. Hurst (1992), page 43 (ref 1943)
4. McRae (1997), page 22
5. McRae (1998), page 13

Sources

• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN   978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC   60251199. OL   11956311M.
• Hurst, Geoffrey (1992). Register of Closed Railways: 1948-1991 . Worksop, Nottinghamshire: Milepost Publications. ISBN   0-9477-9618-5.
• McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. ISBN   1-870119-48-7.
• McRae, Andrew (1998). British Railways Camping Coach Holidays: A Tour of Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part Two). Foxline. ISBN   1-870119-53-3.

Further reading

• Fryer, Charles (1989). The Callander and Oban Railway. Oxford: Oakwood Press. ISBN   0-8536-1377-X. OCLC   21870958.
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN   978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC   22311137.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN   978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC   228266687.

External links

• Kentallen station on navigable 1954 map
• Ballachulish Branch (Callander and Oban Railway)